The Kremlin is using the Russian Orthodox Church as a tool of influence in Africa and, with its help, is recruiting local residents to take part in the war against Ukraine.
This was written by Anthony Sguazzin in an article in Bloomberg.
According to the publication, in less than three years the Russian Orthodox Church has expanded its presence in Africa from four countries to at least 34, increased the number of clergy to 270, and registered 350 parishes and communities as of June 2024, the latest data available from the church.
The geographic expansion could become the most significant in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, wrote Yury Maksimov, chairman of the missionary department of the African Exarchate, in a 2025 article.
Russians attracted priests with higher salaries, promises to build churches and rapid career advancement, according to research by Father Evangelos Tiani, an academic and Kenyan priest of the Greek Orthodox Church.
The expansion is aimed at “an attempt to draw more countries into its orbit,” said Tom Southern, director of special projects at the Center for Information Resilience, which studied this growth. “It looks like spiritual colonialism.”
According to research groups, in particular the European Council on Foreign Relations, Russia has sponsored disinformation campaigns and fueled instability in conflict affected countries. The country is also accused of using Africans to support its military efforts in Ukraine.
One such case involved Alabuga Start, a recruitment arm of the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan. It set out to hire thousands of African women aged 18 to 22, saying they would work in areas such as hospitality and construction.
Most of the young women end up at a military equipment factory, according to the authors of three reports from organizations including the Institute for Science and International Security.
According to Ukrainian estimates, more than 1,400 Africans are fighting for Russia on the battlefield. Kenya’s foreign minister said in November that at least 200 Kenyans had been recruited into the Russian army, often after being told they would work as guards or drivers.
A report published this month by the nonprofit research group All Eyes on Wagner says that Russia has recruited fighters from about 35 African countries and also lists the names of about 300 Africans killed in combat for Russia.
In South Africa, where fighting for or assisting a foreign army is a crime, police are investigating a case against the daughter of former president Jacob Zuma for allegedly helping recruit about 20 people into the Russian army. She told them they were undergoing a bodyguard training course.
The expansion of the church’s territory symbolizes Russia’s desire to win Africans over to its side.
At a 2022 press conference marking the first year of work in Africa, Patriarchal Exarch of Africa Leonid Gorbachev said that the church cooperates with Russian government institutions and holds talks with the government about the needs of the exarchate.
“Religious leaders in Africa remain the most trusted and respected, and religion occupies a central place in politics, elections and development issues,” Father Tiani, a Kenyan priest and scholar, wrote in an article published in July 2024 by Studies in World. “Thus using religion to enter Africa is an ideal form of Russian soft power.”
