By Thiha Sithu

 

Myanmar and Russian Federation (Soviet Un­ion) established diplo­matic relations on 18 February 1948 and it reaches its 75th Anni­versary (Diamond Jubilee) on 18 February 2023.

 

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1948 and Myanmar opened an embassy in 1950. The Myanmar Ambassador who served duties in the Soviet Union was U Ohn.

 

Prime Minister U Nu’s friend­ship visit

Myanmar Prime Minister U Nu visited the Soviet Union be­tween 17 October to 3 November 1955 and met with the Soviet lead­ers during the visits. Myanmar and the Soviet Union established close relations since then. Dur­ing his visits, the Prime Minister signed with the Soviet Union on assistance in the building of the nation over the independence pe­riod and rice procurement.

 

Speaking at the reception cer­emony of Soviet Prime Minister Marshal Bulganin, Prime Minister U Nu said,” The Soviet-Myanmar Trade Agreement concluded on 1 July 1955 has inaugurated an era of the close economic relation­ship between our two countries. Rice is the most important export commodity of Myanmar. At a time when we could not dispose of our surplus rice, the decision of the Soviet Government to purchase our rice saved us from a difficult situation. Since we are just build­ing a new state, we are lamenta­bly in need of factories, kinds of machinery and technicians. We are now in a position to purchase from the Soviet Union machin­ery and equipment and to utilize the services of Soviet technicians commensurate with the purchas­es made from us by the Soviet Union. With such exchanges, the economic relations in addition to cultural exchanges between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Myanmar can be strength­ened,” according to Hanthawady Newspaper on 26 October 1955.

 

The Nu-Bulganin joint state­ment signed in the presence of So­viet leaders at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow was released on 3 November 1955. Hanthawady U Sein covered the news in Hantha­wady Newspaper on 5 November 1955. The statement said: “The Soviet Union and Myanmar will base their future relations on five principles of peaceful coexistence that were already accepted by In­dia, Communist China and other countries. The trade agreement inked recently by the two coun­tries will make closer relations and reach another step on opin­ion exchanges ensuring the world peace and security.”

 

Myanmar journalists in Mos­cow

Six Myanmar journalists came along with Prime Minister U Nu on his trips in 1955. They are U Thaung Nyunt from Myanma Alinn, U Yu Maung from Yangon Newspaper, U Hla Kyi from Mun­dine Newspaper, U Pe Tin from New Times of Burma and Han­thawady U Sein.

 

In December 1970, two Soviet journalists and Dr Lubo Mudorota and Dr Sarolov from the Soviet Union Friendship and Culture Exchange Federation paid study tours in Myanmar. They were re­ceived by then Myanmar literary workers committee chairman U Wun (Min Thu Wun), Secretary U Htin Gyi (Takkatho Htin Gyi) and members U Ba Kyi (artist) and U Myat Thu (Takkatho Myat Thu).

 

The Soviet journalists met Minister Brig-Gen Thaung Dan of the Ministry of Information and Culture and visited the Central Political Science Institute in Min­galadon and other places. They returned on 23 December 1970, according to the news records.

 

Myanmar-Russia paved way for gold and silver road

At the invitation of Prime Minister U Nu, Soviet Prime Minister Marshal Bulganin and Communist Party General Sec­retary Nikita Khrushchev came to Myanmar between 1 and 7 December 1955. They were wel­comed by thousands of people at Mingaladon Airport. During the reception, Prime Minister U Nu said,” the statement released on 3 November 1955 is a sign of way not only for gold and silver road (Myanmar term Shwelan Ngwelan) and but also for world peace. Such mediation is adopted by many countries now.”

 

During the visit of two Soviet leaders, they signed and released the Nu-Bulganin-Khrushchev declaration on 6 December 1955. It said: “The leaders believe that the peaceful co-existence can bring opportunities to cooperate in economic, cultural, scientific and technical fields. The two coun­tries also pledged to launch closer bilateral ties for these sectors.”

 

Luxury aeroplane

As a result of the trip, Prime Minister U Nu received an Aleu­tian luxury aeroplane and gifts. In January 1957, the Soviet Union and Myanmar signed an agree­ment to construct a technologi­cal institute, Inya Lake hotel and Sao San Tun Hospital in Taunggyi. The construction processes were started in 1961. Besides these buildings, Kyetmauktaung Dam was also constructed with the help of the Soviet Union in 1967.

 

Regarding these processes, Myanmar Foreign Office released a statement containing Soviet-My­anmar trade saying “the Soviet Union Government will assist in the development of Myanmar’s farming industry, construction of large-scale dams and factories. In exchange, Myanmar will have to send the rice supplies of equiva­lent value of materials, technolo­gies and manpower, but it will give for a long period if the country has not had enough rice.”

 

Closer relations

The trips made by Soviet and Myanmar leaders in 1955, the ties between the two coun­tries became closer. In 1964, an agreement on airline cooperation was made. Moreover, the Russian artistes went to Myanmar to ex­change culture in 1970 and the Russian sports team also played friendly matches with Myanmar football teams, according to the records.

 

In September 1965, Gener­al Nay Win visited Union Soviet Socialists Republics after being a Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and met with Soviet Lead­ers Leonid Brezhnev, Aleksey Ko­sygin and Anastas Mikoyan. In the 1970-1980s, they kept maintained Soviet-Myanmar diplomatic re­lations.

 

First Myanmar hydrogeolo­gist

According to the bilateral educational cooperation, the stu­dent exchange programmes were launched in 1972 and Myanmar students were sent to universities in Moscow.

 

During the 1970s, postgradu­ate students who studied Geolo­gy at Moscow University were U Maung Thynn, U Kyi, U Hote Moe and U Thein Win. Prof Dr Pyota Klimin of the university said: “U Maung Thin graduated from the University of Yangon majoring in Geology and arrived in Moscow to study groundwater flow. The paper he submitted is about re­search on hydrogeology, Geology in southern Myanmar. It is about the way to find groundwater in the tropical climate. U Maung Thynn might be the first hydrogeological geologist of Myanmar.”

 

1970 Soviet Cultural Arts Ex­hibition

Under bilateral cultural ex­change programmes, the Cultural Arts Exhibition of the Union Soviet Socialist Republics was organ­ized by the Ministry of Culture of Myanmar and the Soviet Gov­ernment on the first floor of the National Museum in Pansodan in Yangon between 19 to 27 Decem­ber 1970. The exhibition support­ed the mutual understating and relations between the people of Myanmar and the Soviet Union, said the Soviet ambassador to Myanmar.

 

Current Russia-Myanmar re­lation

Currently, the two countries maintain mutual relations and cooperate in economic, social and education sectors and the Russian Company Tyazhprom­export also participated in the construction of No 2 Steel Mill (Pinpet) near Taunggyi Township using Romelt’s unique Russian technology.

 

Moreover, military-technolog­ical cooperation is the fact that supports the relationship between Myanmar and Russia and the two countries keep stepping towards further cooperation in defence sectors.

 

Currently, Myanmar scholars have been sent to Russian uni­versities 15 years ago. By 2018, over 6,000 Myanmar students had reportedly obtained postgradu­ate degrees or PhD from Russian universities, and thousands of stu­dents are still studying at Russian universities so far.

 

In conclusion, the Myan­mar-Russia Diamond Jubilee Diplomatic ties initiated in 1948 will support the bilateral compre­hensive cooperation on a wide scale in building Myanmar as a peaceful and developed nation in the future.

 

Translated.