Russia – Morocco: the History of Relations

The collection is dedicated to the history of relations between Russia and Morocco, which began in the last third of the 18th century, but started to develop most actively at the end of the 19th century and in the second half of the 20th century.

In 1897, a Russian consulate was opened in Tangier, and relations between the two countries acquired an official diplomatic status, as reflected in the corresponding archive file stored in the RGIA's Department of Laws of the State Council.

In 1901, Sultan Moulay Abd al-Aziz of Morocco sent an extraordinary diplomatic mission to Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. Information about this visit is available in archival documents from the collection.

V. R. Baherakht served as the first General Consul of the Russian Empire (1851–1916). P. S. Botkin later held the same position (1865–1933). More information about his activities is available through his letters and telegrams to Prince Vladimir Orlov.

Due to the increasing influence of France in Morocco in 1910, the Russian consulate general in Tangier was converted into a diplomatic mission. However, in 1913, a reorganized Russian representative office in Morocco was re-established.

The collection also includes a vast array of documents describing the international situation in Morocco before and during the Second World War. These documents are presented under the heading Morocco on the Eve and During the Second World War. This section mainly consists of communications and coded telegrams from Soviet diplomats related to the occupation of French Morocco in 1942 and the Casablanca Conference in 1943.

In 1956, Morocco gained its independence, and the Soviet Union was the first country to officially recognize this. On June 11th, 1956, the government of the USSR expressed its willingness to establish diplomatic relations with Morocco.

Then, in 1978, the Prime Minister of Morocco A. Osman visited the Soviet Union, during which a long-term agreement was signed regarding the Soviet Union's participation in the development of a phosphate deposit in Mescal and a protocol for the exchange of goods over a 30-year period was agreed upon.

Currently, diplomatic and economic relations between the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Morocco are actively developing. Documents on bilateral cooperation between the states at this stage are available in the State Relations since 1991 section.

Friendly relations between the two countries not only strengthen economic cooperation, but also share similar views on various foreign policy issues. Cultural events also play a significant role in uniting the countries.

The Presidential Library's collection includes digital copies of official documents, archival materials, research, reference and periodicals, as well as albums, photographs, and maps from the collections of various institutions, such as the Presidential Library itself, the Russian State Historical Archive, State Archive of the Russian Federation, Archive of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, Russian State Military Archive, Archives of the Foreign Policy, Main Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography under the Ministry of Defense, St. Petersburg State University, Krupskaya Central Naval Library, Moscow Regional State Library, Pushkin Tomsk Regional Library and Russian Geographical Society. Additionally, the collection includes works by the State Nadezhdina Academic Choreographic Ensemble Berezka, as well as materials posted on the portal of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in private collections.