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Malaysia–Russia relations (Russian: Российско-малазийские отношения; Malay Hubungan Malaysia–Rusia) refers to bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Malaysia and Russia. Russia has an Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (from April 1968), and Malaysia has an embassy in Moscow (from November 1968).
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Diplomatic ties
The Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with Malaysia on 3 April 1967, and the Trade Agreement was signed. In November 1967 the Soviet Trade Representation was established. In 1970, the first group of Soviet students came to study Malay at the University of Malaya, among them Tatiana Dorofeeva, Tamara Reshetova, Victor Pogadaev, Anatoly Voronkov. On 4 October 1972, the Agreement on Economic and Technology Cooperation was signed.
Ties between the two suffered when Malaysia declared its support for Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion throughout the 1980s. However, relations between Moscow and Kuala Lumpur recovered following the conflict's end, and both countries have since put aside historical disputes and worked to repair diplomatic, economic, and military ties.
Since Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, relations between Russia and Malaysia have improved significantly. Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad met Gorbachev several times. In 2002, Mahathir made his visit to Moscow. He stated that Russia could be a rival to the United States and Israel and he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and his opposition to Western interference in other sovereign states.
Space exploration
On 19 May 2007, Jamaluddin Jarjis of Malaysia's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation announced the first Malaysian astronaut undergoing training in Moscow, Russia along with Faiz Khaleed. These astronauts brought along cancer cells, bacteria and protein for studies in space.
In 2007, Malaysia and Russia sent the first Malaysian to the International Space Station, as part of the Angkasawan program for the Malaysian National Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). It was a project under the government-to-government offset agreement through the purchase of Sukhoi Su-30MKM multirole fighter aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. It was a success, as Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor became the first in space.