Russia was lucky with the territory and location on the planet. It has many neighboring countries, from the USA and Japan in the east to Norway and Poland in the west. Historically, Russia has played a key role in world politics, so many countries prefer to be friends with it. Which countries are friends with Russia? The list will be too long, so it’s worth sorting by region, continent and major partners.
Russian-Belarusian relations
Which countries are friends with Russia from those that before 1991 belonged to the USSR? In the first place you can put the Republic of Belarus. It marks the largest turnover of all countries of the former USSR. In 2017, Russia and Belarus traded $ 30 billion. Russia exported $ 18.5 billion worth of goods to Belarus. Belarusian goods can be found in almost any Russian city: trucks, buses, trams, trolleybuses, tractors, products, clothing, household appliances.
Countries are connected not only by close economic ties. They are members of the CIS, the EAEU, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Union State. The latter has existed since 1997. One of the results of its creation is the open border of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. It can be crossed by bus or train without any border controls. On the territory of Belarus there are two Russian military facilities - the Volga radar station and the Navy communications center. Russia and Belarus often hold joint military exercises. The construction of the Belarusian NPP can be considered a major joint project.
Russian citizens can visit Belarus without a passport. There is no sea in this country, but you can relax on the lakes in the summer and in ski resorts near Minsk in the winter.
Friendly countries of Central Asia
If Russia has the highest turnover from the countries of the former USSR with Belarus, then the longest border is with Kazakhstan. High turnover of $ 16 billion is noted with him, and several thousand enterprises with Russian capital operate, cultural ties and interregional cooperation are developed. In Kazakhstan there is not only an embassy of Russia, but also three consulates. On the other hand, there are four Kazakh consulates in the Russian Federation and an embassy in Moscow.
Which countries are friends with Russia in Central Asia? It turns out that is all. After all, they can be members of the EAEU (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), the CSTO (Tajikistan and both members of the EAEU), and the CIS (all five, but Turkmenistan has a special status). Citizens of these countries travel to Russia to earn money, remittances make up a significant part of their GDP. Russians and Kazakhstan can still visit Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan without a passport.
Relations with other countries of the former USSR
Among the republics of the former USSR, the most friendly countries of Russia are Armenia and Moldova. The first is a member of the CSTO and the EAEU. On its territory there is a military base of Russia, and many Armenian citizens go to Russia to earn money. Of the Armenian goods in most large stores, you can find cognac and fruit or vegetable snacks.
In 2018, Moldova joined the EAEU as an observer. In general, cooperation with Russia is beneficial to her. Moldova supplies its labor and agricultural products to Russia.
Due to the conflict in Karabakh, Azerbaijan is less connected with Russia than Armenia. It is included only in the CIS, but the volume of economic cooperation with it is significant, for example, in Baku there is a branch of Moscow State University.
Relations with Georgia are very bad, in Tbilisi there is not even a Russian embassy, it is represented by Switzerland, but tourists are allowed there for a year according to the usual stamp in the passport. In Russian stores, you can often find Georgian wines and mineral waters for sale.
Relations with Ukraine have worsened since 2014, but many of its citizens are in Russia to earn money or go on vacation, for example, to the Crimea. Trade did not stop.
Russia has strained relations with the three Baltic republics. They prefer, like Georgia and Ukraine, to be friends with NATO and the EU. However, nothing eternal happens, maybe they even change their minds.
Russia and the southern Slavs
Which countries are friends with Russia from the South - and West Slavic? NATO member states can hardly be regarded as friendly, so Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Macedonia remain. They can be visited without a visa, only with a passport and insurance. In Russian stores you can find various goods from these countries: cheeses, apples, sweets. Russian exports are also diverse: energy, vehicles, metals. In Serbia, Russian citizens may well have a vacation. You can swim and sunbathe in neighboring Montenegro, and in Serbia itself cheap and tasty food, short distances, inexpensive transport and many architectural monuments.
Russia and the Middle East
Which countries are friends with Russia in western Asia? Syria can be put in the first place. There is a Russian military base there, and reports from Syria on television, if not every day, then every week for sure. The Syrian army uses Russian weapons and ammunition. Because of the war, Russian citizens began to visit Syria rarely, but when peace comes, the situation should improve.
In second place can be put Turkey and Israel. Despite the fact that the first country is a member of NATO, many Russian tourists rest there and the Akkuyu NPP is under construction. This was hard to imagine in the years of the Cold War.
The situation with Israel is even more interesting, despite the lack of diplomatic relations from 1968 to 1990, now many Russian-speaking citizens live in this country, and Russian tourists are actively visiting it.
Russia belongs to those countries of the planet that have good relations with Turkey, Syria and Israel at the same time. For example, the United States and Iran cannot boast of such a foreign policy situation.
Relations with China
Back in 1949, a song appeared with the words "Russian and Chinese brothers forever." After the cool period of the 1960-1980s, relations improved and now Putin is always a welcome guest in China, and Xi Jinping is in Russia. The trade turnover of the Russian Federation and China exceeds $ 100 billion. For Russia, China is one of the key trading partners. If in the XVIII-XIX century they bought mainly tea there, now they are buying any goods, for example, cars and electronics. The Chinese in Russia mainly buy raw materials: oil, ore, metals, wood.
Russia and China have many joint projects - from the construction of a nuclear power plant to military-technical cooperation.
Relations with India and other Asian countries
The second most populous country in Asia is India. Russia has developed cooperation with her since the times of the USSR, when, for example, the first Indian cosmonaut was trained. Russia, India and China form the core of the BRICS and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization). With India, Russia has a decent turnover, and many tourists and students are moving between them.
From the rest of Asia, only Japan is a stretch of friendly countries, with which there is a dispute over the Kuril Islands. The rest of the countries are as follows:
- DPRK A good relationship. Our tourists are always welcome there, and in Russia, Korean guest workers. The trade turnover is small, but in the UN, the Russian Federation and the DPRK vote almost always the same.
- South Korea. There is no “Soviet inheritance” in cooperation with it, but there is a huge commodity turnover and solid tourism indicators.
- ASEAN countries. They are almost all visa-free, except for Myanmar. Most Russians relax in Thailand, and military cooperation is most developed with Myanmar, Malaysia and Vietnam. They leave tanks, planes, helicopters.
- Maldives. Where can unfriendly relations come from with a country where almost the entire economy is built on tourism?
- Taiwan. In Soviet times, there was no relationship with him, and now this is an island state visa-free for our citizens.
- Mongolia. A visa-free country where the older generation still remembers the Russian language. Actually, she has only two neighbors - the Russian Federation and China.
