The diplomatic relations between the countries date back to 1942. In 1952-1959, contacts were non-existent until Fidel Castro took over the country in 1960.

In the three decades that followed, the USSR and Cuba maintained lively contacts in political, economic, trade, scientific, cultural and military fields. The Soviet Union delivered a wide range of products and goods to Cuba, including oil and petroleum products, food, agricultural equipment, spares, military equipment, etc.

With technical assistance of the Soviet Union, Cuba got an electric power supply system, upgraded 156 sugar-mills and constructed nine new, revamped various communications and TV facilities, and built a nickel concentrate processing plant. The Cuban Armed Forces were almost entirely equipped with Soviet weapons and systems. In 1961-1991, the military equipment shipped to Cuba from the USSR was worth well above $15 bln. 

In the 1990s, cooperation dwindled to minimum due to various reasons. 

Under the Intergovernmental Agreement of October 18, 1991 Russia supplied Cuba with small arms, ammunition, bottom mines, radio sets, engines, spares, training and auxiliary equipment.
In addition to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation of November 3, 1992 Russia and Cuba signed a Protocol on the Scope and Form of Reimbursement for keeping a Russian electronic monitoring station in Cuba in 1993-1995.

A new page in the Russian-Cuban relations was turned by the official visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Cuba on December 13-16, 2000.

In November 2008, President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Cuba, and as soon as January next year President of the State Council of Cuba Raúl Castro came to Russia on a reciprocal visit. The Russian and Cuban leaders signed a Memorandum on the Principles of Strategic Partnership along with other 34 bilateral documents on cooperation in various fields.

As of today, Russia and Cuba negotiate within the framework of a mixed committee a number of contracts for supply of spares and other military equipment, as well as modernization of weapons and systems that were delivered earlier. 

Active efforts have also been taken to promote bilateral relations at a Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Committee on Trade & Economic and Scientific & Technical Cooperation.

All business relations are the province of the Russian-Cuban and Cuban-Russian Business Councils established in 2005. 

Cuba hosts a representative office of Rostec, Russia’s state corporation, that also projects Rosoboronexport’s interests in the country. Telephone number of the office: (+537) 208-54-91, fax: (+537) 208-54-91, e-mail: rep4329@rostechn.ru