Spain and the Soviet Union during the final stage of the Cold War

This article analyses Spanish-Soviet relationships from 1977, when Spain's diplomatic relations with the USSR resumed, until the end of the Cold War. On the one hand, the reestablishment of diplomatic relations expanded the framework of bilateral agreements signed in different areas by both countries. On the other hand, Spain's joining NATO for good a few years later had a negative impact in the Soviet Union. The Soviet propaganda duly echoed this from a political perspective. Gorbachev's undertaking the General Secretariat of the CPSU in 1985, brought about important changes in the USSR with the implementation of Perestroika and a new foreign policy, novoe myslenie. The latter became the protagonist in Spain of the propaganda displayed by Spanish-Soviet friendship associations existing since 1979. These is due to the fact that they served as a showcase for the Soviet vision of international politics. They also displayed propaganda in line with social movements opposing Spain's permanence in NATO and, finally, gained international support for the process of changes taking place in the final stages of the cold war.