From 1952 to 1959, relations were severed and not restored until 1960 when Fidel Castro came to power.
Subsequently, for three decades, the USSR and Cuba actively cooperated in the political, economic, commercial, scientific, cultural and military spheres. The Soviet Union supplied Cuba with a wide range of products and goods: oil and petroleum products, food, agricultural machinery, spare parts, weapons, etc.
With the technical assistance of the Soviet Union, the country's electric power supply system was established; 156 sugar factories were refurbished and 9 new ones were built; various communication and TV facilities were rebuilt; a nickel-cobalt concentrate production plant was constructed. The Cuban armed forces were almost completely equipped with Soviet equipment and weapons. From 1961 to 1991, arms and military equipment deliveries from the USSR to Cuba exceeded 15 billion US dollars.
A new stage in relations between the two countries was opened by the official visit to Cuba of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place on December 13-16, 2000. In November 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Cuba, and in January 2009, Cuban State Council Chairman Raul Castro arrived in Russia. The leaders of Russia and Cuba signed a Memorandum on the Principles of Strategic Partnership and 34 other documents on cooperation in various fields.
Cooperation is actively developing within the framework of the Intergovernmental Russian-Cuban Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
Business cooperation is carried out within the framework of the Russia–Cuba and Cuba–Russia Business Councils established in 2005.
Rostec State Corporation has a representative office in Cuba that ensures Rosoboronexport's interests.
