Description
Both Russia and the UK have been present in the African continent for many centuries, however, they never competed for power, lands, etc. directly. The history of Russian presence in Africa is lesser-known, however – excluding the vast literature on Soviet and Post-soviet foreign policy projects. The importance of revisiting the tools available to and exploited by Russia in Africa became vivid after the 2014-2015 upsurge of “sanctions war” between Russia and “The West”, as Russian companies had to speedily find new partners to satisfy both the needs of the domestic market and not to lose the gross export volumes of Russian state-run and commercial enterprises. Africa seemed to be “a new old partner” that ideally fit these needs, so the regional focus of Russian policy abroad started to shift towards the African continent quite quickly – the Sochi Russia-Africa Summit 2019 brought great success and publicity to it and yet another one is planned for 2022 already. The UK, in its turn, has been a traditional player and partner in African economies for centuries. This paper seeks to compare the geopolitical and economic activities employed by Russia and the UK in the 21st century in Tropical Africa to understand their major areas of national interest, trade, and development aid partners in the continent. Special attention is attached to post-2014\5 events, as the “sanctions’ war” and hostile rhetoric between Russia, the US, UK, and the EU has triggered Russian activities in Africa.
