The article is devoted to the study of the unique features of Indian culture, as well as the prospects for the development of Russian culture in contact with the culture of India. This work is based on the latest achievements of the Russian school of Indology, the novel ideas of Indian social thought and the author’s observations of Indian culture. The article briefly outlines the history of relations between Russia and India, identifies gaps and difficulties in mutual understanding, which may arise when cultures converge, attempts to formulate the fundamentals of Indian culture that distinguish it from Western culture, but, nevertheless, make it resilient and prosperous in the modern world. The article emphasizes the benefits of familiarizing Russian culture with these fundamentals, which not only expand the worldview in Russia, which is largely moulded by Western civilization, but also discovers new opportunities to raise the awareness of Russia’s cultural selfidentity.
Russian culture; Indian culture; cultural contacts; Ju.M. Lotman; semiotics of culture; national identity.