Czechoslovakia recognized the Soviet Union de jure and the countries established diplomatic relations in June 1934.

[2] Following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of the pro-German Slovak state in March 1939, the Soviet Union promptly recognized the new status quo and terminated diplomatic relations with Czech representatives.

Shortly after the Munich Agreement, many Czechoslovak Communists gained asylum in the Soviet Union, however hundreds of non-communist refugees were sent to labour camps.

[3] Following World War II pre-war Czechoslovakia was re-established, with the exception of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which was annexed by the Soviet Union, which then evicted over 2 million ethnic Germans and confiscated their property before moving communists from other countries into this territory to repopulate it, including Greeks.

In August 1968, in response to the Prague Spring pro-democracy reforms of the Czech government, the Soviet-led invasion re-established the hardline Communist rule by force.

[4] The independent Czech Republic re-aligned its foreign policy and economic interests with Western allies throughout the 1990's, and joined NATO in march 1999 and the European Union in May 2004.

In December 2011, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev visited Prague, to sign economic contracts and cultural exchange.

As a response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine from 2014, the Czech Republic has participated in enacting economic sanctions against Russia.

In March 2018, the Czech Republic expelled three Russian diplomats as a reaction to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the United Kingdom.

[12] In the wake of the expulsion, Bloomberg News commented that "in a rare act of unity, Zeman took the government’s side against Putin".

[23] In 2024, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský summoned Russia's ambassador in Prague following an attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv, saying those who carried out the strike were the "dregs of humanity".

[37] While economic relations were good prior to the 2014 sanctions, and the Czech Republic is a common tourist destination for Russians, the Czech people themselves tend to be distrustful of Russia due to the Soviet invasion of 1968, and tend to hold a negative opinion of Russians as a legacy of Soviet-era conflicts.

[40] The report also stated that "intelligence services of the Russian Federation operating on Czech territory organize media campaigns and other activities supporting Russian interests" and that the Czech Republic has been targeted by Russia due to its membership in NATO and the EU reflecting Russia's interests to acquire information about the functioning of these institutions.

[48] Russian information war focuses on spreading misinformation about the EU and NATO, trying to change public perception of Russia and bribing local politicians.

[44] Czech officials estimate that the Russian government is behind approximately 40 Czech-language websites presenting radical views, conspiracy theories and inaccurate reports.