Africa–Soviet Union relations were the diplomatic, political, military, and cultural relationships between the Soviet Union and Africa from 1945 to 1991. The Soviets offered financial aid, munitions, and credits for purchases from the Soviet bloc, while avoiding direct involvement in armed conflicts. Temporary alliances were secured with Angola and Ethiopia. The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union left its successor state, the Russian Federation, with greatly diminished influence in the continent.
Overview
Vladimir Lenin argued in his work Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism that imperialism was inherently caused by capitalism, and the inaugural session of the Comintern in 1919 included a declaration of solidarity for "the colonial slaves of Africa and Asia." However, most of its attempts to spread Communism were initially focused on Europe; Africa did not appear ready for revolution because it was almost entirely controlled by European imperial powers, with the peasantry under the political control of tribal leaders, and the absence of an industrial Proletariat.
After 1953, the continent underwent a rapid process of decolonization, whereby nearly all the colonies became independent nations. However, the African nationalist movement was led by the better educated young middle-class, which had little exposure to communism or socialism.James Mulira, "The role of the Soviet Union in the decolonization process of Africa: from Lenin to Brezhnev." Mawazo 4.4 (1976): 26-35. Soviet leaders, beginning with Nikita Khrushchev, were excited by the enthusiastic young black Africans who first came to Moscow for a major youth festival in 1957. Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University was established in Moscow in 1960 to provide higher education to students from developing countries. It became an integral part of the Soviet cultural movement in nonaligned countries.Alvin Z. Rubinstein, "Lumumba University-Assessment." Problems of Communism 20.6 (1971): 64-69.
The Kremlin saw an opportunity, and established four foreign policy goals regarding Africa. First it wanted a lasting presence on the continent, including port facilities in the Indian Ocean. Second it wanted to gain a voice in African affairs, primarily by supporting local communist parties, and providing economic and military aid to the governments. Third it wanted to undermine Western/NATO influence. However, the Kremlin was reluctant to send Soviet troops because of its fear of a major escalation with NATO powers. Despite this, Fidel Castro sent 300,000 Cuban troops to Africa to support fellow revolutionaries against Western imperialism; although the Kremlin thought Cuba's support was dangerous, it did not prevent it.Piero Gleijeses, Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (2002). And finally, after 1962, it was engaged in a bitter controversy with China for influence and control of local radical movements.Robert A. Scalapino, "Sino-Soviet Competition in Africa", Foreign Affairs (1964) 42#4, pp. 640–654. online
Building upon the cornerstones of Marxist-Leninist thought, especially the self-determination and liberation of oppressed nations, as well as anti-imperialism, Khrushchev interpreted the traditional bourgeois-proletariat dialectic as a three-way conflict, the third pole being bourgeois nationalist movements that were inherently anti-imperialist and were demanding decolonization across the globe. The technique therefore was to ally the Soviet Union with the rising tide of nationalism – to demonstrate that they in Moscow were engaged in a common struggle against Western imperialism.Rudolf Von Albertini, Decolonization the Administration and Future of the Colonies, 1919-1960 (1971), pp 26-29. Moscow also expected that the Soviet model of industrialization and nationalization would prove attractive, but that approach did not resonate with the nationalistic forces, which were based on the small middle class and were socializing the means of production.Robert H. Donaldson, The Soviet Union in the Third World (1981), p 212. The passive reliance on the Soviet model of development failed because of the unreliability of local leaders, and by the Congo Crisis, the Kremlin had learned that it was essential to find and promote ideologically reliable leaders, who needed Soviet help to build enough military strength to control their country, as well as prevent Western coup attempts and insurrections.Alessandro Iandolo, "The rise and fall of the ‘Soviet Model of Development’ in West Africa, 1957–64." Cold War History 12.4 (2012): 683-704. online
Algeria
As early as the 1930s, the Algerian Communist Party made up an important faction of the Algerian nationalist movement; however it supported France in the growing unrest, and was forced to dissolve in 1956. Its activists joined the militant National Liberation Front (FLN). Throughout the ferocious Algerian War of Independence in the 1950s, Moscow provided military, technical and material assistance to the FLN, and trained hundreds of its military leaders in the USSR. The Soviet Union was the first country in the world to recognize the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic in 1962 by establishing diplomatic relations a few months before the official proclamation of its independence. Algeria became a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, and largely targeted its rhetoric towards the United States, rather than France. However, Algeria was an oil exporting country, and the United States was a principal customer for oil, and a major supplier of machinery and engineering and technical engineering expertise.John Ruedy, Modern Algeria: the origins and development of a nation (2nd ed. 2005), 140-41, 165, 212-13.
By the 1960s both the Soviets and the Chinese were angling for Algerian attention. Moscow extended $100 million and credits to buy Soviet exports, while China provided $50 million in credits. Ahmed Ben Bella, in power 1963 to 1965, leaned toward China. He was overthrown by his defense minister Houari Boumédiène, who was in charge 1965-1976. Algeria strongly supported the Palestinian cause, and when Moscow was lukewarm in support of the Six-Day War in 1967, Algeria refused to let the Soviets build a naval base at Mers El Kébir. Paris sold Algeria French warplanes in 1968, looking to counterbalance the Soviet influence.Guy de Carmoy, "France, Algeria, and the Soviet Penetration in the Mediterranean." Military Review (1970) 50#3 pp 83-90. Operating independently from the Kremlin, Fidel Castro turned Algeria into Cuba's first and closest ally in Africa between 1961 and 1965. Havana provided military and civilian assistance. Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces soldiers, however did not engage in combat, and after the overthrow of Castro's friend Ben Bella, Cuba cut back its involvement.Piero Gleijeses, "Cuba's first venture in Africa: Algeria, 1961–1965." Journal of Latin American Studies 28.1 (1996): 159-195.
Algeria supported the Polisario Front, a left-wing movement supported by Moscow that battled for 10 years for control of Western Sahara from Morocco. The United States, Egypt, Belgium, and France supported Morocco, and Algeria was increasingly identified with the Soviet side of the Cold War.Yahia Zoubir, "Soviet policy toward the Western Sahara conflict." Africa Today 34.3 (1987): 17-32. online
Angola
In a complex civil war with outside interventions, Soviet military aid went to the Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA). By 1976, the military sphere was the pivot of Angolan-Soviet relations. The Soviet Navy benefited from its use of Angolan ports to stage exercises.Arthur J. Klinghoffer, "The Soviet Union and Angola," (Army War College, 1980) online During 1956-1986, as part of the long South African Border War (1966-1990), the Soviets supplied and trained combat units from Namibia (SWAPO) and Angola (MPLA) at the African National Congress (ANC) military training camps in Tanzania. In 1986 Mikhail Gorbachev rejected the idea of a revolutionary takeover of the South African government, and advocated a negotiated settlement.
Congo
Facing enormous turmoil in the newly independent Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, the charismatic leader of the Mouvement National Congolais, reacted by calling for assistance from the Soviet Union. The Kremlin promptly sent military advisors and munitions.Omajuwa Igho Natufe, "The cold war and the Congo crisis, 1960-1961." Africa (1984): 353-374. The involvement of the Soviets split the Congolese government and led to an impasse between Lumumba and conservative President Joseph Kasa-Vubu, who was anti-communist. President Kasa-Vubu used his command of the army to launch a coup d'état, expelling the Soviet advisors and establishing a new government under his own control. Lumumba was taken captive and subsequently executed in 1961. A rival government, the "Free Republic of the Congo", was founded in the eastern city of Stanleyville by Lumumba supporters, led by Antoine Gizenga. The Kremlin supported Gizenga, but did not want to take the international risks involved in delivering material aid to the blockaded Orientale Province. Instead the Kremlin provided Gizenga with financial aid, and urged its allies to run the blockade and assist Gizenga while avoiding a direct conflict with the West on the issue. The Gizenga regime was crushed in early 1962.Sergei Mazov, "Soviet Aid to the Gizenga Government in the Former Belgian Congo (1960–61) as Reflected in Russian Archives." Cold War History 7.3 (2007): 425-437.
Egypt
In the 1950s, Gamal Abdel Nasser began to follow an anti-imperialist policy that earned him enthusiastic support from the Communist government of the USSR.Dawisha, Karen. Soviet Foreign Policy Towards Egypt (1979) During the Nasser years, many young Egyptians studied in Soviet universities and military schools. Among them was the future president, Hosni Mubarak, who went for training in a military pilot school in Kant Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.
The relationship went sour within years after the death of Nasser, when the new president Anwar Sadat started re-orienting the country toward the West. On May 27, 1971, a friendship treaty was signed between the two countries, but relations were nevertheless declining. The Nixon administration was working behind the scenes with Sadat to bolster his plans to send the Russians home, which they did in July 1972. In March 1976 Egypt abrogated the friendship treaty. In September 1981, the last relations were severed by the Egyptian government accusing Soviet leadership of trying to undermine Sadat's leadership in retaliation to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.Craig A. Daigle, "The Russians are going: Sadat, Nixon and the Soviet presence in Egypt." Middle East 8.1 (2004): 1+ onlineWilliam E. Farrell, "Envoy of Moscow Expelled by Egypt" The New York Times, Sept. 16, 1981 Relations were reestablished under president Hosni Mubarak in 1984, and Alexander Belonogov became the Ambassador. In February 1989, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Shevardnadze visited Egypt.Larry C. Napper, "The Arab Autumn of 1984: A Case Study of Soviet Middle East Diplomacy." The Middle East Journal 39#4 (1985): 733-744. online
Ethiopia
Soviet foreign policy in Somalia and Ethiopia was based on the Horn of Africa's strategic location for international trade and shipping as well as its military importance. Neither country followed the Kremlin's directives unquestioningly.Harry Brind, "Soviet policy in the Horn of Africa." International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs) 60.1 (1983): 75-95. online