Russia expands African influence through education and sports programs, forming Kremlin-loyal elite on the continent

Major Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), stated that Russia expands its presence on the African continent, using educational and youth programmes as tools for long-term influence.

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“Russia increasingly uses African education and sport as instruments of hybrid influence to form a new generation of political and managerial elites loyal to the Kremlin,” he said.

He pointed out that the Russian Federation consistently allocates state-funded university quotas for citizens of African countries, primarily in agriculture, engineering, education and medicine, to achieve this goal.

Yusov said that leading African universities plan to launch Russian language courses and professional development programmes for teachers. Russian standards will align educational programmes in the future.

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DIU reports that, according to the Kremlin’s plan, this will allow Russian narratives to become firmly established in the education systems of African countries.

Russia pays particular attention to working with young people through sports initiatives.