Based on documents from the Archive of foreign policy of the Russian Federation, the article examines the history of establishment and development of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Kenya from the late 1950s to 1966. It shows the initially friendly nature of the Soviet-Kenyan relations and possible prospects for their development. The reasons for the sharp change in the Soviet-Kenyan relations in the second half of the 1960s, in particular-a major change in the political course of the leadership of Kenya are examined.