A new era in Russian-Cuban relations?

In late 2008 and early 2009 Dmitry Medvedev and Raúl Castro visited Havana and Moscow, respectively. Such high-ranking visits in such a short space of time were unprecedented as this had never taken place even while Soviet-Cuban relations were in existence, but did they herald a new era in the bilateral relationship? In order to answer this, the relationship between the countries in the period since the end of Soviet-Cuban relations will be examined. An analysis of the pressures which brought about both the downturn in the relationship in the years 1992 to 1994 and also its subsequent upturn will be conducted in order to ascertain the foundations of the relationship that evolved from the ashes of Soviet-Cuban relations. Some of these pressures are new while others have remained from the Soviet era. Remarkably some that had disappeared have reappeared, although at reduced levels, to once again impact on the relationship. The conclusion is that the succession to power of Medvedev and Raúl Castro has not signalled the beginning of a new era in the relationship but rather the continuation of the stage begun in the mid 1990s that has made the bilateral relationship once again important for both countries.