--- title: Why Many Nigeriens Want Russia in and the West Out description: A mix of Russian arms transfers, trade ties, and anti-colonial rhetoric and disinformation, has made many Africans pro-Putin. canonical: https://time.com/6301177/niger-african-support-russia/ author: Collin Meisel article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-08-03T13:18:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T13:16:58.135Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Many Nigeriens Want Russia in and the West Out og:description: The waving of Russian flags among Nigeriens is a reminder that much of Africa is not pro-Western. og:url: https://time.com/6301177/niger-african-support-russia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48439cdb7a9afa0/698a3f3d011682715a9834ca/GettyImages-1564957640.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: NIGER-POLITICS-COUP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Many Nigeriens Want Russia in and the West Out twitter:description: The waving of Russian flags among Nigeriens is a reminder that much of Africa is not pro-Western. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48439cdb7a9afa0/698a3f3d011682715a9834ca/GettyImages-1564957640.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Many Nigeriens Want Russia in and the West Out by [Collin Meisel](https://time.com/author/collin-meisel/) and [Adam Szymanski-Burgos](https://time.com/author/adam-szymanski-burgos/) Aug 3, 2023 1:18 PM UTC  Protesters wave Nigerien and Russian flags as they gather during a rally in support of Niger's junta in Niamey on July 30, 2023. Protesters wave Nigerien and Russian flags as they gather during a rally in support of Niger's junta in Niamey on July 30, 2023.AFP via Getty Images by [Collin Meisel](https://time.com/author/collin-meisel/) and [Adam Szymanski-Burgos](https://time.com/author/adam-szymanski-burgos/) Aug 3, 2023 1:18 PM UTC Last week’s coup in Niger sent shockwaves across not only Africa's Sahel region, but the international community at large. Niger had been the last pro-Western holdout in a region known as Africa's “[coup belt](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/27/explainer-niger-a-linchpin-for-stability-in-africas-coup-belt),” fueling concerns the military takeover could destabilize the region and hurt longstanding counterterrorism efforts there. Yet the sight of Nigeriens waving pro-Putin protest signs and Russian flags has left many in the West feeling uneasy. These images provide a sharp contrast for a Western public that has [frequently](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/21/opinion/putin-now-pariah-world-stage/) [been](https://news.sky.com/video/us-secretary-of-state-putin-is-making-russia-a-pariah-12560583) [told](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-federation/putin-pariah) that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “[pariah around the world](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pariah-putin-clearly-losing-ukraine-war-biden-4160857).” In recent years, we have witnessed a “[new scramble for Africa](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/03/07/the-new-scramble-for-africa),” with major powers like Russia and China as well as growing regional powers such as the United Arab Emirates making substantial diplomatic and economic forays into the continent. These powers, the [somewhat problematic "new scramble" narrative](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/we-need-to-change-how-we-talk-about-russia-africa) goes, are displacing the influence of traditional colonial powers like Britain and France. For example, in largely francophone West Africa, France was once the[ dominant](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/in-brief-15-takeaways-from-our-new-report-measuring-us-and-chinese-global-influence/) foreign power in nine of the region's 16 countries as of 1980 compared with only three today, [according](https://korbel.du.edu/pardee/research/diplometrics/formal-bilateral-influence-capacity) to our team’s Formal Bilateral Influence Capacity Index. Yet part of what the “new scramble” narrative misses is that Russia’s presence in Africa is [hardly new](https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20230718-from-khrushchev-s-kgb-to-putin-the-deep-roots-of-russian-influence-in-africa). Ghana, Guinea, and Mali are [cases in point](https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2f17b326-8c4e-427a-8ce4-040c34582083/download%5Ffile?file%5Fformat=application%2Fpdf&safe%5Ffilename=Iandolo%2B-%2BSoviet%2BPolicy%2Bin%2BWest%2BAfrica%2C%2B1957-64.pdf&type%5Fof%5Fwork=Thesis), where the Soviet Union, led by Russia, is [remembered](https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/08/russia-ukraine-colonialism-diplomacy-africa/) as a potent anti-colonial force seeking to free Africans from European and American (and capitalist) oppression. [Soviet involvement in Africa](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/2/22/between-east-and-west-the-cold-wars-legacy-in-africa) was widespread, featuring economic and military assistance for socialist-leaning governments and militias fighting liberation wars. Then and since, Russia has maintained a decades-long [diplomatic presence](https://korbel.du.edu/pardee/research/diplometrics/diplomatic-representation) in most African countries. In recent years, Russian [arms transfers](https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/2303%5Fat%5Ffact%5Fsheet%5F2022%5Fv2.pdf) have poured into Africa, providing 40% of arms imported by African countries since 2018\. Meanwhile, the state-sponsored Wagner mercenary group has become [deeply involved](https://www.dw.com/en/russias-wagner-group-in-africa-more-than-mercenaries/a-64822234) in the security interests of countries such as the Central African Republic and Sudan, providing not only military training but also security for gold and other mines—in return for a share of the profits. While Russia's overall trade with Africa is far outmatched by China, it maintains outsized influence in the continent. That includes not just arms but the crucial agricultural sector—the continent has severe food import dependence that places Russia in a unique position that [China](https://www.cfr.org/article/china-increasingly-relies-imported-food-thats-problem) or others cannot easily fill. [Disinformation campaigns](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64451376) have also boosted Russian influence, through anti-colonialist memes that have turned into action in the streets of Chad, Mali, and elsewhere. These efforts appear to have paid dividends for Russia at the U.N., where in [repeated](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/figure-of-the-week-african-countries-votes-on-the-un-resolution-condemning-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/) U.N. General Assembly [votes](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/24/un-tells-russia-to-leave-ukraine-how-did-countries-vote) several African nations have either voted against or abstained from condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine. Last year, [protestors waved Russian flags](https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-steadily-rebuilding-presence-in-africa/6452193.html) following a coup in Burkina Faso. This year it is Niger. If U.S. and European leaders are keen to avoid another repeat of this pattern, they will need to change tack. According to our own team’s [forecasts](https://www.stimson.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Spheres-of-Influence-Report%5F5.22.23%5FPages.pdf), a business-as-usual mindset will lead to an African continent that is far more closely aligned with Russia and its “[no limits friendship](https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/china/article/3214426/china-russia/index.html)” with China than to the West. Unless a course correction is made, the U.S. and Europe are poised to fall further and further behind in terms of aid, trade, arms transfers, and diplomatic engagement—key sources of international influence. To reverse the tide, the West should make further commitments to [expanding trade ties](https://african.business/2022/06/trade-investment/eu-pushes-new-for-trade-deal-with-africa) and [investment in Africa](https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/07/counter-russias-aggression-invest-africa). Previous trade deals have been characterized as a “[Kiss of Death](https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-2014/trade-between-two-unequal-partners)” by promoting unfair competition that hurts African workers. (Though allegations of “[debt-trap diplomacy](https://www.theafricareport.com/17380/chinas-growing-reach-in-africa-are-we-seeing-a-fair-trade/)” and exploitative [resource extraction](https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/russias-focus-africa-energy-metals-and-weapons-24294) have also been lobbed at China and Russia, respectively.) To properly win hearts and minds, new trade and investment deals must be fair and sustainable, encouraging the development of African industries and the reduction of poverty. The U.S. and Europe should also increase their budgets for the U.S. Agency for International Development and similar organizations, lest Western countries lose much of their aid-based influence in sub-Saharan Africa. Sharing more power in international organizations—including “[sharing the pen](https://www.stimson.org/2023/sharing-the-pen-in-the-un-security-council-a-win-for-inclusive-multilateralism/)” with non-permanent members at the U.N. Security Council—would also help. Otherwise, Western publics should prepare for more waving of the white, blue, and red—Russia’s tricolor flag—than of the American red, white, and blue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6301177/niger-african-support-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6301177/niger-african-support-russia/"},"headline":"Why Many Nigeriens Want Russia in and the West Out","datePublished":"2023-08-03T13:18:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T13:16:58.135Z","description":"The waving of Russian flags among Nigerien coup supporters is a reminder that much of Africa is not pro-Western.","url":"https://time.com/6301177/niger-african-support-russia/","keywords":["Niger"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48439cdb7a9afa0/698a3f3d011682715a9834ca/GettyImages-1564957640.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Collin Meisel","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/collin-meisel/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Adam Szymanski-Burgos","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/adam-szymanski-burgos/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48439cdb7a9afa0/698a3f3d011682715a9834ca/GettyImages-1564957640.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NIGER-POLITICS-COUP","caption":"NIGER-POLITICS-COUP","creditText":"AFP via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/niger/","name":"Niger"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6301177/niger-african-support-russia/","name":"Why Many Nigeriens Want Russia in and the West Out"}}]}] ```