INVERSK MAGAZINE
FOCUS - RUSSIA/AFRICA RELATIONS
Russia's Return To Africa, Or New Battle Ground For Influence? Russia and Africa need each other. Moscow always remembers that the 54 African states represent a strong electoral bloc within the UN and other international organizations. Russians, like Africans, value their independence and resist foreign pressure; they value the growing role of Africa in the international arena. BY MICHAEL J. PADILLA
T The summit is done and as I sat on the plane pondering what I had heard, and glad I was offered the chance to participate. I wanted to listen to how the Summit was going to present itself, as well as what I had experienced in working in Russia and working with Russian companies, as there is some serious obstacle to the development of comprehensive ties but one of them is the lack of objective information about Russia in Africa, and about Africa in Russia. The potential of relations can be 40 I INVERSK MAGAZINE I August 2020
democracy in Africa, especially in the south of the continent. I recall the words that Nelson Mandela said to me in July 1991 during the first national conference of the ANC after the ban on this organization was lifted: “Without your support, we would not be where we are now.” However, soon after radical political changes in Moscow, the situation sharply worsened. The Russian economy crashed: according to the late Y evgeny Primakov, a deeply respected statesman, the losses for the Russian economy as a result of the so-called “market reforms” in the 1990s exceeded by more than two-fold the losses witnessed during the Second World War. This colored Russia’s international relations; the Global South and especially Africa were sacrificed to fruitless attempts to obtain soft loans and technology from the West. This neglect clearly manifested itself in the closure of a number of Russian embassies and consulates, almost all trade missions, and 13 of Russia’s 20 cultural centers in Africa. Most of the development projects supported by the USSR in Africa were closed, and all regular flights of Russian airlines were canceled. In addition to the economic disaster of realized only if both sides shed the stereo- the 1990s, the psychological factor was types imposed from outside and develop also important; Soviet aid to Africa was mutually beneficial cooperation, grounded used as a “scapegoat” in trying to justify in reality. the country’s problems, reinforcing In terms of Russia’s foreign policy, xenophobia and racism. Thus, although it 2019 could have been called the Y ear of would be wrong to say that Russia left Africa. If all these plans materialized, it Africa, there were not so many muscles signals Russia’s return to Africa. This arti- left on the skeleton of bilateral relations. cle looks at the past and some of the challenges Russia will face. The return the bear Russian Return
So, one should not be surprised that the first summit bringing together Russia Okay, so the term “return” is often and the leaders of African countries used to describe Moscow’s activities on should take place after almost three the African continent. Indeed, during decades. Of course, positive shifts in Soviet times, Russia fruitfully collaborated Russia’s foreign policy have been taking with Africa in various fields. The USSR place for a long time, and the explanation provided vital assistance to countries commonly given is that the country got a struggling to achieve independence and new leader at the turn of 2000. The
