Explanation:

- Nikolai Bulganin served as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Premier) of the Soviet Union. He visited India in 1955 along with Nikita Khrushchev. This was a significant visit during the Cold War period.

- Mikhail Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991. He did visit India, but he wasn't the first; also, India was not his first destination as a Russian prime minister.

- Boris Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation post-Soviet Union. He also visited India during his time in office.

- Vladimir Putin, as the President of Russia, has visited India multiple times, but he is not the first prime minister to visit independent India.

Nikolai Bulganin was indeed the first Russian leader to visit independent India.