VLADIMIR PUTIN may frighten some countries, but Russia gives many South Africans a warm and fuzzy feeling. They remember support in decades past: during apartheid the Soviet Union provided military training and arms to the African National Congress (ANC), as well as to other liberation movements on the continent. Some surprisingly common South African first names—such as Soviet, Moscow and Lenin—are living tributes to these old ties. Sputnik Ratau, born shortly after the first satellite’s launch, is a spokesman for the water and sanitation department. A high school in KwaZulu-Natal is named after Eric Mtshali, a stalwart of the struggle who spent decades in exile and goes by the nickname “Stalin”.

Recently, Russia and South Africa have sought to renew these cold-war-era ties. The two countries are scrapping visa requirements from March 30th, allowing up to 90 days of trouble-free travel. South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, has already developed a taste for Russian holidays. In 2014, after a tiring election campaign, he took a six-day trip with his state security minister that included several days of “rest”. A few weeks later South Africa signed an agreement with Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company, to buy several nuclear-power stations. Though the deal appears to have stalled because of controversy over the 1 trillion-rand ($76bn) price tag, there has been other co-operation in intelligence and defence, with South African spies and air-force pilots said to have received Russian training. On March 6th communications officials from the two countries pledged to work on “collaborative media activities”.

The countries have grown closer within the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping, an economic club that has developed into a broader, more political alliance. For Mr Zuma, and for an anti-Western strain within the ANC, Russia and China offer an ideological alternative. Sanctions-hit Russia sees Africa as a source of political support and business opportunities. South Africa has laid out the welcome mat, inviting Mr Putin to visit this year.

Gerrit Olivier, a former South African ambassador to Russia, says visa-free travel symbolises this “special relationship”. But he doubts it will boost travel, since there are few South African-Russian business deals, and no direct air links. “Cultural incompatibility” is also a problem, he reckons. Perhaps this is the secret to the two countries’ friendship: personal interactions remain rare.