The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has launched a large-scale campaign to create a belt of friendly regimes in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, aimed at systematically displacing U.S. and allied interests, reports Forbidden Stories.
According to a report based on a leak of over 1,400 pages of internal Russian intelligence documents, Moscow has spent about $8.6 million on these operations. The SVR’s influence strategy is carried out through a front organization known as “The Company.” Its members include political analysts, public relations specialists, and social media managers with close ties to the Wagner paramilitary group. Since December 2023, the SVR has taken direct control of The Company, significantly accelerating its activities on the African continent.
The main objective of this effort is the formation of a “Confederation of Independence”—a group of states loyal to the Russian Federation. To destabilize target countries, the SVR and The Company employ a three-stage strategy. First, agents conduct a detailed study of the political landscape to identify vulnerabilities. Next, they recruit local journalists to disseminate propaganda. The Company spends up to $300,000 per month on these efforts, bribing media outlets; the cost of placing a single article ranges from $600 in Benin to $10,000 in Libya. In the final stage, secret ties are established with opposition leaders, military personnel, and local intelligence officers through lobbying and direct bribes, allowing them to directly influence national policies and provoke government coups.
The results of this work have already produced significant geopolitical shifts in Moscow’s favor. The Company claims a key role in creating the Sahel States Alliance, which includes Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. In Niger, under pressure from Russian-controlled media, the French company Orano lost its uranium mining licenses. Russian operatives also managed to infiltrate the inner circle of Chadian President Mahamat Déby to influence his political decisions. Factors contributing to the success of Russian operations include weak governance in the region, post-colonial discontent among local populations, corruption, and underfunded independent media.
The effectiveness of these methods is confirmed by the fact that participants in the operations were nominated for official Russian state awards for strategic influence. Former head of U.S. Africa Command, General Michael Langley, warned as early as June 2024 that systematic disinformation was undermining U.S. and French diplomatic relations with African partners. The consequences of this information war became clear when American and French forces were forced to withdraw from Niger, and Russian units replaced them at military bases in the capital, Niamey.
