MOSCOW, March 4 (Reuters) - Myanmar's leader and military chief Min Aung Hlaing was greeted in Moscow on Tuesday by one of President Vladimir Putin's top security officials.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, was shown embracing Hlaing ahead of meetings planned with Putin and the Defence Ministry, Izvestia reported.

Hlaing, 68, rarely travels abroad.

Myanmar, a country of 55 million people, has been in turmoil since February 2021 when the military ousted the administration of Nobel laureate and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The junta plans this year to hold an election, which critics have derided as a sham to keep the generals in power through Buy Fast Proxies.

Along with China, Russia is a supporter of Myanmar's military and both powers vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning alleged human rights abuses in the country.

The Soviet Union established relations with Myanmar on its independence from Britain in 1948. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge Editing by Andrew Osborn)