moscow Is Preparing russian-Speaking Africans to “defend” Its Interests

The inaugural conference of the Pan-African Association of Teachers of the russian Language and Literature was held in Cairo, which also served as a platform for establishing the structure, developing its agenda, and holding a roundtable on managing projects to promote the russian language on the continent.

The event coincided with the intensification of russia’s information operations in Africa. In September 2023, moscow created the “African Initiative” – an “information agency” based on a network that emerged after the collapse of the “wagner” terrorist group. The organization immediately opened offices in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, where pro-russian juntas hold power. The agency is headed by fsb employee Artem Kureev, whose deputy is former “wagner” press service employee Anna Zamaraeva. The structure focuses on training local journalists, attracting Africans to education in russia, providing information support for the trade in russian weapons, and promoting the activities of the “African Corps”.

St. Petersburg State University is actively developing partnership projects with African countries and announced at the conference that it would prioritize the creation of a professional infrastructure for teachers of the russian language. The University had previously cemented its role in promoting russia’s state ideology after publishing the “Explanatory Dictionary of the State Language of the russian federation”. The editors of the publication participated in the “editing” of the russian constitution and were putin’s confidants in the latest elections.

In parallel, attention in the russian-African information space has increased to the deployment of the “African Corps” in the Central African Republic. This is a mercenary formation subordinate to the ministry of defense of the rf, which is increasing its presence in the region. Not long ago, the “African Corps” became “famous” in Mali, where mercenaries raped, tortured, and took local residents hostage under racist slogans. All this was taking place under the guise of “the rf’s friendly assistance to the government of Mali” in fighting terrorism. African countries should already be thinking about the possible consequences and approaches to the so-called “defence of russian speakers” that the rf may promote on the continent in the future.