Russia and Africa… Unveiling the Transformative Potential

By: Contribution for Syrializm
The upcoming Russia-Africa summit with Economic and Humanitarian Forum is taking place for the second time, as the Russian city of St. Petersburg hosting the event on 27-28 of July 2023.
The event has become part of a policy that seems to be designed by Moscow in order to make further impact and increase its geopolitical presence at the international scene, after the Western attempts to isolate Russia from the world on the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
However, the Russian approach started way back, and it is a redeeming initiative to restore old Soviet Union influence, which had an important influence and presence in many countries of the African continent.
Therefore, upcoming Event in its second time is paving the way to turn the event into an annual event brings Russia and the African more together, as both side seems to be facing similar challenges.
Africa and Russia possess a remarkable potential for comprehensive and meaningful collaboration in political, economic, and scientific domains.
In such multifaceted aspects relation, any cooperation can provide potential to transcend challenges such as trade restrictions, the global food crisis, neocolonial policies, and the promotion of confronting all forms of discrimination and combating extremism, especially the racist tide that bears the form of ethnic and color discrimination, in which Europe and the West in general represented its center in the world.
By exploring these dimensions in depth, we uncover the transformative power this event holds for the development for Russia and African countries.
Firstly, Enhancing Socio-Economic Conditions through Sanctions Relief: A primary concern lies in the alleviation of sanctions imposed on Russia, recognizing their adverse effects on the socio-economic situation in African countries.
By advocating for the lifting of these restrictions, the stage set for enhanced trade and economic ties between African nations and Russia, and such collaboration promises increased investment opportunities, job creation, and overall economic growth, ultimately improving the well-being of people across the continent.
This talk may seem constructive and far from reality, given the nature of the governing situation and circumstances, as the huge amount of sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, against the background of the war in Ukraine, appears to be a reaction from the so-called “international community” against the war waged by Russia in Ukraine.
The most important reason for which was the West’s lack of respect for the Russian position, and here came the sanctions with the aim of isolating Russia from the world, and an attempt to threaten any country in the world from the consequences of cooperation with Russia in all fields, which is evidence that the West seems to be aware of the size of power the rest of the world countries have that will leads them to more independence in terms of freedom and independence of political and economic decision.
Any unity or form of coordination that can occur between these countries possess a danger to the West led by the United States, especially if these countries enjoy multi-level cooperation relations with Russia, which constitutes a blow to the system that has been leading the world since the end of the Cold War era.
Here comes on of the most crucial aspect, which is championing food security and challenging Western Narratives.
Both Africa and Russia own the food resources, and despite the anti-Western media campaign against Russia and accusing it of creating a global food crisis, by dressing the war in Ukraine as a victim, as if Ukraine is feeding the world?
Russia is a significant player in global food production, because it has self-dependence and it has vast agricultural resources due to its expansive land area, favorable climatic conditions, and diverse agricultural sectors.
The country is known for its production of various crops, including grains (such as wheat, barley, and corn), oilseeds, potatoes, and vegetables.
Russia is also a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat, contributing significantly to global food markets.
As for Africa, it possesses vast agricultural potential and is home to a large share of the world’s arable land.
The continent’s agricultural production varies across its diverse regions and countries.
Agriculture plays a crucial role in Africa’s economies, employing a significant portion of the population and contributing to both food security and economic growth.
Major crops grown in Africa include cereals (such as maize, millet, and sorghum), rice, cassava, yams, fruits, and various cash crops like cocoa and coffee.
Russia’s proactive efforts to combat the global food crisis stand as a testament to its commitment to sustainable development, as her initiatives in addressing this pressing issue, while critiquing Western countries accused of exacerbating the crisis.
Collaborating with Russia in the agricultural sphere not only presents African nations with opportunities to benefit from advanced technologies, investment, and knowledge transfer but also contributes significantly to ensuring food security and fostering sustainable agricultural practices.
In short, whoever causes the food crisis in the world is the one who follows the policies of imposing sanctions and isolation, and the one who exploits and steals the wealth of other peoples in addition to colonizing and exploiting their people as slaves, and applying the worst types of racism and discrimination against them.
Second and moving to economic and financial sector, diversifying financial calculations and trade, which was a sacred mission in which several influential countries in the world are moving towards in order to reducing dependence on the US dollar in global financial calculations and international trade emerges as a desirable objective.
By diversifying currencies used in trade transactions, this can provide African countries with a unique opportunity to mitigate vulnerability to external economic shocks and bolster economic independence.
Thus, Africa choose to collaborate with Russia and China because of they both have the ability to provide an avenue to explore alternative financial mechanisms and promote bilateral trade agreements, facilitating a more balanced and resilient economic landscape.
All these efforts and steps taken didn’t appeal countries whose colonial domination for decades has been drawing the future of humanity.
Thus, addressing neocolonial policies for empowered development is one of the crucial topics that is taking huge part at the Russia-Africa summit, as critically examines the implementation of neocolonial policies by the United States and its European allies, particularly concerning African states.
The orientation of African countries towards strengthening the independence of their national decision and the war orientation towards enhancing cooperation and communication with countries such as China and Russia, and the Afro-Asian and Afro-Latin communication gives African countries a mediating position in the world, after they have been treated by Western countries as dependents.
They chose to strength cooperation with Russia as an alternative partner that respects the sovereignty and self-determination of African nations.
Through this collaboration, African countries have the potential to shape their own development trajectories, fostering inclusive growth, and sustainable progress.
Lastly, and despite the civilized, human and religious values that govern the world, racism and inferior treatment towards African countries still prevail in Western countries, in a strange appearance that contradicts the ideals and ethics advocated by Western countries.
Here, a strange and contradictory model emerges with regard to the positions of Western countries towards combating racism and combating extremism in all its forms.
Years ago, even before the Russian war in Ukraine, the issue of US support for Nazi and radical movements arose, perhaps in an effort to put pressure on the countries of the European continent that are facing Today, there is a state of reversal between right-wing tendencies that bear a national character, and those Nazi tendencies that represent an extension of Nazism and fascism that the world faced in World War II.
Since Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, what can be called the “controversy of the Ukrainian issue” has become a path of political attraction in the world.
The Russian announcement was that one of the reasons for its intervention in Ukraine was to fight the radical Nazi tide that has dominated the Ukrainian political scene since 2014, and for those who think that this tide is born of a moment are mistaken, as this Nazi tide in Ukraine has ancient historical roots that Europe is trying to deny, although of her tacit knowledge of it.
From a logical point of view, radical Nazi tendencies and racist tendencies are two sides of the same coin, and therefore Russia and Africa exist in the same trench.
The African continent has suffered from various forms of racism and discrimination, and Russia is facing another form of discrimination and racism today.
The United States and its allies extended their support for Nazi radicalism in Ukraine, took multiple aspects, however the most dangerous of is cultural, human and historical curve, by encourage war on languages, culture and destroying the historical heritage associated with peoples, and the era of the war against German Nazism.
Last year, 34 monuments to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin were dismantled in Ukraine.
Pushkin not only represent a symbol to Russian, but he has links to the African content, as Alexander Pushkin, great-grandfather, Abram Petrovich Hannibal, who was of African descent.
Hannibal was kidnapped as a child in Africa and brought to Russia as a slave.
He was later freed by Peter the Great and became a prominent military figure and nobleman.
While the story is fascinating, it is important to note that his African heritage does not directly translate into Pushkin having African roots, but it represent a symbol for culture ties, not only between Russia and Africa, but with the fact that Pushkin’s own ancestry and identity were deeply rooted in Russian and European culture, and he played a crucial role in shaping the literary and cultural landscape of Russia, and become a legend of a global historical culture whose legacy and history must be respected, not treated in this manner adopted by some savages of the twenty-first century Nazis.
In conclusion, the African-Russian stands today as a beacon of hope, harboring immense potential for transformative international cooperation.
By addressing the challenges of trade restrictions, the global food crisis, neocolonial policies, and the promotion of radical nationalism, this collaboration paves the way for the construction of new enterprises, modernization of existing industrial capacities, and the establishment of research structures.
Through mutual engagement, African nations and Russia can forge a partnership that drives shared prosperity, sustainable development, and a more equitable global order.