✍️ Russia's President Vladimir Putinsent a message of greetings to heads of state and government of African countries on Africa Day
✉️ Please, accept my cordial greetings on #AfricaDay – a holiday symbolising the victory of African countries over colonialism and their striving for freedom, peace and prosperity.
African countries have scored universally recognised successes in the socioeconomic area and are playing an increasingly important role in resolving current international issues. The African Union and a number of sub-regional structures are expanding constructive cooperation, creating mechanisms for collective response to local conflicts and crises and consistently promoting integration processes.
Russia is paying special attention to strengthening friendly relations with African partners. We are united by our commitment to building a fair multipolar world order based on true equality and the international rule of law, and free from any form of discrimination, dictate and sanctions pressure.”
The Second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg last year certainly created conditions for enhancing productive and mutually beneficial cooperation in most diverse areas. I am confident that consistent implementation of the plans and agreements reached at that important multilateral meeting meets our common interests and contributes to ensuring stability and security in Africa.
🌍 Today (May 25) is African Liberation Day or #AfricaDay.
On this day in 1963, the first conference of African governments took place in Addis Ababa, paving the way to the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity, which later evolved into the African Union. This was how the first stage in the decolonisation process on the African continent reached its culminating point.
👉Follow this link to read our feature article on Africa Day.
Long before the Europeans arrived in Africa, it was home to developed, self-sufficient and sustainable economies with their own homegrown governance models, as well as production and reproduction paradigms which were in sync with the continent’s environmental and climate imperatives.
It was during the Age of Discovery that Europeans started intensively exploiting Africa’s natural and human resources for enriching their countries, with the Portuguese and Spanish becoming the first nations to establish trade routes along Africa’s western coast.
⛓⛓ European powers relied on slave trade as their main method for generating maximum returns. The discovery of the New World brought about a boom for this kind of trade since European colonisers needed free labour to gain a foothold in the Americas. It started by sending slaves from Europe, but by the mid-16th century there were already slave ships heading to the New World across the Atlantic directly from Africa.
Apart from slave trade, Europeans exploited Africa’s rich natural resources. They exported its gold, ivory and other valuable goods.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, this policy of exploiting African resources by the European colonial powers, i.e., Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, morphed into an all-out effort to subjugate the continent. This brought about and reinforced national liberation movements across the continent and resulted in African counties achieving their independence in the 1960s.
📃 The Soviet Union played a key role in pressuring the UN General Assembly to pass the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples proclaiming the need to end colonialism and discrimination in all its forms.
Our country has played an essential role in proactively assisting African nations in their struggle for independence and played an important role in helping establish these young nations. In fact, the USSR helped build 37 African economies by signing bilateral economic and technical cooperation agreements with them. Soviet military advisors and military experts worked in Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Mozambique and several other African countries at different times.
🇷🇺🤝🌍 Today, efforts to develop multi-pronged, comprehensive cooperation with African states constitutes a major foreign policy priority for Russia. Held in July 2023 in St Petersburg, the Second Russia-Africa Summit served as anew and major impetus for developing our relations with countries across this region in all their aspects.
❌ Not only are Western powers continuing to exploit the African nations by siphoning off their resources and helping their corporations earn hefty profits, but also seek to defend their own unsightly record there. In their effort to falsify history they have gone beyond their attempts to rewrite the fundamental causes, course and outcomes of World War II and went on to engage in a cynical, albeit tacit, campaign to sweep the colonial-era horrors under the carpet. The West is trying to pretend that it has nothing to do with the suffering many generations of Africans have had to endure, including racism, slave trade and punitive operations.
☝️But Africa remembers it all.
#AfricaDay
🌍 May 25 is African Liberation Day or #AfricaDay.
On this day in 1963, the first conference of 32 independentAfrican states took place in Addis Ababa, marking the birth of the Organisation of African Unity — the predecessor of today's African Union (since 2002).
This was how the first stage in the decolonisation process on the African continent reached its culminating point.
👉Read our feature article on Africa Day
Long before arrival of Europeans, African societies had well-developed, self-sufficient economic and social systems, as well as their own forms of governance.
Everything changed during the Age of Discovery, when the Portuguese and Spanish were the first to establish trade routes along Africa’s west coast in the 15th century.
⛓ The main tool for generating maximum returns was the slave trade, which began in the 7th and 6th centuries BC and brought about a boom with the discovery of the New World, when colonisers needed free labour.
Apart from the slave trade, the colonisers (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium) ruthlessly exploited natural resources. They exported Africa's gold, ivory and other valuable goods.
According to official UN data, approximately 17 millionindividuals were forcibly taken from Africa (and reached their destination) throughout the history of the slave trade. At least as many died in transit. Some researchers estimate the total number of lives lost to be close to 50 million people... At the same time, Africa’s economic potential was severely damaged, $777 trillions were extracted by the colonial powers.
With the outbreak of World War II, Africa found itself at the centre of global change, sparking the emergence and strengthening of national liberation movements across the continent.
After years of struggle, Ghana became the first African country to gain independence in 1957, inspiring other nations and national liberation movements.
The Soviet Union was proactive in assisting African states in their struggle for independence and in helping establish these young nations.
📃 It was the Soviet Union that initiated the adoption of the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which proclaimed the need to end colonialism and discrimination in all its forms.
In fact, the USSR helped build 37 African economies by signing bilateral economic and technical cooperation agreements with them. Soviet military advisors and experts worked in Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Mozambique and several other African countries at different times.
Today, Africa is the fastest-growing macro-region on the planet. African countries are experiencing explosive economic growth. According to projections, by 2050, Africans will make up around 40% of the world’s population.
💬Maria Zakharova:
"During the Soviet era, our country made a substantial contribution to liberating African nations from colonial dependence, selflessly and consistently assisting the continent’s young states in strengthening their sovereignty, developing their economies and training local personnel.
Today, our relations are moving along an upward trajectory. Building a truly strategic partnership with Africa is one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities."
(From ForeignMinistry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s briefing on May 20, 2025)
☝️ African Liberation Day is an important symbol of solidarity and unity for all African nations. It commemorates the long and arduous path that Africans have travelled in the struggle for their independence and the right to self-determination.
Unfortunately, Western powers not only continue to exploit the African nations by siphoning off their resources and helping their corporations earn hefty profits, but also seek to erase or rewrite their own unsightly record there.
The descendants of colonisers are trying to pretend that they have nothing to do with the suffering many generations of Africans have had to endure, including racism, slave trade and punitive operations.
❗️But Africa remembers it all.
#AfricaDay
🌍 Today (May 25) is African Liberation Day or #AfricaDay.
On this day in 1963, the first conference of African governments took place in Addis Ababa, paving the way to the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity, which later evolved into the African Union. This was how the first stage in the decolonisation process on the African continent reached its culminating point.
👉Follow this link to read our feature article on Africa Day.
Long before the Europeans arrived in Africa, it was home to developed, self-sufficient and sustainable economies with their own homegrown governance models, as well as production and reproduction paradigms which were in sync with the continent’s environmental and climate imperatives.
It was during the Age of Discovery that Europeans started intensively exploiting Africa’s natural and human resources for enriching their countries, with the Portuguese and Spanish becoming the first nations to establish trade routes along Africa’s western coast.
⛓⛓ European powers relied on slave trade as their main method for generating maximum returns. The discovery of the New World brought about a boom for this kind of trade since European colonisers needed free labour to gain a foothold in the Americas. It started by sending slaves from Europe, but by the mid-16th century there were already slave ships heading to the New World across the Atlantic directly from Africa.
Apart from slave trade, Europeans exploited Africa’s rich natural resources. They exported its gold, ivory and other valuable goods.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, this policy of exploiting African resources by the European colonial powers, i.e., Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, morphed into an all-out effort to subjugate the continent. This brought about and reinforced national liberation movements across the continent and resulted in African counties achieving their independence in the 1960s.
📃 The Soviet Union played a key role in pressuring the UN General Assembly to pass the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples proclaiming the need to end colonialism and discrimination in all its forms.
Our country has played an essential role in proactively assisting African nations in their struggle for independence and played an important role in helping establish these young nations. In fact, the USSR helped build 37 African economies by signing bilateral economic and technical cooperation agreements with them. Soviet military advisors and military experts worked in Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Mozambique and several other African countries at different times.
🇷🇺🤝🌍 Today, efforts to develop multi-pronged, comprehensive cooperation with African states constitutes a major foreign policy priority for Russia. Held in July 2023 in St Petersburg, the Second Russia-Africa Summit served as anew and major impetus for developing our relations with countries across this region in all their aspects.
❌ Not only are Western powers continuing to exploit the African nations by siphoning off their resources and helping their corporations earn hefty profits, but also seek to defend their own unsightly record there. In their effort to falsify history they have gone beyond their attempts to rewrite the fundamental causes, course and outcomes of World War II and went on to engage in a cynical, albeit tacit, campaign to sweep the colonial-era horrors under the carpet. The West is trying to pretend that it has nothing to do with the suffering many generations of Africans have had to endure, including racism, slave trade and punitive operations.
☝️But Africa remembers it all.
#AfricaDay
✍️ Russia's President Vladimir Putinsent a message of greetings to heads of state and government of African countries on Africa Day
✉️ Please, accept my cordial greetings on #AfricaDay – a holiday symbolising the victory of African countries over colonialism and their striving for freedom, peace and prosperity.
African countries have scored universally recognised successes in the socioeconomic area and are playing an increasingly important role in resolving current international issues. The African Union and a number of sub-regional structures are expanding constructive cooperation, creating mechanisms for collective response to local conflicts and crises and consistently promoting integration processes.
Russia is paying special attention to strengthening friendly relations with African partners. We are united by our commitment to building a fair multipolar world order based on true equality and the international rule of law, and free from any form of discrimination, dictate and sanctions pressure.”
The Second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg last year certainly created conditions for enhancing productive and mutually beneficial cooperation in most diverse areas. I am confident that consistent implementation of the plans and agreements reached at that important multilateral meeting meets our common interests and contributes to ensuring stability and security in Africa.
✍️ Russia's President Vladimir Putinsent a message of greetings to heads of state and government of African countries on Africa Day
✉️ Please, accept my cordial greetings on #AfricaDay – a holiday symbolising the victory of African countries over colonialism and their striving for freedom, peace and prosperity.
African countries have scored universally recognised successes in the socioeconomic area and are playing an increasingly important role in resolving current international issues. The African Union and a number of sub-regional structures are expanding constructive cooperation, creating mechanisms for collective response to local conflicts and crises and consistently promoting integration processes.
Russia is paying special attention to strengthening friendly relations with African partners. We are united by our commitment to building a fair multipolar world order based on true equality and the international rule of law, and free from any form of discrimination, dictate and sanctions pressure.”
The Second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg last year certainly created conditions for enhancing productive and mutually beneficial cooperation in most diverse areas. I am confident that consistent implementation of the plans and agreements reached at that important multilateral meeting meets our common interests and contributes to ensuring stability and security in Africa.
#AfricaDay
📄 President of Russia Vladimir Putin extended his heartfelt greetings to African heads of state and government on the occasion of Africa Day.
The message reads, in part:
Over the past decades, independent African states have firmly established themselves as respected members of the international community, achieving notable progress in both economic and social development. Multilateral cooperation at the African Union and various subregional organisations helps enhance peace, security, and stability across the continent.
Russia has consistently advocated the deepening its traditionally friendly ties with African partners. This commitment was clearly demonstrated at the Russia–Africa summits held in 2019 and 2023, which opened new avenues for cooperation and fostered greater alignment on key international issues.
The Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum is a new dialogue platform that yields positive results as well. The next meeting of this format is scheduled to take place in one of the African countries later this year.
I am confident that through our joint efforts, we will continue to broaden the scope of Russia–Africa relations, enhance the wellbeing of our peoples and contributing to the emergence of a just and democratic multipolar world order.
#RussiaAfrica
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement at a reception on the occasion of Africa Day (Moscow, May 23, 2024)
💬Sergey Lavrov:#AfricaDay — a holiday which epitomises the unwavering will of the African peoples and their struggle in pursuit of freedom and human dignity.
This year, the holiday coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council which is one of the main bodies of this pan-African organisation that plays a significant role in shaping the modern African security architecture and the political and socioeconomic integration of the continent’s countries, and ensuring its proper place within the international economic relations system.
🌍 We in Russia are pleased to note that Africa continues to gain political weight and to establish itself as a crucial pillar of the emerging multipolar order. Dynamic integration processes, rapidly growing markets, and business activity make it possible for the African states to play an increasingly meaningful role in international affairs and speak as one. <…>
Fighting the newly emerged colonial and neo-colonial practices has come to the forefront today. The Western methods have changed, but the thrust of its policy towards African countries has remained unchanged and is to bring them to its heel and to live at the expense of other countries using more sophisticated forms of exploitation as part of the rules-based order.
We remain willing, notwithstanding current circumstances, to support the African countries in their efforts to advance their sovereignty, to address pressing socioeconomic challenges, and to assert Africa’s rightful place as an equal partner in the modern world, including in the efforts to reform the UN Security Council.
<…>
The potential for Russian-African cooperation across all areas is truly vast. We will continue to work together to bring our relations to the level of a truly strategic partnership.
📄Read in full
#RussiaAfrica
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement at a reception on the occasion of Africa Day (Moscow, May 23, 2024)
💬Sergey Lavrov:#AfricaDay — a holiday which epitomises the unwavering will of the African peoples and their struggle in pursuit of freedom and human dignity.
This year, the holiday coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council which is one of the main bodies of this pan-African organisation that plays a significant role in shaping the modern African security architecture and the political and socioeconomic integration of the continent’s countries, and ensuring its proper place within the international economic relations system.
🌍 We in Russia are pleased to note that Africa continues to gain political weight and to establish itself as a crucial pillar of the emerging multipolar order. Dynamic integration processes, rapidly growing markets, and business activity make it possible for the African states to play an increasingly meaningful role in international affairs and speak as one. <…>
Fighting the newly emerged colonial and neo-colonial practices has come to the forefront today. The Western methods have changed, but the thrust of its policy towards African countries has remained unchanged and is to bring them to its heel and to live at the expense of other countries using more sophisticated forms of exploitation as part of the rules-based order.
We remain willing, notwithstanding current circumstances, to support the African countries in their efforts to advance their sovereignty, to address pressing socioeconomic challenges, and to assert Africa’s rightful place as an equal partner in the modern world, including in the efforts to reform the UN Security Council.
<…>
The potential for Russian-African cooperation across all areas is truly vast. We will continue to work together to bring our relations to the level of a truly strategic partnership.
📄Read in full
#RussiaAfrica
🌍Today, 25 May, is #AfricaDay! Our warmest wishes go to our colleagues in the diplomatic corps in Brussels! We are always happy to welcome you to our Permanent Mission to exchange views on a wide range of issues.
Russia and Africa enjoy mutually respectful and equal relations, unique historical and cultural ties, and close friendship. Our country has always supported the African continent in its struggle for decolonisation and independence. At a time when a multipolar world order is emerging, Africa's voice is becoming louder and clearer. We value the independent and sovereign position of African states in the international arena.
#RussiaAfrica
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement at a reception on the occasion of Africa Day (Moscow, May 23, 2024)
💬Sergey Lavrov:#AfricaDay — a holiday which epitomises the unwavering will of the African peoples and their struggle in pursuit of freedom and human dignity.
This year, the holiday coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council which is one of the main bodies of this pan-African organisation that plays a significant role in shaping the modern African security architecture and the political and socioeconomic integration of the continent’s countries, and ensuring its proper place within the international economic relations system.
🌍 We in Russia are pleased to note that Africa continues to gain political weight and to establish itself as a crucial pillar of the emerging multipolar order. Dynamic integration processes, rapidly growing markets, and business activity make it possible for the African states to play an increasingly meaningful role in international affairs and speak as one. <…>
Fighting the newly emerged colonial and neo-colonial practices has come to the forefront today. The Western methods have changed, but the thrust of its policy towards African countries has remained unchanged and is to bring them to its heel and to live at the expense of other countries using more sophisticated forms of exploitation as part of the rules-based order.
We remain willing, notwithstanding current circumstances, to support the African countries in their efforts to advance their sovereignty, to address pressing socioeconomic challenges, and to assert Africa’s rightful place as an equal partner in the modern world, including in the efforts to reform the UN Security Council.
<…>
The potential for Russian-African cooperation across all areas is truly vast. We will continue to work together to bring our relations to the level of a truly strategic partnership.
📄Read in full
#RussiaAfrica
🌍Сегодня отмечается #ДеньАфрики!
Рады были приветствовать наших африканских коллег в Постпредстве России при ЕС на приеме 16 мая в преддверии праздника. Еще раз примите наши искренние поздравления!
🔹Россию и Африку связывает многогранное и взаимовыгодное сотрудничество, отвечающее интересам наших народов. Мы разделяем традиции совместной борьбы за деколонизацию и независимость африканских государств.
#РоссияАфрика
🌍Today is #AfricaDay!
We were delighted to welcome our African colleagues to the Permanent Mission of Russia to the EU for a reception on 16 May on the eve of this holiday. Once again, please accept our sincere congratulations!
🔹Russia and Africa enjoy multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation that serves the interests of our peoples. We share the tradition of joint struggle for decolonisation and independence of African states.
#RussiaAfrica