Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

государственное образовательное учреждение

высшего профессионального образования

«Рязанский государственный университет имени С. А. Есенина»

Факультет истории и международных отношений,

Кафедра всеобщей истории и международных отношений.

Stanley Ikechi Chinda

Bilateral Relations between Africa and Russia.

Выпускная квалификационная работа

Научный руковадитель

Content

Introduction………………………………………………………3

Chapter I: Historical Background of Russia-African Relations

1.1 The Soviet Union in Africa during the cold war ……………...8

1.2 Relations during the Early 90’s………………….................... .15

Chapter II: Geo-economics as a Supplement to Geo-politics 2.1 The emergence of BRICS……………………………………. 20

2.2 South Africa - Soviet Relations……………………………….24

2.3 Northern Africa Relations…………………………................. 27

2.4 Western Africa Relations……………………………………...57

Chapter III: Russia in Africa Today 3.1 Diplomatic Trade …………………………………..................69

3.2 Foreign Policy…………………………………………………79

3.3 Future Challenges ………………………….………………….87

Conclusion………………………………………………………….91

References and bibliography…………………………………..…...94

Introduction

In the repercussions of the crumple of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian

Organization, an ideological companion and partner of numerous African nations amid the Chilly War period, begun to separate from Africa and other creating nations, and to grow nearer relations with the Western nations. The fall of the communist foreign policy in the start of the 1990's additionally implied, for the greater part of some African nations, an adjustment in their strategy and the monetary model. Amid the result of the crumple of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation a partner of numerous African nations begun to draw far from Africa and other creating nations and began altering nearer ties with Western nations. In the interim, the US, Europe, and Asia were going after impact on the African mainland.

Lethargic to this opposition, Russia urgently missed the days of yore. For example, amid the 1990s, despite the fact that Russia and China both had interests in the African landmass, it was China that accomplished awesome advance while Russian impact was declining. By 1992, nine Russian government offices and three Russian offices in Africa had been closed down, and the quantity of work force in the staying ones had been diminished. The quantity of delegate offices and exchange attachés on the African landmass were limited and Russian social focuses were shut. Similarly, African nations likewise lessened the quantity of their agents in Russia. Russia African relations were then in a phase of breakdown, so there was a dire requirement for broad and unequivocal approaches. The connections that were built up amid the Soviet time must be ensured, created, and adjusted as per the new universal framework.

This demeanor towards whatever is left of the world as a rule, and Africa in particular specific, amid the Yeltsin and Putin periods by methods for the Foreign Policy Concept. Amid the underlying years of the development of the Russian league, Foreign Affairs Minister A. Kozyrev sought after a methodology of keeping up close relations with the West so as to determine worldwide clashes. Amid the 2000s, conflicts with the West on various global issues drove Russia to change its remote arrangement mindset. The 2000 Foreign Policy Concept record was more down to earth than its antecedent. New situations have as of late developed, giving another heading to two-sided relations between the diverse African nations and Russia, and in the majority of them, the separation was clear. As Russia's potential financial quality begun to help up the Russian remote strategy target of restoring its geopolitical stature prompted a reestablishment of its two-sided relations with Africa.

This was a move driven by political aspirations as well as by monetary and business inspirations. The rich African mainland which is advanced by tremendous normal assets and with blossoming buyer markets has boundlessly turned into an extremely appealing goal for Russian venture. As of late we can witness an approach from Russia to African nations, trying to reinforce past ties from the past.

The significance of the course work.

The major analysis of segments places an accentuation on the respective relations which begun from a political view. Our prime concentration is the advancement of the reciprocal relations amongst Russia and the distinctive African nations after the fall of the communist alliance. The inquiries we will wrangle in this exposition are; what are the fundamental fields of mediation of Russia in the mainland? Where is the eventual fate of African-Russian relations headed? What is the position of Russia on the African landmass today? Is there a cooling or increase in two-sided relations amongst Russia and such nations?

There are at present 17 noteworthy Russian organizations dynamic in 13 African nations. The most dynamic are Gasprom, Lukoil, Alrosa, Rusal, Renova, Rosatom Norilsk-Nickelm, Sintez. The main host nations are South Africa, Libya, Angola, Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Nigeria, Egypt, Botswana, Ghana and Togo. Be that as it may, African nations still don't assume a sufficiently major part in exchange turnover of Russia.

At the north of the African mainland, Egypt is Russia's most seasoned financial accomplice. Flight related building, autos and vitality gear win more than a half in Russian fare to Egypt. In analyzed year modern and exchange organizations kept on building up its exercises in free zone given by government near Alexandria. In 2008 organization Novatek purchased half offer for creating oil stores in Arish district and is arranging some different contracts of this sort. In 2007 Egypt acknowledged program for building atomic power stations, in which Russia is unequivocally worried of interest, in this setting governments are coming to assentions of building and preparing faculty. Between Maghreb nations Russian businesspeople has more solid and dynamic nearness in Algeria. There in 2008 Gazprom opened its office for fortifying and building up its exercises. Relations with Tunisia and Morocco are growing gradually because of more financial enthusiasm for EU in these nations, yet at the same time in year 2008 could be taken after the expansion in tourism industry and was consented to open Russian Tunisian council of trade in Tunisia.

Participation with Libya was re-built up in 2008. Russian firms effectively seared contracts for building framework and creating oil saves by Gazprom and Tatneft. The post-2000 Russian monetary security, which brought about solid financial development, expanding interest for Russian fares (for the most part oil and other common assets) and higher remote trade holds (world's third biggest save). This exhibited an open door for the Russian government and business elites to grow their impact past Russian and CIS outskirts and to improve their political and business ties with African nations and other developing markets. This brief will look at Russia's monetary reengagement with African nations by evaluating exchange between the two locales, examining the venture streams of Russian organizations into Africa, and surveying the possibilities of Russia's vitality aptitude for Africa's asset rich nations.

Structure.

includes a prologue to the topic two-sided relations amongst Africa and Russia, a very much composed tabled rundown of substance comprising of 3 wide sections, conclusion and in addition the list of sources.

Introductory theme

Analysis the primary components of contemporary Russia–Africa relations, particularly with regards to the fifth BRICS Summit held in Durban, South Africa, on 26–27 March 2013. Russia's business advantages are developing in Africa and it is one of the perpetual individuals from the UN Security Council. Russia's strategy on the landmass should be better comprehended both for its effect on South Africa's discretion, the viability of the BRICS in this procedure, and a more entire appraisal of its effect on improvement prospects. Russia is exhibiting vigorous sense of duty regarding reasserting its part in Africa. Its re-development as a noteworthy African performing artist has been a current marvel, and one that has gotten minimal academic thoughtfulness regarding date.

Purpose of this research.

This work puts to address whether Russia has truly come back to the African mainland. Is Russia coming back to Africa after a long stretch of inertia? So to answer those inquiries this work dissects current circumstance of those connections in correlation with soviet time, in especially looks at impacting verifiable certainties, tests show auxiliary, territorial and different attributes utilizing essential assets like authority measurable information and records given by governments. As optional assets are used logical examines and chips away at this point, for the most part made by IAF RAN and others. This printed material puts evaluation elements like esteem and turnover of fare, import, capital ventures thus one as primary marker for jugging conveyed questions. The point is to analyze the present relationship of Russian alliance with nations on the African landmass. To do as such it is important to take a gander at chronicled foundation. Exposed to the harsh elements war one of its cutting edges kept running crosswise over Africa. The interests of the Soviet Union and those of Africa then complied with an awesome degree. The circumstance has changed in the mid 90s of the most recent century with the fall of USSR, when those connections were pushed in the most distant corner of Russian remote arrangement. It is even conceivable to state that Russia left the landmass. These days there are huge changes as the Kremlin has propelled an eager venture to reestablish Moscow's past grandness on the African mainland. Russian African connections finish up monetary, political, social and improvement participation and obviously multilateral joint effort. Each one of those circles of basic intrigue will be taken a gander at.

Bibliography source base

Exposition material is from confirmed distributions from different writers, books and daily paper articles. Vladimir Shubin is a Principal Research Fellow of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Professor of African History and Politics at the Russian State University for the Humanities. He is the creator of more than 160 scholarly distributions, including English monographs.

Chapter I: Historical background of Russia- African Relations.

1.1 The Soviet Union’s emergence in Africa during the cold war

Dynamic binds to Africa created from the late 1950s onwards, when African nations started to pick up freedom. This concurred with a huge hand over Moscow towards the Afro-Asian world. Josip Broz Tito assumed a critical part here as he kept up close individual contact with statesmen, for example, Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru and "suggested" them to Nikita Khrushchev as champions of communism. Moscow respected the development of the Afro-Asian development, as implied by the gathering of the Bandung meeting in 1955. In 1956, the twentieth congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union affirmed the turn towards Africa as it called attention to the 'fall of the frontier arrangement of government' and accentuated the part of the Soviet Union in the 'beyond reconciliation battle against colonialism'.This was repeated when Moscow started the reception of the UN Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in December 1990. The first is Moscow's support of Egypt amid the Suez emergency in 1956. Notwithstanding the US' negative state of mind towards what ended up noticeably known as 'tripartite (British-French-Israeli) animosity', the Soviet Union's inclusion prompted the withdrawal of outside troop and affirmation of Egyptian control over the Suez Canal. The second case is Moscow's support for Lumumba's legislature in Congo and its partners in Africa, which encouraged the advancement of relations with various African nations.

While Ghanaian pioneer Kwame Nkrumah had at first demonstrated a hesitance to wind up noticeably near Moscow, he later welcomed a Soviet military expert to prompt him on arrangements to make the unified African Armed Forces in mid 1961. At a current gathering in Moscow, Ben Amathila, one of the authors of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), the decision party in Namibia, expressed the accompanying: 'Once more, the showing that the Soviet Union was prepared to intercede and protect the weaker in Africa did not miss our consideration. Two of my associates in Namibia in 1961 amid the Congo emergency, perceiving the potential [of] the Soviet Union have sent a wire to Mr. Khrushchev to send troops to Namibia. As credulous as this demand may appear, it demonstrates the gratefulness for Moscow's part in the Congo emergency. The third case includes the Soviet Union's contribution in the sensational occasions in Angola in 1975-1976. The Soviet Union loaned its support to the legislature of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which confronted resistance from local performing artists as well as from South Africa and Zaire. In his discourse at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in January 1976, Murtala Muhammed, leader of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, looked at the approach of the Soviet Union and the US: We are all mindful of the gallant part which the Soviet Union and other Socialist nations have played in the battle of the African individuals for freedom. The Soviet Union and other Socialist nations have been our customary providers of arms to oppose mistreatment, and to battle for national freedom and human pride. Then again the United States which now sheds crocodile tears over Angola has not just totally overlooked the flexibility contenders whom progressive United States organizations marked as psychological oppression, she even straightforwardly upheld ethically and substantially the rightist Portuguese Government. Moscow approach in Africa has additionally observed disappointment, for example, the 1966 overthrow in Ghana that toppled the legislature of Nkrumah and the political somersaults by Anwar Sadat in Egypt and Siad Barre in Somalia. In any case, it was very effective generally speaking. By the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union consented to several arrangements with African nations. Around 25,000 Africans prepared in Soviet colleges and Technicon's in different fields, and thousands moved on from Soviet military and political schools. These graduated class incorporate the present leaders of Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and South Africa. Soviets likewise prepared no less than 200,000 pros on African soil. The Soviet Union made concurrences with 37 African nations on specialized and financial help, and with 42 nations on exchange assentions. Human capital advancement constituted a vital piece of the inheritance of this collaboration and its impact on current respective relations. In 1985, for instance, a gathering of five military administrators of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) 'were remaining in a condo on Gorki [Tverskaya] Street, Moscow' and experiencing profoundly particular military preparing. Three of them turned out to be later priests: Siphiwe Nyanda, Charles Nqakula and Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula (Naqakula's significant other and current Minister of Defense). The Soviet Union likewise gave multifaceted support to freedom developments, principally in southern Africa, more than three decades. Its help was noteworthy and frequently crucial when others could or picked not to offer assistance. What provoked Moscow to end up noticeably dynamic in Africa? The superpower contention of the Cold War was by all account not the only variable. The Soviets never respected the autonomous African nations and political bodies as 'intermediaries'. Despite what might be expected, the constitution of the Soviet Union referred to the support for the battle of people groups for national freedom and social advance as one of the points of its outside approach. The national freedom development was seen as one of the "separations" of worldwide hostile to settler powers. While the Soviet Union showed a special state of mind towards nations whose pioneers guaranteed to support some type of communism, it likewise kept up great relations in different fields, including resistance, with different nations, for example, Nigeria. The adjustments in the political circumstance close to the edge of the 1990s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 in particular largely wasted this political capital. The deterioration of relations with Africa reflected a negative trend in Russia’s foreign policy, although it suffered more than other vector in that time period. Apart from the demise of Russia’s economy due to the IMF-proposed (or rather, imposed) reforms, other factors, both political and psychological, contributed to this deterioration. The new rulers and the ‘pro-Western’ media often automatically held negative attitudes toward the friends of the former Soviet Union. When F. W. de Klerk made an official state visit to Russia in June 1992, Boris Yeltsin assured him that ‘Mandela would not be received as the ANC President in Moscow but would be visiting the Russian capital as an international figure, a fighter for human rights’. In this period, Russian foreign policy largely abandoned the global South in general and Africa in particular. Russia also used Africa as a scapegoat for its problems, falsely claiming that Africans were ‘eating Russia out of house and home’. Some people seemingly did not understand the derogatory and even racist character of their statements. For example, during his presidential electoral campaign in 1991, Boris Yeltsin remarked that socialist transformations took place in Russia, and that they should have tried it ‘in some small African country’. Such pronouncements and claims encouraged manifestations of xenophobia and racism that unfortunately spread in ‘new Russia’ in the early 1990s. Russia decreased its diplomatic presence in Africa as it closed nine embassies, three consulates, most of its trade missions and 13 of its 20 cultural centers. It also terminated most of its development projects, such as a multi-million steel plant in Ajaokuta, Nigeria that had neared 98 percent completion, which proved even more damaging. However, the failure of this one-sided policy and the loss of hope for Western economic assistance eventually encouraged a turn to realism. Many attribute the changes in Russia’s foreign policy to the replacement of Boris Yelstin by Vladimir Putin on the eve of 2000. In actuality they began several years earlier in 1996 when Evgeny Primakov became foreign minister. The rise of the Russian economy and accumulation of huge currency and gold reserves also placed it in a position to conduct independent policy on major international issues such as Africa. Russia’s admission to the G8 in 1998 encouraged further attention to Africa as the continent regularly appeared on G8 summit agendas; it also meant that it had effectively joined the ‘club’ of those who historically colonized and exploited Africa. Nevertheless, Russia’s G8 membership lost its significant as the world economic crisis highlighted the G8’s growing inefficiency and obsolete nature. Although Russia never had African colonies, it has had a long history of interaction with the continent that dates back to the Middle Ages, when Russian Orthodox pilgrims met fellow Christians from Africa (primarily Egyptians and Ethiopians) in the Holy Land. During this period Muslims from Russia also met Africans in the holy sites of Islam. Later, Russian sailors and explorers visited many countries in Africa. At the end of the 18th century Russian consulates were opened in Cairo and Alexandria. In 1898 pre-revolutionary Russia established diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and the South African Republic (the Transvaal); and a Russian consulate-general in Tangiers (Morocco). Russia’s contact with Africa continued after the 1917 revolution, albeit initially in a limited form, mostly through the machinery of the Communist International and the political training of Africans in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Intergovernmental relations with Ethiopia and South Africa were re-established during the Second World War, when these countries became allies of the USSR in the fight against Nazi Germany and Italy.

More active ties were developed from the late 1950s onwards, as African countries gained independence and Moscow turned to the Afro–Asian world with offers of support for anti-colonial movements and newly independent states. The USSR supported the decisions of the Bandung Conference of Afro–Asian countries held in April 1955, regarding them as anti-imperialist, as they condemned colonialism in all its manifestations and argued for peaceful coexistence that included respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of states. Then in 1956, at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the party leader, Nikita Khrushchev, underlined the significance of the ‘collapse of the colonial system of imperialism’ and spoke about the USSR’s ‘irreconcilable struggle against colonialism’. The USSR’s initiative that resulted in the adoption by the UN General Assembly in December 1960 of the Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples is also important in analyzing the history of Russia’s Africa policy because it highlighted that the USSR supported the people’s struggle against colonialism. By the mid-1980s the Soviet Union had signed hundreds of agreements in economic, cultural and other fields with African countries. An estimated 25 000 Africans were trained at Soviet universities and Technicon’s, and thousands graduated from military and political schools. Among such alumni are the current presidents of Angola (Jose Eduardo dos Santos), Mozambique (Armando Guebuza) and South Africa (Jacob Zuma). In addition, at least 200 000 specialists were trained by the Soviets on African soil. The Soviet Union had agreements with 37 African states on technical and economic assistance, and with 42 African states on trade. The ‘superpower rivalry’ between the USSR and the US helped to shape Moscow’s relations with Africa from the 1960s to the 1980s. However, the most important factor in determining the Soviet Union’s engagement with Africa remained its anti-imperialist stance. The Soviet Union never regarded its African friends as ‘proxies’ or ‘junior allies’ in waging the Cold War; rather national liberation movements were considered as ‘detachments’ of the world anti-imperialist struggle. This was the basis of the ideological component of Soviet policy that was distinctly visible towards those countries whose leaders claimed to choose one or another kind of socialism.

Indeed, supporting struggles for national liberation and social progress was identified in the USSR Constitution as a foreign-policy objective. However, it is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the history of the multifaceted support to the African liberation movements rendered by the Soviet Union over some three decades. Although this support was of critical significance, more telling was that often the support was provided when other countries could not help or did not want to help; and that it assisted in promoting non-racialism in African liberation movements, in particular in the African National Congress (ANC).