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Late last month, a giant Antonov
An-124 military transport plane
landed at an air strip on Mozam-
bique’s northern coast.
Over the next few hours, as re-
vealed by photos on social media,
workers unloaded the plane’s car-
go: a Russian Mi-17 helicopter in
military camouflage, an army
truck and other equipment, all to
supply the estimated 160 Russian
military contractors that have ar-
rived in northern Mozambique to
fight an Islamist insurgency.
It was the latest sign of Russia’s
expanding influence in Africa: an
influence that ranges from oil in-
vestment and weapons sales to
the increasing deployment of
forces such as private mercenar-
ies and covert election consult-
ants.
Next week, for the first time,
Russian President Vladimir Putin
is hosting a summit for dozens of
African leaders in the Black Sea
resort town of Sochi. The leaders
of at least 35 African countries are
expected to attend.
The summit will help Russia to
revive its Soviet-era relationships
with African leaders, while also
aiming to provide new markets in
Africa to replace other global cus-
tomers that were lost as a result of
U.S. and European sanctions on
Russian companies over the past
several years.
Russia’s trade with Africa has
tripled over the past decade, reac-
hing US$20-billion last year. Its
interests in Africa are vast: nucle-
ar energy deals in Nigeria and
Egypt, platinum mining in Zim-
babwe, diamond mining in Ango-
la, oil exploration in Ghana and
Algeria, gas projects in Cameroon
and Nigeria, hydro power in Tan-
zania, arms exports in Uganda
and Egypt, and units of mercena-
ry soldiers in Sudan, Libya and
Central African Republic. And
Russia could soon acquire its first
African military base – it has been
in talks with Sudan about a pos-
sible naval base on the Red Sea.
The United States and the for-
mer European colonial powers
have cultivated the same kinds of
interests in Africa for decades, but
the recent decline of U.S. influen-
ce under the Trump administra-
tion has helped lure in its geopol-
itical rivals for a 21st-century ver-
sion of the 19th-century colonial
“scramble for Africa.”
China is still the biggest new
power in Africa, with US$200-bil-
lion in annual trade with the con-
tinent, but the Sochi summit is
evidence of Moscow’s efforts to
accelerate its own African strate-
gy, while other competitors such
as Turkey, Israel and Japan have
also dramatically expanded their
diplomatic and economic efforts
in the continent in recent years.
Russia says it will offer a “win-
win” relationship with African
leaders at the Sochi summit. “Weare prepared to propose to our
African colleagues and friends a
broad agenda of equal interac-
tion, covering many different ar-
eas: economy, energy, transport,
education and environment,” Mr.
Putin said in a statement.
What he did not mention,
however, is Moscow’s increasing
willingness to convert its military
and commercial influence into a
political presence on the ground.
A veteran Russian diplomat
and former intelligence official,
Valery Zakharov, became a sym-
bol of Moscow’s growing clout in
Africa when he was appointed as
the national security adviser to
the president of the Central Afri-
can Republic, where Russia has
sent weapons and private mili-
tary contractors to train the coun-
try’s army. In exchange for the
training and weapons, Russia has
obtained gold and diamond
mining rights at discounted pric-
es.
Russian political strategists,
too, have become active in Africa,
offering covert assistance to elec-
tion candidates and political par-ties in Madagascar and South
Africa, according to British and
Russian media reports.
This year, Russian visitors with
Kremlin connections secretly of-
fered millions of dollars in cash to
election candidates and anti-
Western protesters in Madagas-
car, where Russia has military
and mining agreements, BBC re-
ported.
Mozambique, with its prized
natural-gas resources that could
be among the most lucrative in
the world, is an example of Rus-
sia’s complex strategy in Africa,
encompassing political activities
as well as commercial and mili-
tary interests.
Just a few weeks before the An-
tonov cargo airplane landed near
the city of Nacala last month, Mo-
zambique President Filipe Nyusi
was in Russia – the first visit to
Moscow by a leader of that coun-
try in 22 years.
Mr. Nyusi signed a series of en-
ergy and security agreements
with Mr. Putin, including a deal
with Rosneft, the Russian oil pro-
ducer. Energy companies fromthe United States and Europe
have announced US$60-billion in
investments in Mozambique’s
natural gas sector in recent years,
and Moscow has been eager to
join the race.
“We have natural resources
and we expect Russian invest-
ments to use those resources for
the good of the people,” Mr. Nyusi
told a Russian news agency.
Since 2015, Russia has also
signed a series of military co-op-
eration agreements with Mozam-
bique, allowing Russian military
vessels to dock in Mozambican
ports and authorizing the deploy-
ment of Russian military advis-
ers.
And during the leadup to Mo-
zambique’s national election this
month, a Russian political think
tank published the results of an
opinion poll showing the ruling
Frelimo party with a strong lead,
even though the country does
not legal permit such polls during
election campaigns.
The Russian think tank, the In-
ternational Anticrisis Center
(IAC), also claimed that “Western
countries” were supporting Mo-
zambique’s opposition parties.
Analysts said the “opinion
poll” by IAC seemed to use fake
data, but it was widely publicized
by Frelimo’s supporters to boost
their campaign.
The IAC also sent political
strategists to South Africa this
year to prepare a “disinformation
campaign” against the oppo-
nents of South Africa’s ruling par-
ty, the African National Congress,
according to Russian and South
African media reports, citing Rus-
sian documents.
The documents have shown
that the IAC is controlled by Mr.
Putin’s close ally, Yevgeny Prigoz-
hin, who has links to the Wagner
Group, the supplier of Russian
mercenaries in several African
countries including Sudan and
Central African Republic. He is
facing criminal charges in the
United States for allegedly inter-
fering in the 2016 U.S. election
through the efforts of his Internet
Research Agency, a disinforma-
tion troll factory.RussiatoholdAfricanleaderssummitinSochi
Moscowispumpingup
itsregionalinfluence
througheconomic,
military,politicalties
GEOFFREYYORK
AFRICABUREAUCHIEF
JOHANNESBURG
MozambiquePresidentFilipeNyusi,shakinghandswithRussianPresidentVladimirPutinataMoscowmeeting
inAugust,willbeamongtheAfricanleadersatRussia’ssummit.ALEXANDERZEMLIANICHENKO/REUTERS