Bolivia established diplomatic relations with the USSR on April 18, 1945. The two countries opened embassies in each other's capitals in 1969.
Russian and Bolivian views coincide on several key international issues. The countries' leaders are in communication and maintain political dialogue.
In the course of his official visit to Venezuela in November 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met briefly with Bolivian President Evo Morales at the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) summit. On February 16, 2009, Morales made an official visit to Russia at Medvedev's invitation. It was the first time that a Bolivian president had visited Russia since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Russia and Bolivia continue to maintain high-level political ties. On October 16 and 17, 2009, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev visited Bolivia to take part in the Seventh ALBA summit. The two countries' ministries of foreign affairs regularly hold consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers. The last round of consultations took place in Moscow in May 2009.
The Russian State Duma has a group of MPs in charge of relations with the parliaments of Bolivia, Peru and Chile. Seeking to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations with Bolivia's new legislative body, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the Russian Federation Council has confirmed its readiness to receive a delegation of Bolivian senators in 2010.
Russian-Bolivian agreements include the 1996 Treaty on the Basic Principles of Relations Between the Countries, the 1990 Agreement on Holding Regular Political Consultations, the 1995 Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation, the 1996 Agreement on Combatting Illegal Drug Trafficking, the 1997 Agreement on Introducing Visa-Free Regulations for the Holders of Diplomatic, Official and Service Passports, the 1999 Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism, the 2002 Agreement on Providing Support for Businesses, the 2009 Inter-Governmental Agreement on Military and Technical Cooperation, as well as other agreements.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, trade between Russia and Bolivia reached $6 million in 2009, up from $5.5 million in 2008. This trade included $265,000 in Russian exports to Bolivia (down from $642,500 in 2008, mostly fabricated metals and fertilizers) and $5.6 million in imports from Bolivia (up from $4.8 million in 2008, mostly oilseeds, nuts, coffee and several varieties of fruit).
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development has been looking for ways to revitalise the Inter-governmental Commission for Trade and Economic Development.
In February 2007, Gazprom and the Bolivian State Oil and Gas Company (YPFB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration, production and refining.
In September 2008 Gazprom, YPFB and the French company Total signed a deal allowing for the joint exploration of several oil and gas fields in Bolivia. The Russian Ministry of Energy and the Bolivian Ministry of Oil and Gas Resources also signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation regarding natural gas. In 2009, Gazprom and YPFB agreed to work together to prepare development strategy guidelines for the Bolivian natural gas industry (through VNIIGAZ, the Russian national natural gas research company).