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Much has been said about China's role and profile in Africa and the factors that underlie its activities on the continent. The diffusion and depth of Russia's presence and profile in Africa are less controversial.
There was a strong Russian influence in Africa at the apogee of the Soviet Union. The post-independence governments of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Somalia, Ethiopia, the United Arab Uganda and Benin all received diplomatic or military support from the Soviet Union.
But this began to change after the collapse of the superpower in December 1991. More than a quarter of a century later, Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have new aspirations in Africa. This corresponds to his desire to bring Russia back to the status of a great power.
Putin attaches great importance to geopolitical relations and the pursuit of Russia's assertion on the world stage. This includes the reestablishment of Russia's sphere of influence, which extends to the African continent.
Like Beijing, Moscow's method of trade and investment in Africa is not subject to the requirements or conditionalities of actors such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Russia is gradually increasing its influence in Africa through strategic investments in energy and minerals. He also uses military muscle and soft power.
The pressing question is more and more important: are relations between China and Africa as good for Africa as for China? The same question applies to Russian-African relations.
Energy and minerals
The interaction between Russia and Africa has grown exponentially in this century, with trade and investment increasing by 185% between 2005 and 2015.
Economically, a large part of Russia is focused on energy. Russia's main investments in Africa are in the oil, gas and nuclear sectors.
The fact that 620 million people in Africa do not have electricity gives potential nuclear markets to the Russian nuclear power market. Several Russian companies, such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Rostec and Rosatom, are active in Africa. Most activities are in Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda. In Egypt, negotiations have already been finalized with Moscow for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant.
These companies are mostly state-run and their investments are often tied to military and diplomatic interests.
The second area of interest in Moscow is the mineral wealth of Africa. This is particularly evident in Zimbabwe, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia and the Central African Republic.
In Zimbabwe, Russia operates one of the largest platinum group metal deposits in the world.
Russia has also reestablished ties with Angola, where Alrosa, the Russian giant, is extracting diamonds. Discussions between Russia and Angola also focused on the production of hydrocarbons. Uranium in Namibia is another example.
Russia's current controversial engagement in the Central African Republic (CAR) began in 2017, when a team of Russian military instructors and 170 "civilian advisers" were sent by Moscow to Bangui to form the army and presidential guard from the country. Shortly after, nine shipments of weapons arrived in CAR.
The interest in the country is focused on the exploration of its natural resources by concession. The assassination of three Russian journalists in a remote part of the country last year drew the world's attention to what looked like a Kremlin quest for influence and resources.
Military Influence and Diplomacy
Russia is the second largest arms exporter in the world and a major supplier to African states. Over the past two decades he has forged military ties with various African countries, such as Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Military ties are linked to bilateral military agreements and provide on-the-ground services in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Together, China and Russia outnumber the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council by providing contingents for United Nations peacekeeping efforts.
Russia has also actively supported Zimbabwe. Shortly after the announcement in 2018 that China had placed new-generation ground-to-air missiles in Zimbabwe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that his country was continuing its military cooperation.
Significantly, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his country may need Russian help to modernize its defense forces during a recent visit to Moscow.
Russia, Africa and the future
Russia and China want to play a future role in Africa. The difference between these two great powers is that China is part of the Asian regional economy. This will exceed North America and Europe combined, in terms of overall power – based on GDP, population size, military spending and technology investments.
China and India have experienced impressive economic growth over many years. And, their huge populations make it two world powers of extraordinary importance. The growth prospects of the Russian economy, on the other hand, remain modest – between 1.5% and 1.8% per year for 2018-2010, compared to an average world rate of 3.5% per year.
Nevertheless, Russia remains a major power in world politics. For African leaders, the key word is agency and the question is how to attract the attention of Russia on the benefit of their countries and not be a victim of the contemporary geopolitical game of geopolitical play by the major powers of the continent.
Theo Neethling, Professor and Head: Political Studies and Governance at the Faculty of Humanities and Letters of the University of the Free State
This article is republished from The conversation under Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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