On March 19 and 20 this year, the Second International Parliamentary Conference “Russia-Africa” was held in the Russian Duma. The conference was attended by more than 40 parliamentary delegations from the vast majority of African countries.
The importance of the event is indicated by the fact that Vladimir Putin himself addressed the participants during the plenary session “Russia-Africa in a multipolar world”, which took place on the second day of the conference. “I would like to point out that our country has always given and will give priority to cooperation with African countries. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the unchanging priorities of Russian foreign policy… Our country is determined to continue building a full strategic partnership with our African friends and we are ready to shape the global agenda together,” said the Russian president.
Russia and African countries – “equal allies and partners”
Putin pointed out that Russia “defends traditional moral values” by “resisting the neo-colonial ideology imposed from outside”. He promised to supply grain to “the most needy countries in Africa” if the important agreement on the export of Ukrainian grains is not renewed, and emphasized that Russia intends to improve cooperation with Africa in the fields of energy, medicine and education (increasing the number of African students at Russian universities).
“Today, the African continent plays an important role in solving global and regional problems. And that role will only increase”, said the President of the Russian Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and added that Russia and African countries are “equal allies and partners”. According to Volodin, Washington and Brussels are trying to take control of Russian and African natural resources. “Actually, they are still running a colonial policy. They take all measures, including violent and terrorist, for their own benefit.”
The next Russian-African summit, the second in a row, is scheduled to take place from July 26 to 29 in St. Petersburg. At the first summit in Sochi in October 2019, Putin was pleased because he “opened a new page” in relations with Africa, a continent from which Russia largely withdrew after the collapse of the USSR. The summit was attended by representatives of 54 African countries, including 43 heads of state. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hosted alongside Putin. In the joint statement adopted at the end of the summit, they specifically condemned “political dictation and monetary blackmail”. A total of 92 bilateral agreements were signed between Moscow and African countries.
Reorientation of Russian foreign policy
Since the deepening of the Ukrainian crisis in 2022 definitely “burned the bridges” between Russia and the West, Moscow was forced to reorient its foreign policy by 180 degrees. This perfectly illustrates the concept of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was published on March 31. The document explains that the United States and its Western partners are conducting “a new type of hybrid war … aimed at weakening Russia in every possible way.” As a consequence, Russia seeks to expand “constructive” relations elsewhere, taking advantage of the more fluid, multipolar global situation.
Simply put, Russian policymakers do not expect their relations with the West to improve anytime soon, so they are actively looking for new partners to avoid political and economic isolation. Along with the omnipresent orientation towards the BRICS countries (primarily China), Moscow is increasingly oriented towards Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania, where many countries have not even formally condemned the Russian invasion, let alone imposed sanctions. Russian geostrategists want to present their country as a desirable alternative to Western neo-colonial powers in an area that was once popularly called the Third World. And they are quite successful in that. While on the African continent, American influence is weakening, Russia is winning victory after victory on the diplomatic, economic and even military level.
Russian conquest of Africa under the banner of socialism
Russian ties with Africa have a long and layered history and reached their peak during the Cold War. At that time, the Soviet Union supported revolutionary anti-colonial national liberation (often communist and socialist) movements against Washington, which supported repressive (colonial) dictatorships such as the apartheid regime in South Africa. Thus, in Africa and elsewhere in the Third World, the paradox occurred that the United States, which was founded on the ideas of the Enlightenment, liberalism and freedom, supported repressive dictatorships, and the repressive communist USSR supported liberating democratic movements. However, foreign policy is full of paradoxes. During the Cold War, Russia played the card of the powerful communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism in Africa and used that leverage perfectly.
During apartheid in South Africa, Moscow financed and militarily trained the national liberation movement, which after democratic changes in 1994 became the ruling party – the African National Congress (ANC). In Zimbabwe, the Russians supported the African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) when it fought the Rhodesian government from the 1960s until liberation in 1980. In Angola, Moscow provided military support to the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) from the 1960s until gaining independence from Portugal in 1975. At a certain point, socialist states and at the same time Russian allies were significant countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Angola, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mozambique. However, after the collapse of the USSR, communist ideas lost their previous seductiveness, and Russia lost its geopolitical power and influence in many parts of the world, including in Africa.
Russian discovery of Africa 2.0
However, in the 21st century, and especially in the last ten years, Russia is rediscovering the charms and opportunities that Africa offers, and they are by no means small. On the contrary, the potential of Russian-African cooperation is great. Unlike the reliance on ideology during the USSR, the contemporary Russian Federation plays the cards of realpolitik and pragmatism in relation to Africa. Russia as a superpower shows its power in one way or another in all corners of the world, including in Africa. The Continent is an area where the influence of the USA and the EU has been rapidly declining in recent decades, and powers such as China are taking over the primacy. In their attitude towards Africa, the Russians are not guided by passion or spite, but by a thoughtful attitude based on analysis and calculations.
Russian moves on the African continent in recent years are an indication of Russian ambitions. Through classical diplomacy, the promotion of pan-African political ideas, trade (especially arms sales) and the deployment of the Russian private military company Wagner, Moscow is strengthening its partners in the region and undermining the influence of the West. Russia has positioned itself as an alternative and direct competitor to the West in the field of security cooperation, energy and mining. This year, the second Russian-African summit and the BRICS summit in South Africa will further strengthen Russian penetration on the continent.
Multipolarity – the driving fuel of Russia’s African policy
Russia’s African policy is driven by the concept of multipolarity, which seeks to create an equal world order and represents an alternative to the decadent Western concept of unipolarity led by the world’s policeman – the USA. In the Russian but also in the Chinese, Brazilian or Indian concept of multipolarity, all states (including African ones) would have the right to vote in the international arena. Such a multipolar order would provide an opportunity for substantive progress in Africa and the resolution of pressing problems there that have not been resolved for centuries, such as poverty, disease and overcrowding. In Russian political and academic circles, Africa has the status of an emerging geopolitical pole without which the multipolar order cannot exist. This is logical since Africa is home to 1.4 billion (mostly young) people.
Although Africa should be an independent geopolitical pole, in order to become one, it needs Russian assistance. Interestingly, Russian policymakers rely on two approaches: continental coverage of the entire continent and pan-Africanism. Both approaches are related. At Russian-African summits and conferences, representatives of all African countries are regularly invited, regardless of the political structure and political orientation of the ruling elites. Russians see Africans as a community that is not divided along ethnic, racial or religious lines. Russia’s approach to African affairs helps Moscow show that it has global power because few can bring representatives of various African countries to the same table.
Pan-Africanism – an important component of multipolarity
Pan-Africanism builds on this because it is a movement that seeks to foster brotherhood and encourage cooperation among all people of African descent, whether they reside within or outside of Africa. Pan-Africanism originates from the time of the struggle of African peoples against enslavement and colonization. Pan-African intellectual, cultural and political movements tend to view all Africans and the descendants of Africans as members of one race possessing the same cultural identity. At their instigation, the Organization of African Unity was founded in 1963, and in 2001 it was replaced by the African Union, with which Russia has good relations globally. Of the 35 countries that abstained from voting on the March 2022 UN General Assembly resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were as many as 17 African countries (including South Africa). “We don’t want to get involved in this conflict, very clearly, we want peace,” said Senegalese President Macky Sall, then chairman of the African Union (AU).
The policy of Pan-Africanism is actively supported by Russian embassies in the field. For example in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the end of March, the Russian embassy held an event on Africa as the pole of the world, to which it invited members of parliament and local political activists. Pan-African activists who cooperate with the Russians present ideas that please Russian ears, such as the separation of the black population from the West and opposition to globalization, and a spiritual, and sometimes physical, return to their old homeland of Africa. Activists fighting for the unification of African nations see Russia as a key partner in helping to create a multipolar world to reduce Western hegemony. Some pan-African activists even openly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called Volodymyr Zelensky a “puppet”, although they pointed out that Africans will not accept new colonizers, whether they come from the West or the East.
Diplomatic and military offensive
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov particularly cherishes ties with Africa. He visited the continent in the middle of last year and twice this year. During his African tours, Lavrov met with the leaders of Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Eritrea, South Africa, Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, etc. Undoubtedly, he managed to diplomatically charm African leaders. There are 38 Russian diplomatic offices in Africa. Many African countries cooperate with key Russian allies such as China, India, North Korea. For example Zimbabwe, which has had cold relations with the West since former President Robert Mugabe made a decision to redistribute land to the black majority, hosted Russia’s ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in January.
Russian military influence is penetrating many parts of Africa, including Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali, Libya, Mozambique. In those countries, the Wagner group, a private army linked to the Russian government, is involved in the fighting as some Western military forces, such as the French army in the Sahel, withdraw. In almost every case, following the Syrian model, the Russians supported a beleaguered government facing armed enemies in a geographically important country with mineral or energy riches. The Russians most often send automatic rifles, snipers, Mig-29 and Su-24 fighter jets, SA-22 surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft defense systems to their allies in the region.
Economic cooperation
In recent years, Russia has opened trade representative offices in a number of African countries. In 2012, the Coordination Committee for Economic Cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa was established. There are also several mixed commissions for trade and economic cooperation. The total trade exchange between Russia and Africa will reach 17.9 billion US dollars in 2022. In comparison, China is the largest trading partner of Africa with about 254 billion US dollars of trade exchange in the same year.
In January, the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela, proposed the establishment of a joint committee to strengthen economic relations with Moscow. In late March, Burkina Faso, a member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), proposed the creation of a joint pan-African bank to facilitate financial transactions between Africa and Russia and promote trade. The AfCFTA agreement, which was agreed in 2018, is attractive to Russian and other foreign investors because it eliminated tariffs between African states. The huge market, cheap labor force and improved infrastructure provide an opportunity for Russian-African cooperation.
What is missing is a single pan-African bank. Trade is usually arranged through regional national banks where current financial regulations make business difficult. The changes are already here. At the end of March, Egypt joined the BRICS New Development Bank, which means that it became a member of the expanded BRICS+ group and opens the northern door of Africa to Russia as an entry point to the African market (South Africa holds the southern door). Burkina Faso’s proposal to create a pan-African bank will be the subject of talks between BRICS and its partners in August in Durban. A pan-African bank based in Africa (Nairobi would be the headquarters) with a collective membership of African states and funding provided by China, Russia, the UAE and others with offshore investment through the tax haven of Mauritius, looms as a great solution.
South Africa – an important Russian partner
The Republic of South Africa found itself in an awkward situation since it will host the 15th BRICS summit in August and at the same time it is a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. All heads of state, including Putin, should come to the summit. Technically the hosts are supposed to arrest their guest. However, it is unlikely that this will happen. Pretoria has close ties to Moscow, refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and hosted controversial joint military exercises with Russia and China that coincided with the anniversary of the Russian invasion. South African government officials have reported that they are looking for ways to resolve the embarrassing situation.
A local newspaper, City Press, suggested that South Africa’s vivacious President Cyril Ramaphosa could hold a hybrid meeting where some leaders would attend in person, while others like Putin would be present virtually. South Africa’s trade with Russia is growing: reaching USD 1.39 billion in 2021, while direct sea routes restarted in January 2023 for the first time in 30 years. The main theme of the South African BRICS summit will be commitment to the principles of sustainable development between the BRICS countries and Africa. By the way, Pretoria is also chairing the organization this year.
Conclusion
Russia is taking advantage of Africa’s growing dissatisfaction and disappointment with the Western world because it is clear to everyone (for example, there is no person who has not heard of hungry African children) that the existing international order led by the USA has not provided enough for developing African countries. The West does not offer solutions for pressing African problems, which should be: reduction of large debts, suppression of the coronavirus, HIV, malaria and other diseases, and the fight against climate change.
In relation to Africa and other regions, Russia applies a pragmatic realpolitik approach. Moscow is open to cooperation with everyone for mutual benefit, while avoiding differences. If the differences are a problem, there will be no cooperation, again for mutual benefit. In their foreign policy, Russians are not slaves to idealistic values, they do not emphasize them anywhere in practice as a condition for cooperation because they believe that insisting on idealism is not a politically smart idea. Politics is ultimately the art of the possible. Such a seemingly harsh but pragmatic Russian realpolitik approach brings concrete results to the satisfaction of Russia and its African partners.