Bangladesh–Russia relations

Bangladesh-Russia relations is the relationship between the two countries, Bangladesh and Russia. Relations between the two countries have fluctuated from time to time. During the Soviet era, it had been a strong supporter of the Mukti Bahini in the Bangladesh Liberation War and provided aid in terms of arms, medical and rehabilitation aid to the new nation. However, after the victory of the 1971 war and the independence of Bangladesh there had been a buildup of suspicion amongst the Bangladeshis due to the prolonged presence of Soviet officials. This led to a rise in nationalism and catapulted nationalist leaders as Ziaur Rahman to power and changed the foreign policy of Bangladesh into a pro-capitalist nation.

Bangladesh strongly opposed the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan along with other Western and Islamic nations and contributed to the effort to force the Soviet Union to withdraw. In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked 14th among aid donors to Bangladesh. The Soviets focused on the development of electrical power, natural gas and oil, and maintained active cultural relations with Bangladesh. They financed the Ghorasal thermal power station, the largest in Bangladesh.

More recently, Russia has conducted an aggressive military sales effort in Dhaka and has succeeded with a $124 million deal for eight MIG-29 fighter jets. Bangladesh has established full diplomatic relations with all of the former Soviet states in 1992. Relations between Russia and Bangladesh are extremly positive and both countries have cooperated in a number of areas such as education, culture, military, and energy. One example of cooperation in energy is Russia offering its assistance to help build Bangladesh's nuclear reactor.