Berlin.
The fighting in Sudan has a Russian signature that goes beyond the country. One man plays a special role in this.
He is Putin’s man for the rough: Yevgeny Prigozhin. He plays Wagner as the warlord of the private army, likes to be a vulgar macho and propagandist instigator of Russian aggression. Prigozhin handles the Kremlin chief’s dirty business so efficiently that he can even sharply criticize the Russian military leadership in the Ukraine war with impunity.
The 61-year-old is not only fighting in Ukraine with his 20,000 Wagner mercenaries. The head of a widely ramified company empire also runs his dirty business in Africa. The current fighting in Sudan, where two generals are at war, is also fueled by Prigozhin. The man, who began his career as a catering entrepreneur (“Putin’s cook”), managed the cynical feat of arming both parties to the conflict. In return, he received gold mines.
Russia is the most important armaments supplier for Africa
Prigozhin demonstrates on a small scale how Putin operates on a large scale. Russia is the most important armaments supplier for Africa. Around half of all registered arms sales come from there. In addition, Russians train the military – also in the civil war country Mali, from which the German armed forces and other European forces are withdrawing. Russia exports grain and fertilizer and receives valuable raw materials in return.
Putin’s propaganda narrative of the “hegemonic West” falls on fertile ground in Africa. Resentments from the colonial past are brought back to life in this way. The British and the French – but also America, the leading Western power – are quickly discredited. Moscow presents itself as the standard-bearer against oppression. Western arms deliveries to Ukraine are hyped up as the trigger for high energy prices and food shortages, which are particularly hard on developing countries.
Read here: Germans in Sudan report on the race against time
Russia, China and South Africa have conducted a joint naval exercise
Russia is by no means isolated in Africa because of the war in Ukraine. For example, Russia, China and South Africa recently conducted joint naval maneuvers in the Indian Ocean. In addition, South Africa abstained in the UN vote on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – like many other countries on the continent in the south.
Ukraine war – background and explanations for the conflict
The same applies to Latin America: there, too, Russia sells itself as a champion of freedom (from the United States). In many countries, due to various US interventions (Cuba, Nicaragua, Grenada) in the past, there is strong anti-Americanism. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) heard this at a press conference with Brazil’s President Lula at the end of January.
The West’s campaign in the “Global South” is less successful than hoped
The West has chosen the struggle for the “Global South” as a key to Russia’s international isolation in the Ukraine war. This campaign has so far been less successful than hoped. Moscow is unchoosy about supporting autocratic regimes in Africa and other parts of the world. It supplies weapons, receives raw materials and talks precious little about democratic values.
The Chinese do the same. They build roads, bridges and railway lines. The whole thing is financed by loans from Beijing. The workers also come from the People’s Republic. Africans or Latin Americans benefit relatively little and end up with a huge debt burden. Europeans and Americans have not yet found a suitable counter-model to this. One thing is clear: Western values alone are not enough.
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