Africa Politology (also known as The Company), a covert network of political influence, propaganda and espionage that was previously part of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s structure, has come under the full operational and financial control of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.
Following the failed Wagner Group mutiny in 2023, the remnants of Prigozhin’s forces were reorganized into the Africa Corps under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense, while the civilian political and information network Africa Politology was transferred to the SVR.
The organization disguises its activities as political analysis, but in reality, according to Defence Intelligence, it engages in disinformation, lobbying and espionage aimed at reducing the influence of Western countries and the United Nations in Africa. The SVR allegedly uses the network to manipulate public opinion, bribe local journalists and bloggers, create pro-Russian media outlets and Telegram channels, discredit democratic governments and organize protests in the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Mali, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Madagascar and other countries.
According to Defence Intelligence, in 2024 Africa Politology carried out a number of specific operations on behalf of the SVR. These included efforts to discredit the presence of the humanitarian organization FHI 360 and disrupt the extension of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA in the CAR; spreading rumors that CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra had been “poisoned” in France; fueling anti-French sentiment in the CAR; and systematically discrediting Ukraine across the African continent.
Ukrainian intelligence also released information identifying key figures in the network. The process of bringing the organization under Kremlin control was coordinated by Dmitry Fadeev, a former SVR officer. Individual areas and regions are reportedly overseen by Sergei Mashkevich, who previously supervised Prigozhin’s projects in Sudan; Dmitry Volkov, who was responsible for operations in Bolivia; and Taras Pribashin, who worked in Madagascar, Zimbabwe and the CAR. The group also includes Ilya Savelyev, Sergei Klyushkin, Nikolai Radkovsky, as well as Alexei Shilov, Yulia Afanasyeva-Bereg and Ksenia Soboleva, who are under U.S. sanctions.
The SVR finances Africa Politology through intermediary companies, including JSC Inter and LLC Intertechtrade. According to Defence Intelligence, opaque transactions between these companies help conceal the intelligence service’s role, circumvent tax controls and reduce the risk of accounts being blocked. A significant share of the funds is transferred in cash, which not only helps conceal traces of covert operations but also contributes to corruption within the network, as contractors reportedly inflate budgets due to the lack of oversight over cash flows.
