MOSCOW: A major reference book on India has been brought out in Russia, reflecting resurgent interest in an old friend.

The 592-page, big-format volume India Today is the fist encyclopaedic study of India published in the Soviet Union or in Russia. The well-produced book, with indices of persons, geographic names and Indian terms, covers subjects from Indian geography, history, and philosophy to political system, economy and foreign policy.

It offers in-depth analysis by and viewpoints of 30 Russian scholars. It is compiled by the Centre for Indian Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences with support from the Indian Embassy in Moscow.

The book takes a critical view of Russia's handling of ties with India in the wake of the Soviet Union's break-up. It says flourishing bilateral relations suffered a "collapse" because of "a false concept of national interests adopted by the new Russian elites after the end of the Cold War and a sharp re-orientation of Russia foreign policy towards the West." The economic and social crisis that hit Russia in the 1990s is cited as another reason for the downturn in ties. "The infrastructure of bilateral relations built over the years was destroyed," the book says. "The [Russian] state surrendered the sphere of foreign economic relations in the civilian sector to private capital which lacked adequate experience... and for a number of reasons had little interest in cooperation with India." "The book fills an obvious need and lacuna in the Russian studies of India," India's Ambassador to Russia Kanwal Sibal said at its launch on Wednesday. "Its appearance demonstrates renewed interest in India that got largely diluted in the 1990s."

Head of the Centre for Indian Studies Tatyana Shaumyan said the authors strove to dispel the misconceptions about India , and to project India as a rising power.

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