Russia in Africa: Why Moscow is banking on Africa to counter America’s global dominance

The setting was the 2007 Munich Security Conference, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has just about enough of what he called “the United States [overstepping] its…borders”. He was trying to ease up to the West anymore when he took a stance; “We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law,” he said. “The United States has overstepped its national borders in every way.”

This speech did not only become a defining moment of his presidency, but amidst the flurry of flashes and rapid clicks from press photographers at the event, whispers of a new Cold War echoed loudly.

Obviously, the declaration sent all analysts; political and economy alike; coming up with all sorts of explanations for what this meant for Russian-American relations, that none paid as much attention to the Kremlin’s important shift.

A focus on Africa, it turned out that Moscow was quietly in the middle of an equally important shift, courting a new and unlikely international partner: Africa

Russia’s interests in Africa are manifold. As economic sanctions constrict its trade with the West, Africa is becoming an increasingly attractive investment opportunity. At the same time, Africa’s 54 countries represent a political opportunity to relieve Russia’s isolation and build support for its actions in the UN. Finally, Russia’s prominence in Africa lends credibility to its reassertion of world power status. The effectiveness of Russia’s re-engagement policy is still in question, but its progress is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Evidently, in recent years, Russia’s unusual relationship with Africa has only kept on strengthening it even new heights as neo-Russian investments across the continent continue to grow at an astounding rate.

According to the Atlantic Center’s Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham, between 2000 and 2012, Russia’s trade with Africa increased ten times over. Russia has invested heavily in raw resource megaprojects, signing a $4 billion deal with Uganda in February to build and operate a crude oil refinery and using old Soviet connections, Uganda and Russia sealed a $3 billion energy deal in March 2015, some of the few moves by Russia in Africa.