Mercenaries, missionaries, and mining As local leaders decry Western neocolonialism, Russia is carving out its own sphere of influence in Africa

Mercenaries, missionaries, and mining As local leaders decry Western neocolonialism, Russia is carving out its own sphere of influence in Africa

Demonstrators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo protest a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2023, using Russian flags and portraits of Vladimir Putin as protest symbols Moscow’s foreign policy has zeroed in on Africa in recent years. The shift is partially due to commercial interests, including access to resources like gold, uranium, and bauxite. But it’s also political: having broken ties with the West, Russia is rapidly trying…