Inside Africa: Russia Keeping Its Sights on Africa
bamlou / Kypros
The African continent continues to be the region all eyes are on as Russia sets its sights on becoming a major influence, a little behind the United States and China. Russia is setting goals for its own presence in the region, spreading its military reach, and looking to stretch into other areas despite competing for space with other global powers. With Africa’s growing prominence in the global community, Russia could potentially find a way to increase its own prestige and power by solidifying presence abroad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin set its relationship with all African states as a priority for the country in an interview with the Russian News Agency TASS in October 2019. A Russia-Africa Summit was planned to encourage planning for bilateral ties and cooperation. Putin said in this interview, “Today, the Russian-African relations are on the rise. We maintain a close political dialogue, including on the issues of global and regional security. The ties between our parliaments are expanding. Our mutual trade is steadily growing and diversifying.” He suggested a positive attitude and high hopes for the two regions’ relationship.
Among the latest of its efforts in the region include its opening of a representative office in the Central African Republican and a donation of military equipment to the country. In recent years, Russia has been providing weapons and contractors to the CAR, and this latest shipment of 10 armored vehicles is the latest event in their military cooperation. Moscow has sent military instructors, heavy weaponry, helicopters, and more to the central African country. Along with those donations, Russia is establishing its presence known by setting up a Russian defense ministry office, putting Oleg Polguev, a senior military officer, in the CAR capital of Bangui. He will also serve as an advisor to the CAR’s own defense ministry.
It is all part of Russia’s emphasis to expand its military ties with Africa. The CAR is simply the latest in its efforts to promote this goal. Russia already has a history of participating in peacekeeping missions and training exercises along with its military equipment sales. Where there are open doors, Russia attempts to swoop into security relationships. The country has offered scholarship programs to train African peacekeeping personnel and specialists in Russia and has solidified itself as a major arms dealer to the region.
Military equipment is a major part of the two regions’ relationship. Algeria has been the primary destination for most of these pieces of equipment, though in the most recent part of the decade sub-Saharan African states have found their military needs met by Russia. Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia have reportedly spent $3 billion in Russian military equipment. Angola makes up the biggest portion of Russian arms sales in Africa at $251 billion from 2014 to 2018, followed Nigeria at $192 billion, and Sudan at $125 billion. These countries often benefit from cheaper weapons than what they could get from Western suppliers while making gains toward a more modern military force. Some cooperation in manufacturing could further strengthen this relationship.
Other priorities Russia has set for the African continent include providing more economic assistance to the region, disease-control advice, humanitarian relief, educational and vocational training as well, much of the same work the U.S. and China is working on in the region as well. As with others who have been looking to put a stake in Africa, Russia could also be eying the wealth of natural resources common across the continent. An added bonus for Russia could be access to critical points to help with its own The Soviet Union set the precedent of Russian involvement in this field, having been supportive of many of the states’ independence movements and other programs. The Soviet Union may not exist anymore, having dissolved decades ago, but the groundwork was laid and Russian companies have been working in gold, gems, manganese, bauxite mining, and other natural resources. Russia is even looking to leverage its current position to work on energy projects in Africa. The African Union has set its own priorities in these fields, though has been looking for partners in moving forward with its projects and goals.
However, Russia is not one of the major trading partners with Africa. The country lags behind China by a landslide in 2018. Imports from Russia to African barely make $5 billion, while China set itself up as Africa’s leading trading partner with $45 billion in imports. The U.S. and China remain the largest investors in the African region, and Russia’s involvement in many areas remains largely symbolic or exaggerated. During the West African Ebola outbreak, Russia’s contribution to disease control assistance it had promised was less than half of what the U.S. provided. The projects and initiatives it is willing to get involved in is considerably more narrow than other global powers.
On the other hand, most Western powers have a bitter history of colonization and exploitation in the region, wiping out traditions, feeding the flames of ethnic and political tensions, and draining the region of valuable resources. Russia does not have that same history, and the Soviet Union was an ally when many African states needed one. It is not a perfect partnership, but it has the makings of a productive relationship. Russia’s involvement in Africa is a growing concern for Western powers who see the country’s growing presence as a threat to their own ability to operate there. As previously reported in this column, the U.S. has made it a point of combating Islamic extremists in Africa, but Russian mercenaries in Mozambique are viewed as a worrying example of Russia’s expanding military influence. Western powers and China could potentially have Russia coming into the mix as a major influence in Africa.
