Russian–African Relations

Dr Inas Mohamed Ahmed
Today, the Russian Federation, formerly the Soviet Union, is one of the world’s major powers in a multipolar international order. It played a key role in establishing the United Nations and holds a permanent seat on the Security Council, inherited after the Soviet Union’s dissolution, along with the veto right. This enables it to reject any resolution that conflicts with its interests or those of its allies. Russia also carries considerable international weight and has played a role in maintaining international peace and security on numerous occasions, particularly by challenging the double standards Western countries apply to African and Arab issues.
In international law, numerous Russian legal scholars have made significant contributions to the development of modern international legal theory. Among the most prominent is Grigory Tunkin (G. I. Tunkin), who helped develop a distinctive Soviet theory of the sources of international law. This theory holds that international law results from agreement among sovereign states, rather than expressing values that are exclusively non-national or Western in origin.
Russian legal scholarship also emphasises the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states, regarding it as a cornerstone of international stability. In this respect, it opposes certain Western doctrines, such as humanitarian intervention and the international responsibility to protect. Russian international legal thought also tends to favour restricting the jurisdiction of international courts to cases in which states have given their explicit consent, so that international justice is not used as a tool of political or legal pressure by major powers.
Russian thinking takes a critical stance toward Western dominance in interpreting and applying international law. This includes disagreements over the use of force and the right of self-defence, as well as the insistence that international treaties be based on free consent and genuine equality among states, along with respect for peoples’ right to self-determination. These principles and values resonated with African countries emerging from the darkness of colonialism into the light of freedom and independence, helping to lay the foundations for closer relations between Russia and African states from that period onwards.
At the international level, Russia has played a significant role in developing modern international law. The Russian diplomat and legal scholar Fyodor Martens made an important contribution to international law at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899. His proposed compromise established a fundamental principle: cases not explicitly covered by the laws of war should not, for that reason alone, be regarded as falling outside the law’s protection.
This principle was subsequently incorporated into international instruments, including the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, and continues to be invoked before the International Court of Justice.
Because Russia supported many national liberation movements across Africa, Moscow used the United Nations as a platform to advocate African independence and establish bilateral relations with countries including Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic. This process gained momentum in the early 1960s. Anyone following the history of Russian–African relations will observe how these ties have developed and expanded considerably over time.
During this period, the Soviet Union supported the decolonisation initiative of 14 December 1960, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The declaration became an important international instrument supporting national liberation movements and resistance to colonial rule in Africa.
Relations strengthened further as the Soviet Union established diplomatic ties with newly independent African states and signed agreements covering trade, air transport, and maritime transport. The number of African countries maintaining trade and economic relations with the Soviet Union rose from four in 1960 to 37 in 1980 and 50 during the 1990s.
However, after the Soviet Union dissolved in the early 1990s, Russia lost much of its accumulated capacity to cooperate with African countries. Trade between Russia and the African continent declined, with significant geopolitical and economic consequences for both sides. Russia lost access to major African markets for its high-value-added exports, as well as markets that had served as outlets for its high-quality raw materials.
Although Russian interest in Africa subsequently revived, progress was relatively slow. Economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union countries then helped shift Russian foreign policy priorities toward the continent. This was evident in the Russian presidential decree of 7 May 2018, setting national goals and strategic development objectives for Russia through to 2024. The Russian presidency declared its intention to strengthen the foundations of its foreign policy, particularly towards Africa, whose countries represent a substantial voting bloc at the United Nations and whose support Russia seeks in its dealings with the United States and the European Union.
Against a backdrop of competing interests and overlapping ambitions, Russia has sought to maintain and develop its relations with Africa in ways that serve both sides’ interests. Russia therefore held the first Russia–Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, in October 2019, with leaders and representatives from 43 African countries participating under the theme of peace, security and development.
The second Russia–Africa Summit took place in St Petersburg in 2023, under a theme centred on peace, security and development. The summit also highlighted Russia’s interest in deepening cultural and educational ties, including by providing scholarships for African students, adding another important dimension to Russian–African relations.
The third Russia–Africa Summit is scheduled for Moscow this October, 2026. The Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum will be held alongside it. The summit is expected to adopt an action plan for 2027–2029 covering agriculture, energy, digital technologies, artificial intelligence and payment systems, as well as the strengthening of political dialogue, security coordination and trade and economic cooperation.
One of the summit’s most significant developments is the unveiling of a multilayered air-defence system that combines radar detection with electronic jamming. The system has been designed to protect civilians and military personnel, as well as critical civilian infrastructure.
At the national level, Sudan is participating in the current Russia–Africa Summit with a high-level delegation led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council. Sudan and Russia share longstanding ties of friendship and international cooperation, making Sudan’s post-war reconstruction a key area for potential collaboration.
Other priorities include strengthening military and security coordination, expanding economic cooperation in the mining, livestock, and agricultural sectors, developing infrastructure, and making full use of Sudan’s resources and natural wealth to strengthen its economy.
Russia also has the capacity to support Sudan’s economic recovery, particularly in oil, mining, electricity generation and gas. These are vital sectors that Sudan needs to develop through bilateral agreements with Russia, followed by sustained efforts to ensure they are implemented in practice.
After all, agreements without a robust implementation mechanism will yield no tangible results and will remain little more than expressions of goodwill.

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