This article addresses the insufficiently studied problem of scientific interactions between the Soviet Union and Portugal during the period of the Estado Novo. Drawing on materials from Russian and foreign archives, as well as published sources, it reconstructs the scientific trips of Soviet scholars to Portugal from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The study demonstrates that the first such visits took place in the autumn of 1953 and were closely linked to a rapid shift in the direction of Soviet scientific policy. At the same time, it establishes that these trips were exceptional in nature and were almost exclusively associated with the participation of Soviet scholars in major international scientific congresses and conferences held in Portugal. The Salazar regime continued to view any actions by Moscow with suspicion and caution, interpreting them as potentially politically motivated. It is shown that participation in scientific travel to Portugal primarily involved representatives of the natural, medical, and technical sciences, whereas contacts in the humanities remained extremely limited. The article examines in detail the organizational difficulties associated with these trips, caused by the absence of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Portugal, complex visa procedures and travel logistics, and bureaucratic delays. An analysis of Soviet scholars’ travel reports makes it possible to identify not only their perceptions of Portuguese scientific institutions and research infrastructure, but also the everyday realities of Portuguese society as recorded in these accounts. The article concludes that scientific contacts with Portugal functioned as a specific indicator of the transformation of Soviet scientific policy during the period of the Khrushchev Thaw, reflecting a gradual restoration of international professional ties while significant political and administrative constraints persisted. Even where political will and scientific interest were present, a research trip to Portugal remained an atypical undertaking for the Soviet system, requiring ad hoc and highly individualized decisions.
USSR; Portugal; international scientific relations; international scientific congresses; knowledge transfer; foreign scientific travel; Soviet-Portuguese relations.