러시아ㆍ유라시아

Russian information operations in Africa are a tool to expand Russia’s presence on the continent and to turn African countries into allies of Russia in its confrontation with the West. This article focuses on the ideological content of Russian information influence in African countries—specifically a set of narratives and ideas that Russia seeks to root in the information environment of African countries.Russian information operations in Africa are multidimensional, malleable, and opportunistic. It is hard to find a sphere of social life where Russians are not present—from daily life of small villages to cooperation in the nuclear sphere and space industry. The content of Russian communication is designed to be efficient in all dimensions of information environments of the target countries, and it is presented by three groups of actors: Russian top government officials, the Russian Orthodox Church, and representatives of Russian public diplomacy including Rossotrudnichestvo, Russkiy Mir Foundation, and other organizations. While the content of communication and its style differs depending on the group of communicators and the target audience, a general frame of a grand narrative, and even ideological framework, exists particularly for the African countries.