What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Russian tsars wanted trade and contact with the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb, and they pursued it through two separate missions in the 1670s and 1690s. The first, led by Muhammad Yusuf (Mahmet Isup) Kasimov, never reached the emperor: it got as far as Kabul in 1676, and Aurangzeb sent it back. The second, led by Semyon Malenkiy (also spelled Malenkov), took the longer route through Persia and by sea, reached Aurangzeb’s camp, and came away with a firman permitting duty-free trade within Mughal territories. The “land of diamonds” phrase in the title describes a European and Russian picture of India’s wealth. It does not mean that diamonds alone drove Russian policy.
Why Russia looked toward India
The Russian interest was commercial first, with diplomatic and informational goals alongside it. Astrakhan, the Volga port at the edge of the Caspian, was the hinge of this trade. Indian goods, including cotton, dyes and garments, reached Russia indirectly through Central Asia and Astrakhan well before any direct mission. The port also hosted an Indian merchant community, which helps explain why Moscow saw Astrakhan as a place to draw Asian merchants and their goods.
A chapter summary published by Cambridge University Press, from Stephen Frederic Dale’s study of Indian merchants in Eurasian trade, describes the broader aims. Russian officials sought Asian products and silver through Astrakhan, encouraged Asian merchants to settle there, and sent commercial-diplomatic missions to the Mughal court and to neighbouring states. Read this way, the missions were trade initiatives that also carried diplomatic messages and gathered information, not a search for gems.
What the “land of diamonds” phrase refers to
The title borrows a long-standing image. The 2022 Scroll article by Ajay Kamalakaran cites the American scholar Robert H. Stacy, whose 1985 book India in Russian Literature traces what he calls the “India the Rich” tradition. In Stacy’s account, references to rubies and diamonds in Marco Polo, along with accounts of India’s fabulous wealth and exotic inhabitants stretching from Greco-Roman times onward, became a commonplace in later European writing, Russian literature included.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute#1 Best Overall
That image shaped expectations on both sides of the mission, but it is a perception rather than a record of what the tsars intended. Textiles, silver-linked trade and access to Asian markets were at least as central to the sources’ account of the missions as gems. Treating the phrase as a literal contemporary label, or as proof that diamonds were the sole motive, goes beyond what the evidence supports.
The Kasimov mission, 1675–76
According to Scroll, Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich’s 1675 mission was led by Kasimov, with Vasily Daudov also involved in the wider expedition. The party travelled overland through Khiva, Bukhara and Balkh, the Central Asian route that carried goods and information between the two worlds. It reached Kabul in 1676.
Aurangzeb, who according to the article was then at Shahjahanabad, declined to receive the envoy. He instructed the governor of Kabul to send the Russian party back with a royal warrant and proper gifts. The Scroll article reproduces the emperor’s words as follows:
“never before have the Russian state’s envoys arrived to our Indian state. So it is now: you must send him back to the Russian state, providing him with our royal warrant and proper gifts, so that he can intact go back to the Russian state.”
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.Rank #3
The phrasing is reproduced as it appears in the 2022 article. Readers who need the exact diplomatic wording should consult the underlying documentary edition rather than treat this rendering as a verified transcription. What the account does establish is the outcome: the envoy was turned back, and no audience took place.
The Malenkiy mission and the firman
The second approach came by a different route. Malenkiy travelled from Astrakhan through Persia, then by ship from Bandar Abbas to Surat. Scroll dates the ship’s arrival at Surat to January 1698. From there the group went to Burhanpur, where Aurangzeb was camped.
Scroll reports that Malenkiy presented his credentials through the emperor’s treasurer, met Aurangzeb, and received a firman allowing duty-free trade within Mughal territories. The article also describes the delegation’s later dealings in Indian textiles and other goods. The members of this party reportedly did not at first disclose that they had been sent by the tsar, which made it a merchant-led approach as much as a formal embassy. The firman’s wording and the trade volumes that followed are not detailed in the sources reviewed here, so the commercial results should be read as what the delegation did, not as measured outcomes.
Comparing the two approaches
The two missions differ on route, result and how they presented themselves.
| Feature | Kasimov mission (1675–76) | Malenkiy mission (reached Surat January 1698 per Scroll) |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Overland through Khiva, Bukhara, Balkh and Kabul | Astrakhan, through Persia, then by ship from Bandar Abbas to Surat, then to Burhanpur |
| Posture | Formal state mission sent by Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich | Merchant-led party; members initially did not disclose the tsar’s commission |
| Audience with Aurangzeb | None; the envoy was turned back at Kabul | Yes, reported in Burhanpur, where Aurangzeb was camped |
| Outcome reported | Royal warrant and gifts for the return journey | Firman permitting duty-free trade within Mughal territories |
| Commercial activity reported | Not stated in the sources reviewed | Later dealings in Indian textiles and other goods, as described by Scroll |
What the sources establish, and what they do not
- Established by the 2022 Scroll article: the names, routes and dates of both missions, Aurangzeb’s refusal to receive Kasimov, and the duty-free firman granted to Malenkiy.
- Established by the Cambridge summary: the wider Russian commercial aims through Astrakhan, including the pursuit of Asian products and silver and the encouragement of Asian merchant settlement.
- Not independently checked here: the underlying archival documents and the full scholarly chapter. The emperor’s letter and the firman’s exact terms therefore rest on the 2022 article’s account.
The most useful reading for a general audience is that the Russian approach to Mughal India combined trade with diplomacy and information gathering. The first mission failed to reach the emperor, and the second succeeded in part by presenting itself as commerce. Explanations that reduce this to a quest for diamonds miss both the commercial logic of Astrakhan and the way the image of India’s riches shaped expectations.
Further reading
For the scholarly context, look for Stephen Frederic Dale’s Indian Merchants and Eurasian Trade, 1600–1750, published by Cambridge University Press, which includes a chapter titled “Indo-Russian commerce in the early modern era.” Check the publisher’s listing for the chapter’s current availability before relying on a specific edition.
For the narrative of both missions and the Aurangzeb letter, the 2022 Scroll article by Ajay Kamalakaran (published May 26, 2022) is the most detailed account reviewed here.
Quick Recap
“
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
