- September 10, 2024
- 10:38 pm
- World News
Russia's new African Initiative news agency is helping to increase Russia's influence in Africa. It publishes pro-Kremlin narratives and disinformation about Western countries, including the United States. Experts say it has links to Russian intelligence services, the BBC reports.
The African Initiative officially presents itself as an information bridge between Russia and Africa. The agency’s main activity is work in three countries ruled by military juntas: Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Journalists note that these countries have recently switched to cooperation with Russia after accusations of colonialism and failures in the fight against jihadist groups.
The agency was registered in September 2023 after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner PMC, in a plane crash. According to the BBC, the agency's employees are former members of the private military company and businessman.
According to Jandrzej Cerep of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, the new structures created by Prigozhin were initially intended as replacements, but it later became clear that it was better to use the existing assets. Cerep argues that the FSB plays an important role in these new structures.
The editor-in-chief of the African Initiative is Artem Kureyev, who is considered by Russia experts to be an agent of the special services. His deputy is the former press secretary of the Wagner PMC, Anna Zamarayeva. The agency's representative office in Burkina Faso was created by Viktor Lukovenko, known as Prigozhin's political strategist and a Russian radical nationalist.
Cultural events in African countries and a news site in several languages are part of the activities of the “African Initiative”. The organization also promotes the African Corps, created by the Russian Defense Ministry in place of the military structures of the Wagner PMC in West Africa.
Examples of its activities include the Kremlin's disinformation campaign about American biolabs, debunked by the BBC, as well as organizing a trip to Russian-occupied Mariupol for bloggers from Mali and a similar “press tour” of the occupied territories of Ukraine for journalists from Africa in June.
The African Initiative's local partners in West Africa carry out activities to promote a positive image of Russia on the ground, including events at football competitions, graffiti festivals and friendship lessons in schools.
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