There were times, in the mid-to-late 20th century, when the Soviet Union was deeply engaged with Africa. It not only welcomed decolonisation but actively promoted it and supported national liberation movements from Algeria to Angola and from Guinea-Bissau to Zimbabwe. It assisted newly independent nations economically, helping them build factories, hospitals and schools. A number of African countries became Moscow’s political allies and received arms and advisers to strengthen their security.
Having long since recovered from the collapse of the USSR, today’s Russia is once again turning its attention to the African continent. Both Africa and Russia, however, are very different from what they were sixty or seventy years ago. Russia’s interest in Africa is largely an expression of its comeback as a world power. It also reflects Moscow’s recognition of African countries’ rapid economic and demographic growth, and their potential as an important component of the 21st-century multipolar world order, which encompasses not just states but civilisations.
Russia, however, is not looking to impose an ideology on its partners because it has no ideology to export in the first place. Nor does it go to Africa primarily in search of natural resources, which it possesses in abundance within its own borders. Russia does not need military bases in Africa as part of its grand strategy, which remains firmly focused on its own neighbourhood in Eurasia. Rather, it sees Africa as part of what it calls the Global Majority, the part of the world where it has partners with whom to cooperate, as opposed to the West, which has shut itself off from Russia.
What Russia has to offer could be of considerable interest to Africans, given that Russia is among the world’s major producers of energy and food. Over the decades, it has built a reputation as a significant supplier of both, and neither global energy nor food security can be assured without Russia’s participation in international markets. Disruptions in these markets have been exacerbated by Western sanctions and other geopolitical tensions. One of Moscow’s major projects is the North-South Transport Corridor, which would link Russia, the world’s fourth-largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, with India, the third-largest, via Iran. Once fully operational, this corridor could also provide Russia with a gateway to East Africa through wider trade and transport networks.
Russia has already established itself as a security partner for African countries facing serious challenges. Under the banner of the Africa Corps, Russian military advisers and specialists are working in several West African countries belonging to the Alliance of Sahel States — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — as well as in the Central African Republic. These governments have sought Russian assistance as they confront insurgencies and other security threats. Moscow argues that such cooperation is essential to upholding the sovereignty of nations that have requested it, although the long-term effectiveness of foreign military assistance remains a subject of debate.
Russia, of course, is much more than a military power. Among other things, it is a leader in digitalisation. Moscow is one of the world’s most advanced capitals in this field, and Russia is ready to share its expertise in establishing and improving electronic government services. Since Soviet times, Russian scientists have conducted pioneering research into deadly viruses and vaccines to combat them. A vaccine against Ebola was developed by the Russian research institute Vector in Siberia and registered in 2019, while the Sputnik V vaccine, developed against COVID-19, became part of Russia’s response to the pandemic.
In 1960, Peoples’ Friendship University was founded in Moscow for international students. The following year, it was named after Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent Congo, formerly Belgian Congo. Today, thousands of young Africans study at Russian universities, mostly majoring in medicine, energy and engineering — fields in which Russian universities have historically been particularly strong. Such educational cooperation can help African countries train professionals needed to support industrialisation, healthcare and technological development.
To date, three African countries — South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia — are full members of the expanded BRICS grouping. This platform offers a forum for cooperation on economic, financial, environmental, educational and other global issues. Its emphasis on consultation and consensus provides African countries with another avenue to advocate for a greater role in global governance. Russia, which helped initiate the formation of BRICS, works to ensure that the group remains true to its founding principles, although its practical benefits depend on the ability of members to translate agreements into tangible results.
Russia has never been a colonial power in Africa and has never attempted to plunder the continent’s resources through colonial rule. It regards Africans as partners and African civilisation as an equal in the emerging world order. However, the strength of this partnership will ultimately depend on the practical benefits it delivers to African countries, including investment, technology transfer, jobs and sustainable development.
The Third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow offers an opportunity to bring the two sides closer and strengthen cooperation across trade, education, healthcare, energy and security. For African countries seeking to diversify their international partnerships, engagement with Russia provides another avenue to pursue their development priorities and strengthen their position in an increasingly multipolar world.
Written By :Dmitry Trenin –President of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is also a research professor at the Higher School of Economics.[First Published on RT News-Russia]
