The Forum for Research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (Free Network) published in December 2025 a paper titled "Russia's New Strategy in Africa: Big Ambitions, Limited Gains" by Maria Perrotta Berlin, Stockholm Institute for Transition Economics, and Lev Lvovskiy, Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center.
While Russia has intensified relations with a handful of African states, the overall involvement remains limited in scope and depth. There has been a modest expansion of trade since 2022 and Russia's military cooperation agreements with African states have increased markedly in recent years.
Voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly suggest declining rather than increasing support for Russian positions. Russia's new strategy may yield short-term geopolitical leverage but shows little sign of delivering durable economic or political gains.
