Growing Russia-Africa Cooperation and Sour Grapes

The Third Russia-Africa Summit displayed a strong and organic partnership and convergence of viewpoints from both sides. Meanwhile, agents of colonialism, whose predecessors plunged Africa into poverty to attain wealth and prestige for the West, got rattled.

The Third Africa-Russia Summit

Africans’ interaction with Western European powers since the 15th century saw these powers mete out slavery, the slave trade, plunder, and colonialism, all of which epitomize greed over humanity. It was okay for Western European kings, aristocrats, military generals, and merchants to have thousands or millions of Africans killed or enslaved so long as these Western Europeans could gain gold, diamonds, ivory, or spices. Russia’s actions during and after the Battle of Adwa and the USSR’s actions in assisting Africans to fight Western colonialism cannot be overstated. Such actions have won Africans’ trust and can form a firm foundation for future cooperation between both sides.

A Moment of Recollection

During the Summit, African speakers reminisced about recent events when Russia or the former USSR helped Africans. For instance, John Dramani Mahama, the president of Ghana, recalled how the USSR provided his country with a nuclear research reactor in 1964, which reveals Russia’s attitude of using its nuclear technology to uplift, contrasting with the US, which even today threatens to use Nuclear weapons on non-nuclear countries to advance parochial interests. Mahama was among the many Africans who studied in the USSR to gain skills that were applied in governance and development. The Kenyan president, William Ruto, reminded the audience how the Soviet Union assisted African........

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