JOHANNESBURG—In June 2023, Steven Gruzd witnessed a sight he now describes as an “anomaly,” while walking a street in Tanzania’s balmy capital, Dar es Salaam.
“It was a group of Tanzanian clerics wearing the distinctive robes and headdress of the Russian Orthodox Church,” says the academic, who heads the African Governance Program at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg.
His curiosity piqued, Mr. Gruzd approached the chattering clergymen, covered from head to foot in heavy, black garments despite the searing heat.
“I asked politely, ‘What church are you from; what religion?’ One replied, ‘We’re from the Russian Orthodox Church, Tanzania chapter,’” he told The Epoch Times.
To Mr. Gruzd, the “mere presence” of a Russian Orthodox Church, plus a growing congregation of adherents, in one of Africa’s major cities, represents evidence of Russia’s “growing reach” on the mineral-rich continent, and a “significant change of tack” in Moscow’s strategy in Africa.
“For decades now, we’ve seen many African countries sign military deals with Russia, and buy billions of dollars in weapons and ammunition from Russian arms manufacturers. We see Russian mercenaries running around Africa seizing gold mines and oil fields and supporting dictatorships and engaging with Islamic extremists,” he explained.
“But now, I’d say over the past four years or so, we’re seeing Russia’s interaction with Africa soften, and deepen.
“There are now more Russian academics working at African universities, and more African academics and students at Russian universities.
“Russian scientists and nuclear physicists are showing Africans the ropes, so to speak. Russian theologians are spreading Russian religions.
“There are even Russian cosmonauts instructing Africans about spaceflight!”
Mr. Gruzd said Russia’s “borrowing heavily from the Chinese playbook” with regard to its interactions and engagements in Africa, a continent projected to soon be crucial to the world’s future.
Most of the minerals needed to make clean energy products, from wind turbines to computers to electric vehicles, are found in vast quantities in Africa, especially in the central and southern parts of the continent where Russia has cemented ties with pro-Moscow administrations, such as Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
“Like China has done, Russia is currently hitting Africa with an array of ‘soft power’ initiatives, taking the edge off its reputation as a warmonger,” said Mr. Gruzd.
“Russia has opened media bureaux, to spread Russian news and propaganda, all over Africa, at the same time as the United States government has cut funds to the African operations of its own news outlet (Voice of America).
“But most of all, Russia’s achieving success in educational partnerships with African institutions, trying to obviously create a Russia-friendly crop of educated Africans with who it can do business in the future.”
“Russia wants to reclaim the dominance it enjoyed in Africa during the Soviet era. It’s using a multipronged approach that combines educational initiatives, media, and language programs, and trade partnerships,” said Moffin Njoroge, an investigative analyst at Code for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
“Russia’s reputation has taken a severe beating because of its invasion of Ukraine, and it is looking to create new friendships in Africa, and to strengthen old alliances. I also think it’s no coincidence that it’s weaving a new web in Africa just as Western sanctions are biting it.”
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Russia distanced itself from Africa, said Mr. Gruzd.
“Moscow once had tremendous economic and military influence in countries like Angola and Mozambique. It built those countries’ oil industries. But this influence declined in the 1990s until 2014, when it unlawfully annexed Crimea,” he explained.
“This move isolated Russia and pushed it back to Africa, to uncover new geopolitical partners and economic opportunities, where it already had roots. This effort really took off after the inaugural Russia-Africa Summit (in St Petersburg in 2019), and is now in full-swing.”
Russia’s reaching out to Africa was fruitful from the beginning, said Mr. Gruzd, when 26 African countries refused to condemn the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly.
In March 2022, 17 African states abstained from a UN vote to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Representatives from some African countries, including Cameroon and Ethiopia, walked out of the chamber instead of making their positions known.
Mr. Njoroge said Russia is selling itself as a dependable strategic ally for Africans, an ally that’s “about much more than bullets and bombs.”
He pointed to the second Russia-Africa Summit in 2023, where Moscow signed several agreements with African leaders.
These were wide-ranging and included the arts, science, and technology, the prevention of an arms race in space, and jointly combating terrorism in Africa.
But what stood out for Mr. Njoroge was President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “comprehensive educational project” to introduce the Russian language across Africa.
Speaking during a session, Mr. Putin said: “We suggest exploring the possibility of creating schools teaching in Russian in African countries.
“I am confident that the implementation of such Russian language projects and the introduction of our country’s high educational standards will be the best foundation for further mutually beneficial and equal cooperation.”
Since then, said Mr. Njoroge, there’s been “great movement” towards Russia’s aim to establish learning centers in each of Africa’s 54 nations.
According to Code for Africa, Russian is now being taught in 28 African countries, with Mr. Putin’s government also giving bursaries to thousands of Africans every year to study at Russian universities.
“Hundreds of Africans in countries like Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda now speak Russian,” he said.
Russia is moving beyond virtual classrooms, and is opening “physical open education centers.”
Controlled by the Kremlin, the Foundation’s mandate is to promote the Russian language, primarily by developing teaching programs.
According to Russkiy Mir’s webpage, its centers “popularize Russian language and culture as a crucial element of world civilization,” to develop “cross-culture dialog.”
The page says: “Russian Centers represent the diversity of Russkiy Mir, unifying all the elements of Russian history and culture.
“Russkiy Mir is comprised of people of various nationalities and confessions, Russian citizens and compatriots abroad, émigrés and foreign citizens with an interest in Russia.
“The centers organize their work on the principle of openness, transparency and tolerance.”
According to Elena Khmilevskaya, Coordinator for Asian and African Programs at the Russkiy Mir Foundation, there are currently eight Russkiy Mir “Cabinets” in DRC, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Tanzania.
An Amharic teacher, Milena Koniaeva, told the publication: “Ethiopia has one of the most cordial relationships with Russia. Amharic is the lingua franca spoken by most, if not all, Ethiopians. And to establish a diplomatic dialogue or economic ties, the Amharic language can certainly become a key factor.”
Another teacher, Sophia Zamessina, said: “Language is the key to the African heart … If you talk to someone in their native language, it breaks down a lot more borders. And Africans also have great confidence in a person who speaks the same language as them.”
The Code for Africa report said Russia’s enhanced cooperation with Africa stretches “much further” than language, and includes fields from engineering to medical sciences, journalism and theology.
In September 2023, the chairperson of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin, and the Council of Muftis of Russia, entered into a cooperation agreement with Burkina Faso, where Moscow is supporting a military junta.
“This collaboration aims to span international, scientific, theological, educational, and cultural projects, emphasizing the importance of both religious and secular education.
During a visit to Tanzania in December 2023, the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisk, said: “The institution of religion strongly influences the social agenda of African countries and their peoples.
“But some global and regional players are trying to use it as a tool for political manipulation.
“This is often at the root of the escalation of armed conflicts, giving them a special poignancy and cruelty.”
The Bishop told the audience the Russian Orthodox Church has much in common with millions of Africans, in that it follows traditional religious moral norms.
“Attempts by the West to alter this foundation, propose an alternative understanding of morality, expand the institution of family and marriage, and make other societal changes that are sinful from the point of view of traditional religions, are strongly rejected in African countries, and this brings them closely in line with Russia.
“We should jointly resist this pressure and consolidate efforts in this area by leveraging existing internal mechanisms and cooperating broadly on international platforms,” he said, winning a standing ovation.
Russia’s forays in Africa on the technological level include several educational projects in Nigeria, the most populous country on the continent.
Robbo develops robotic educational tools.
On its website, the firm says it’s providing African students with “hands-on learning experiences in cutting-edge technology like 3D modelling and 3D printing, as well as the fundamentals of microelectronics and circuitry.”
The forum featured Russian cosmonaut, Anton Shkaplerov.
Mr. Gruzd warned: “The expansion of Russian influence in specialized fields like technology, media, religion, and security raises concerns about the potential for ideological influence, with the cooperation agreements potentially compromising the diversity of thought and values in African democracies.”
He cautioned that Russia’s efforts to position itself as the “No. 1 ally” to African countries, while at the same time inciting anti-Western sentiment, is intensifying global strategic competition between Russia and the West.
“Africa could be a flashpoint area, a battleground, for a geopolitical fight that it could well do without.
“With the United States, China, and Russia now all playing the same ballpark, the situation has the potential to get ugly very quickly,” said Mr. Gruzd, adding: “It’s probably already happening.”
