In 1987 The Sunday Times, quoting unnamed US intelligence officers, reported that the Soviet Union had landed 50 naval infantry troops in the Seychelles after making landfall on the Ivan Rogov in October 1986; a month after a foiled assassination attempt on René.[6]
Economic relations
Bilateral trade between Russia and the Seychelles in 2008 reached a total of US$6.23 million. Russia exported some US$4.54 million worth of goods and services to the Seychelles, including mineral oils, machinery and equipment. The Seychelles exports to Russia totalled US$1.69 million made up of fish, seafood and spices.[7]
In 1999 an agreement on co-operation in the field of tourism was concluded between the two nations, and in 2008 some 6,400 Russian tourists visited the Seychelles.[7] Burgeoning Russian tourism to the Seychelles led the Seychellois national airlineAir Seychelles to launch a weekly flight to Moscow'sVnukovo International Airport in March 2009, with the expectation of the addition of another weekly flight once its presence in the Russian market has been consolidated.[8]