The West has had a fight with Russia and is getting increased tension with Africa because of it. For Moscow, strengthening interaction with Africa is a long-term policy aimed at reducing Westernization in world politics. In recent years, Russia and Africa have been building active cooperation on several issues. The main one is not even security, but soft power. Russia supports African countries for which the anti-colonial agenda is significant and gaining momentum. This creates structural problems for the EU and beyond. Immigrants from Africa demand their rights and their anti-colonial policies, which creates many problems for the opponents. There are huge possibilities here; Russia will support the position of the African countries, mainly because this way the hegemony of the West can be overcome. It is also China's priority. The next hurdle is security. Russia offers what neither China nor the Gulf states provide, namely rapid force support for the regimes. Africa Corps operates in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, the Central African Republic and Libya, and for the Sahel's military governments that broke with France, it's a matter of survival. The second trump card is the language. Russia talks to Africa about sovereignty, equality and refusal to preach. Against the background of Europe's colonial past and the memory of Soviet support for liberation movements, this rhetoric resonates with young people and military elites. The third component is food. Russia is among the continent's largest suppliers of wheat and fertilizers, a basic need for countries that depend on food imports. There is also a development agenda, but the weaknesses are also clear. The economic scope is modest. The trade turnover is about 25 billion dollars a year, with more than half of them coming from Egypt and Algeria. This is an order of magnitude less than that of China and the European Union. Russia is significant enough to strengthen anti-colonial sentiments, but there are still insufficient resources to fully fulfill this agenda.

The West has had a fight with Russia and is getting increased tension with Africa because of it. For Moscow, strengthening interaction with Africa is a long-term policy aimed at reducing Westernization in world politics. In recent years, Russia and Africa have been building active cooperation on several issues. The main one is not even security, but soft power. Russia supports African countries for which the anti-colonial agenda is significant and gaining momentum. This creates structural problems for the EU and beyond. Immigrants from Africa demand their rights and their anti-colonial policies, which creates many problems for the opponents. There are huge possibilities here; Russia will support the position of the African countries, mainly because this way the hegemony of the West can be overcome. It is also China's priority. The next hurdle is security. Russia offers what neither China nor the Gulf states provide, namely rapid force support for the regimes. Africa Corps operates in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, the Central African Republic and Libya, and for the Sahel's military governments that broke with France, it's a matter of survival. The second trump card is the language. Russia talks to Africa about sovereignty, equality and refusal to preach. Against the background of Europe's colonial past and the memory of Soviet support for liberation movements, this rhetoric resonates with young people and military elites. The third component is food. Russia is among the continent's largest suppliers of wheat and fertilizers, a basic need for countries that depend on food imports. There is also a development agenda, but the weaknesses are also clear. The economic scope is modest. The trade turnover is about 25 billion dollars a year, with more than half of them coming from Egypt and Algeria. This is an order of magnitude less than that of China and the European Union. Russia is significant enough to strengthen anti-colonial sentiments, but there are still insufficient resources to fully fulfill this agenda.