ROLE OF JOINT VENTURE “SOVHISPAN” IN NORMALIZATION OF THE SOVIET-SPANISH BILATERAL RELATIONS

The object of this research is to support the statement about the prevalence of the economic interest over the political ones, taking as an example the reestablishment of the Soviet-Spanish bilateral relations. The historical context of the creation of the Soviet-Spanish joint venture “Sovhispan”is highlighted as the final outcome of the secret negotiations and previous business practices between Spain and the Soviet Union in the late 1960s. The Soviet-Spanish economic relations started ten years before their normalization in 1977, the Canary Islandsbeing one of the places of their development. The principal conclusions of the research are: the geostrategic position of Spain was appreciated by the USA, via installation of the military bases on the mainland, and the USSR, using the Canary Islands as an operational base for the Soviet Fishing Fleet. “Sovrybflot”, an internal structure of the Ministry of Fisheries of the USSR, managed the overseas activity of the Soviet Fishing fleet abroad. Thus, the arrival of avast Soviet fishing fleet in the Canary Islands and the creation of the joint venture “Sovhispan” was a result of its work. “Sovhispan” was a “bridge” in the normalization of the Soviet-Spanish bilateral relations, and bankrupted with the dissolution of the USSR.

joint venture, Soviet fishing industry and fleet, Soviet foreign policy, Soviet-Spanish bilateral relations, Sovhispan, Sovrybflot