ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE USSR AND THE FRANCOIST SPAIN IN THE 1960-S

Abstract

Relations between Spain and the Soviet Union in the XX century had periods of rapid development and quick decline. During the civil war in Spain the ties intensified unprecedentedly, but the rule of Francisco Franco was marked by the transformation of the two states into ideological and political opponents. The period of World War II can be considered as the lowest point in the relationship, when Spanish volunteers fought in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. The situation did not improve after the war, when the Soviet Union proposed the most stringent measures to influence the Franco regime. Nevertheless, since the second half of the 1950s, when both regimes experienced a period of relative liberalization, direct channels of communication, primarily economic, have begun to appear. Together with symbolic steps that the sides exchanged, the development of economic relations contributed significantly to the change. The Soviet Union supplied aluminum, cellu-lose and tractors, Spain exported agricultural products and copper. Since the middle of the 1960s, the range of goods has become more diverse: in Soviet deliveries, oil and oil products have played an increasing role, and Spain has provided more and more consumer goods. In the second half of the 1960s a new sphere has opened for the trade relations between Madrid and Moscow - fishing. Active development of the fishing industry in the USSR required new fishing areas, and the Spanish ports were convenient for basing Soviet fishing vessels. In the end of the decade, the sides signed a number of bilateral treaties regulating the mutual use of coastal infrastruc-ture. Economic ties between the USSR and the francoist Spain began to pave the way for establishing normal relations between the two countries.