ADF STAFF
At first glance, and by design, Russian Houses in Africa appear to be like any other nation’s cultural exchange centers.
On its Facebook page, the Russian House in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), calls itself “an educational and cultural platform.”
They are closely linked to Rossotrudnichestvo, the official Russian agency for international cooperation. But experts and investigative journalists say Russian Houses are central to the Kremlin’s vast disinformation and propaganda operation on the continent.
Rossotrudnichestvo signed agreements in 2024 to formally establish Russian Houses in the CAR, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia. It intends to expand further, according to a January 2024 article from the African Initiative, a news agency that is operated by Russia’s primary security and intelligence agency.
“Such agreements represent only the visible part of Russia’s presence in these countries, often serving as the formalization of an already well-established network of influence,” Foreign Policy Research Institute fellow Olena Snigyr wrote in a November 8 analysis. “The Russian House in CAR is widely regarded as a humanitarian front for the activities of the former Wagner Group.”
The Russian House in Bangui opened informally in 2021 before being recognized by Rossotrudnichestvo in 2024. It is run by Dimitri Sytyi, who controls the mercenary Wagner Group’s presence in the CAR and reportedly uses the Russian House as a logistics hub for Wagner’s gold, diamond and timber trafficking operations.
Maxime Audinet, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Research at the Military School, believes the plan to expand the use of Russian Houses in Africa is an important cog in a relentless information war being waged on African people.
“This reflects a desire to reinforce public and cultural diplomacy,” he told Radio France Internationale. “It symbolizes an intention to put down roots.”
Rossotrudnichestvo, which reports to the Russian Foreign Ministry, was sanctioned by the European Union and had its assets frozen in July 2022 for operating what the bloc described as a network of “agents of influence” spreading Kremlin disinformation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although some Russian Houses elsewhere in the world have been accused of harboring spies, in Africa the connections between Russian Houses and Wagner are unmistakable.
Maxim Shugaley, formerly part of Russia’s troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency, is notorious for spreading pro-Russian propaganda and has close ties to Wagner. He visited the Russian House in Niger in 2024 and was arrested in Chad in September 2024 before a planned visit to the Russian House in N’Djamena.
“[It’s] a way for the Chadians to draw red lines and say that they don’t want this kind of person on their territory,” Ivan Klyszcz, a researcher on Russian foreign policy at the Estonia-based International Centre for Defence and Security, told The Africa Report.
Journalists in countries that have been flooded with Russian disinformation are finding it difficult to operate, as outreach and training for local media members is a key feature of Russian Houses in Africa.
“The Russians’ presence has changed the way we process information,” a Nigerien journalist who requested anonymity told Forbidden Stories, an international network of investigative reporters. “Journalists have been bought by the Russians via the junta to spread disinformation.
“Just after the dissolution of the country’s press house in January 2024, the Russian House came into being. According to some reports, it has since been working with reporters close to the government.”
Another reporter, from Burkina Faso, said the first targets of Russian disinformation in his country were local journalists.
“We’re living in the darkest hours of journalism in Burkina Faso,” he told Forbidden Stories.
