Russian media: Russia is making the most significant adjustment in 300 years. Century | Moscow | Adjustment
Today, on July 31st, an article titled "Russia is making the most significant geopolitical adjustment in 300 years" was published on the website of the Russian television station. The author is Dmitry Trenin, Chief Researcher of the Russian Institute of World Economy and International Relations. The full text is compiled as follows:
The recent Russia Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg is a milestone event in Moscow's foreign policy ideology and practice. This is not only because its agenda has expanded beyond the economy and added a humanitarian dimension: while this is important, it is not the whole story.
In fact, this meeting has attracted widespread attention within Russia, proving that Moscow has fundamentally changed its worldview and international positioning towards the majority of non Western emerging countries in the world, as reflected in the recently adopted Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation.
St. Petersburg was established by Peter the Great in the early 18th century as a "window to Europe," and last week it also played a similar role in Africa.
Of course, Eurocentrism is still deeply rooted in the thoughts and ideals of Russian elites. However, the long process of Russia's integration into the West after the dissolution of the Soviet Union failed and has now evolved into a proxy war against the United States and NATO in Ukraine. This led to a historic shift in Moscow's policies, which can be compared in significance to the era of Peter the Great, but with vastly different directions. In the foreseeable future, Russia's foreign policy system will continue to be divided into two main parts: the enemy camp, including Europe, North America, and other English speaking countries; Friend camp, including other places. The boundary between the two lies in a country's stance on imposing sanctions on Russia.
In this regard, Africa is on the right side of this dividing line. 49 out of 54 countries on the African continent sent representatives to St. Petersburg. This time, the West is no longer acting as a curious and suspicious observer like it did at the Sochi summit four years ago. Instead, it has made a decisive effort to advise, deceive, or threaten African leaders not to go to Russia and not to directly interact with President Putin. In fact, the pressure from the West has had some effect, but it has not weakened the impact of this event.
At the summit, Putin not only promised to provide free grains to the five poorest countries in Africa, but also announced plans to expand commercial shipping, establish logistics links through the sea and air transportation network between Russia and Africa, establish a hub for Russian trade in Africa, and expand Russia's share in food imports in Africa. As for how to respond to the Western propaganda offensive, Moscow envisions significantly expanding Russia's media influence in Africa.
Russia does have a lot of work to do in Africa. Since abandoning the rich heritage of the Soviet Union in Africa in the early 1990s, Moscow has faced fierce competition there. Compared to the trade volume between China and Africa or the trade volume between the United States and Africa, Russia only has 18 billion US dollars, which is insignificant. However, Moscow can still do better.
The St. Petersburg Summit focuses on many areas, from food safety to healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and then to nuclear energy and safety assistance. Of particular importance are education and information technology. Since the early 1960s, Patrice Lumumba People's Friendship University in Moscow has been a major institution for cultivating African professionals. Now, the number of scholarships for African students studying in Russia has tripled, and many Russian universities are encouraged to seek cooperation with Africa.
Russia's renewed emphasis on Africa is strategic, not tactical. It transcends important but ordinary issues such as economy, security, and technological cooperation, as well as the Ukrainian war. From a more strategic perspective, Russian policymakers increasingly believe that Africa is part of a rising tide that will help replace the current Western dominated world order and establish a more diverse structure centered around multiple civilizations.
The United States and former colonial powers such as France and Britain believe that Africa is essentially their market and resource base, and therefore seek to maintain their economic dominance and political influence. They will make Russia's development in Africa difficult.
Faced with this unfavorable situation, Moscow should resist the temptation to compete with external forces for its sphere of influence. It needs to be guided by national interests, expand all-round cooperation with African partners, and pursue a new, more equitable, and non Western led world order. More importantly, Russia has undergone a paradigm shift in its views and actions towards Africa, transforming previously exotic countries into valuable partners.
