Russian-Venezuelan relations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The perspective of Russia's superpower interests

Abstract

Background: The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumentalised on several occasions by powers that have seen a new sphere for realising their interests. One such power is the Russian Federation. The article aims to explain the importance of close relations with Venezuela for Russia's strategic objectives in expanding its political power in the Latin American region in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the research objective, the authors focused on answering the following research questions: How has the political crisis in Venezuela affected the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? Why and how does Russia consistently support the regime of Nicolás Maduro in times of a pandemic crisis? The article's research hypothesis is that Russia used the new conditions of superpower policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen its influence on Venezuela's domestic politics to secure the realisation of its superpower interests. Methods: The authors used content analysis of media broadcasts, statements by politicians, and literature on the subject (in English, Russian and Spanish). In addition, the re-analysis of quantitative data made it possible, for example, to characterise the economic level of the relations. The main part of the research was completed in November 2021. The article uses methods characteristic of international relations research, including the method of decision analysis. Results: The results of the research confirm that Moscow’s activity in Latin America should be interpreted as one of the manifestations of the reactivity of Russian geostrategy, i.e. a response to U.S. actions in the post-Soviet area. Conclusions: In this context, Caracas has a special position in Russia’s policy as a key regional partner in energy cooperation and a market for the sale of military technologies. The research was conducted on 13 March 2020 and ended before 24 February 2022.