Pakistan and Russia have had uneasy relations in the past. The Cold War period divisions can be attributed to the distant relationship between Pakistan and Russia, formerly the Soviet Union. The worst period in their relationship started soon after the Cold War became more intense in South Asia and Afghanistan became a battleground for proxy wars between the then Soviet Union and the United States of America. However, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the changing dynamics in the region, Pakistan and Russia have been trying to open a new chapter in their bilateral relations. In the recent past, both the countries have reevaluated their bilateral relations in the light of the changing geopolitical realities. The historical paradigm, which was nonetheless hostile and made them view each other through the prism of the divisions of the Cold War era, has now been left behind. Pakistan and Russia have both taken a pro-active approach to take the relationship forward and look for realizing the potential in economic and military cooperation.
