In A Gentleman in Moscow (2024), many Russian characters are (very confusingly) played by non-white (specifically black and Indian) actors.
Do they signify/symbolize anything?
Or was the casting random? Was there any point to it? Or was this just simply some politically correct thing that happens to be fashionable nowadays? Are they simply trying to signal that they are "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues—especially issues of racial and social justice"?
One reason is the same reason why the main character is named “Count Alexander Rostov” when there never was a count by that name. It is fiction.
Another reason is that there have been non-white native-born Russian people going back at least as far as 1696. There’s no reason why a fictional Russian count in the early 1900s could not be associated with fictional non-white Russians.
The casting was certainly not random. It was certainly done with the goal of making a marketable and successful TV show. Casting Ewan McGregor in the lead is proof of this: he is a very capable actor and a popular star. It’s reasonable to expect everyone else was cast because of a combination of likability and acting ability designed to encourage the greatest number of people in the target audience to watch and keep watching.
After looking through IMDB, I can confirm the that cast of Gentleman… is largely made of actors with notable credentials, including prestigious education, previous roles in successful productions, and industry awards. No one stands out to me as unqualified to act in a major production.