Visa-free travel between Myanmar and Russia will begin on Jan. 27, according to a statement released by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. The total period of stay must not exceed 90 days during a calendar year, the statement added.
The agreement between the regime in Naypyidaw and Moscow was signed in Belarus’ capital Minsk on Oct. 28, according to a previous statement released on Jan. 19. Russia added that citizens of the two countries may visit for the purpose of tourism for up to 30 days per trip, but entry will not be permitted for permanent residence, study, or employment.
Regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia at least six times since he led a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 that ousted the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won back-to-back election landslide victories against the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Min Aung Hlaing’s military regime, which seized power during the 2021 coup, has organized an election in Myanmar that started on Dec. 28 and will end on Jan. 25. The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) has disbanded the NLD party and has kept its senior leaders in prison, including Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, over the last five years.
Regime media reported that Russia “supported” Myanmar by sending election observers to monitor the military-run polls during the previous two rounds of voting on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11.
Min Aung Hlaing’s previous visit to Moscow was to attend the World Atomic Week 2025 from Sept. 25-27. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Sept. 25.
On March 4, the Myanmar regime leader met in Moscow with the Chairperson of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin. He told Min Aung Hlaing that Russia’s federal assembly will “develop relations with the Myanmar parliament” once it is convened after the elections on Jan. 25.
Naypyidaw and Moscow signed a deal in March 2025 to build a “small-scale” nuclear power plant in Myanmar.
The two countries also signed an agreement in February 2025 to construct a port, an oil refinery, and a coal-fired thermal power plant, at the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which is located in the Tanintharyi Region capital.
