Russia is getting cozy with Cuba again after a post-Cold War chill

(Image credit: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images)

Before the Soviet Union fell, Cuba relied on America's Cold War adversary for its economic survival and the Soviets used Cuba, about 100 miles south of Florida, as a strategic toehold within swimming distance of their main geopolitical rival. Then the Soviet Union fell and Russia largely abandoned Cuba in the 1990s. Now, The Associated Press reports, "observers of Cuban and Russian foreign policy say there is a significant warming between the former partners prompted in part by the Trump administration's reversal of President Barack Obama's opening to Cuba."

Trade between Russia and Cuba has more than doubled since 2013, mostly due to an uptick in Russian exports to the island nation. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is landing in Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials, following visits by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and other high-ranking Russians to Havana in recent months and years. "We did make huge mistakes in the 1990s while turning our backs on Cuba," said Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev. "That time is definitely over, and I'm absolutely sure that our relations deserve better attention from Russia."

Russia is sending Cuba minibuses, locomotives, and a surge of tourists — 137,000 in 2018 — plus promises of significant investment in Cuba's power grid, AP reports. "Russia is trying to preserve the zone of influence it had during the era of the Soviet Union, looking for partners in Latin America and letting Washington know that it's still a great power," says Arturo López-Levy, a Cuban-born assistant professor of international relations at California's Holy Names University. Read more at The Associated Press.

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Editor's note: This piece initially mischaracterized the U.S.-Soviet Union Cold War relationship. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.