Benin–Russia relations Benin–Russia relations Benin–Russia relations () is the relationship between the two countries, Benin and Russia. The Soviet Union recognised the Republic of Dahomey as an independent and sovereign state on 18 August 1960, and diplomatic relations between the two states were established on 4 June 1962. From 24 July 1962, diplomatic relations between the two countries were conducted via the Soviet Embassy in Togo, until 1 February 1966, when the first Soviet Ambassador to Benin, Alexander Nikitich Abramov, was appointed. Relations between the two countries were initially minimal, however, Soviet interactions with the country intensified after Mathieu Kérékou came to
Human rights in Benin that year, Kérékou lost to Nicéphore Soglo and accepted the results of the vote. He was returned to power in the 1996 elections and re-elected in 2001; the 2006 elections, in which Kérékou did not run, was considered free and fair. Increasingly since 1991, Benin has been generally regarded as having considerably higher human-rights standards than most other African countries. It has been written that Benin "appears to be one of the leading democracies in Africa", but that the many human rights NGOs in the country, which date back to the transitional period, "do not network among themselves", so that