Past relations with Imperial Russia were sometimes strained. In the nineteenth century the Russian Empire was seen as a threat to the British Empire, of which New Zealand was a loyal member. Coastal fortifications were constructed in the 1870s and 1880s because of the perceived threat, and an Auckland newspaper produced a sensation in 1873 by running a hoax story of an attack by a Russian warship called the Kaskowiski on Auckland and on a British ship in Auckland Harbour.[1][2]
Soviet Union
Walter Nash and Nikita Khrushchev, April 1960
In the twentieth century, relations continued to be mixed as Soviet politics were seen as subversive, with election cartoons showing sinister Bolshevik agents from the 1920s on. The influence of the local left-wing in trade unions was a theme of Robert Muldoon, the Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984. National won the 1975 election, helped by a television advertisement and the implication that Labour's proposed Superannuation scheme would lead to state control. In 1980 New Zealand sent a small rump team to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, although the government persuaded most local sporting bodies to join the boycott in protest of the Soviet–Afghan War.
Muldoon avoided any interference with trading relations; Gerald Hensley recalls that in 1979 the Soviet ambassador to New Zealand (Sofinsky): "broke a prime rule of the diplomatic game and in the absence of his KGB man .... handed over a subsidy to the Soviet-aligned Socialist Unity Party .... and was caught by our security service" and so was to be expelled. But Hensley was sent to London to check, as: "New Zealand sold large quantities of mutton (which few others would buy) and butter to the state trading corporations in Moscow and the Prime Minister wanted to take further advice on the risks to our trade." The British Foreign Office view was that "if we expelled Sofinsky the Russians would expel our ambassador but there the matter would rest unless we wished to take it further. It would take stronger measures than this to lead Moscow to imperil its purchases of food."[3] Similarly an order for rolling stock (New Zealand EM class electric multiple unit) for the government-owned railways was placed with Hungary rather than Japan for balance-of-trade reasons. Additionally, Lada motor vehicles were widely distributed in New Zealand in the 1980s by the Dairy Board (now Fonterra).[4]
Russian Federation
After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, bilateral trade between New Zealand and the Russian Federation slumped dramatically, but picked up again later in the decade.[5]
In response to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, New Zealand Minister of Foreign AffairsNanaia Mahuta criticised the Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border and supported Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In addition, Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern warned that New Zealand was considering applying targeted sanctions against Russia.[12] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ardern condemned Russia's invasion and called on Moscow to withdraw from Ukraine. In addition, NZ suspended high-level diplomatic contacts with Russia and introduced travel bans and export controls.[13]
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the opposition National Party called for the expulsion of the Russian Ambassador and for the introduction of autonomous sanctions legislation. National also called for the Government to introduce a special humanitarian visa for Ukrainian refugees while the Greens called for the Government to offer expedited visas for relatives of Ukrainians residing in New Zealand and to take in 2,000 Ukrainian refugees.[14] The Russian invasion of Ukraine also led to reports of bullying and intimidation against New Zealanders of Russian descent including the vandalism of a Russian Orthodox Church and Christchurch business, children being bullied, and a Russian singer having shows being canceled.[15][16] In response, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon stated that Ukrainians and Russians living in New Zealand were "feeling the pain of what's happening with the war in Ukraine" and urged different communities "to be considerate, to be respectful and to be kind."[15]
On 7 March, Ardern announced that the Government would be introducing a new Russia Sanctions Act 2022 to enable New Zealand to impose sanctions against Russia outside of the United Nations framework. Key provisions include freezing assets based in New Zealand; preventing people and companies from moving their money and assets to NZ in order to escape foreign sanctions; banning super yachts, ships and aircraft from entering New Zealand waters and airspace, and imposing a travel ban on 100 senior Russian officials. Ardern also indicated that this proposed bill would allow sanctions to be imposed on other states complicit with Russian aggression against Ukraine including Belarus.[17][18]
On 7 March, the Russian state news agency Tass reported that the Russian Government had included New Zealand within a list of foreign states and territories that committed "unfriendly actions" against Russia, Russian companies, and Russian citizens.[19][20] On 9 March, the Russian Sanctions Act passed into law with unanimous support in the New Zealand Parliament.[21][22] On 28 March, the New Zealand Defence Force dispatched nine intelligence analysts to assist British and Belgian intelligence gathering work relating to the war in Ukraine.[23]
In early April 2022, New Zealand imposed a 35% tariff on all imports from Russia and further restricted industrial exports to Russia. These actions fall within the framework of the Russia Sanctions Act.[24][25] On 8 April, the Russian Government banned 130 New Zealand political figures, defence and intelligence officials from entering Russia including Ardern, all 120 Members of Parliament, Governor-GeneralCindy Kiro, New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) Director-General Rebecca Kitteridge, and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Chief Air Marshal Kevin Short. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Wellington of pursuing a Russophobic foreign policy in the service of other Western powers.[26][27] In mid-April, New Zealand dispatched a C-130 Hercules aircraft and 58 military personnel to Europe to assist with logistics and transportation in Ukraine.[28]
On 30 June 2022, Mahuta and Attorney-GeneralDavid Parker confirmed that New Zealand would support Ukraine's case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) contesting Russia's claim that it had invaded Ukraine in response to alleged Ukrainian genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. This marked New Zealand's second international legal intervention in support of another country at the ICJ. In 2012, New Zealand had supported Australia's case against Japanese whaling at the ICJ.[29]
On 28 February 2024, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced a farther tranch of sanctions against Russia including the G7's price cap on Russian oil imports, prohibiting the export of restricted items to Russia and Belarus via third countries and designating 61 companies and individuals for evading sanctions.[30]
Russian communities in New Zealand
The earliest Russian immigrants settled in New Zealand around the 1870s. Currently, there are about 15,000 ethnic Russians living in New Zealand.[31]
There is a Russian school in Central Auckland that runs on Saturdays for the Russian community. Children can start from 3 years old and learn Russian, Math, History, Karate and other subjects.[32]
Local Russians can enjoy Russian cuisine in a specialized shop called Skazka.[33]
The newspaper Nasha Gavan keeps Russian updated about local news.[34]
A bilingual Russian-English periodical New Zealand Russian monthly was published from 1995 to 2003.[35][better source needed]
Trade and economic relations
Ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said in 2016 he wants to revive trade negotiations with Russia. Peters told reporters that New Zealand should be trading more with Russia, which was the world's number two dairy importer and was set to become the world's number two beef importer. In 2016, Russia imported $24.6 million worth of New Zealand red meat, the majority of it beef livers ($9.5m), chilled beef ($1.9m), beef hearts ($1.6m) and frozen beef ($1.4m).[36]
New Zealand the Soviet Union and Change: the papers of the Twenty-Fourth Foreign Policy School 1989 edited by Ralph H. C. Hayburn (University of Otago, Dunedin, 1990) ISBN0-908773-10-2
New Zealand and the Soviet Union 1950-1991: A Brittle Relationship by A. C. Wilson (Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2004) ISBN0-86473-476-X
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