Where Russia Plants Its Flag
A visit to Niger reveals the Kremlin’s push for power in Africa
NIAMEY — On our way to meet the man singing Russia’s praises in Niger, a street seller knocks on the car window. He is holding a bunch of small plastic flags, selling each one for 500 CFA francs (0.76 euros). Does he have a Russian one? The young man introduces himself as Issaka Chebou, riffles through his bundle and finally pulls out a Russian flag.
At the end of July, when President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown and the Russian flag became a symbol of anger against France, the former colonial power, Chebou says he sold almost 100 in a single day. Recently it’s taken him over a week to sell a Russian flag, he says. No change here: the driver buys a small Nigerian flag from him and attaches it to the windscreen.
Shortly afterwards, the man who literally spread the Russian flag around the country steps in the car: Ahmed Issoufou Bello, 37, sporting a shaved head and yellow checked shirt, invites us to come with him to his tailor to get his Russian flags repaired. He has two in his bag, each one is more than a meter wide. “Russia owes me a lot,” he declares.
His associates handed out more than 1,000 flags in July and August.
It was a clear PR win for the Kremlin. Bello’s flags made were seen around the world when photos of violent protests in front of the French embassy made it on international newspaper front pages.
The West was shocked by the coup in Niger, as the country’s government had been its last remaining partner in the war on terror in the Sahel region of northern Africa. The Wagner Group mercenaries lost no time in offering its services: a Nigerian general attended a meeting with Mali’s junta in Bamako, where a senior Wagner official was also present.
It looked like the Kremlin was pulling all the strings in Niger.
But unlike in Mali, where it is well known that Wagner mercenaries replaced French troops from Operation Barkhane, Russia doesn’t have many structures in place in Niger.
While some Malian generals trained in the Soviet Union and later in Russia, until now Moscow didn’t have strong links with Niger, not even an embassy in the capital city of Niamey. Unlike Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger had not been one of the “loyal” African countries that enjoy free grain exports from Russia.
Breaking from the EU
But last month, suddenly there was movement.
A small Russian military delegation landed in Niamey and Nigerian state television showed images of them set to melodic background music – uniformed Russians sitting in deep leather seats alongside leaders of the junta, staring grimly into the cameras.
They struck a deal for military cooperation, the details of which are as yet unknown. But it is clear that security missions with the European Union – EUCAP and EUMPM – are on the way out, with deals broken off by the junta.
“The end of the EU missions shows that the generals have made up their mind about breaking with the EU,” Ulf Laessing, leader of the Sahel Regional Program at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, wrote on X/Twitter. “Difficult to see how to reinstate these missions and overall cooperation after you formally end agreements.”
Bello, who founded the pro-Russian organization “Développons Le Niger” (DLN), has been working on this for a long time, appealing to Russia to “help us develop Niger.”
Transition promises
We arrive at the tailor’s, who explains that during the coup four months ago he often worked late into the night, sewing white, blue and red flags. Today he is grateful for the small repair job. The ECOWAS sanctions have driven him to the brink of bankruptcy. He is far from the only one.
Because the borders are closed due to sanctions, products don’t come into the country from Benin, but from Togo and Burkina Faso, which is also under sanctions from ECOWAS. The detour and the cost of security escorts to protect imports from terrorist attacks are driving prices up.
The price of staples such as rice has risen by about a third. The only thing keeping Niger from collapse is the fact that the country produces oil and has refineries for petrol products.
It’s dark in the tailor’s shop, as the electricity has been cut off again. As part of the sanctions, neighboring Nigeria has stopped exporting electricity to Niger. The threatened invasion of ECOWAS troops is now off the table, thanks to behind-thescenes mediation from the U.S. – most likely because the West doesn’t want to push Niger into Russia’s arms.
ECOWAS and the West would accept a transition period of 18 months for the country to move to democracy. But the generals are insisting on at least twice that length of time – and the recent repeal of migrant smuggling Law 36, which was so important to Europe, shows that they are not concerned about relations with the EU.
The sanctions are broader and longer-lasting than in previous coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, and they include the financial sector – the banks have very little cash. But any hopes that the generals would relent have proven unfounded.
Remember Prigozhin?
Time to talk about Russia. “For three years I have been writing on Facebook that Putin understands our problems best, that he is working on behalf of Africans,” says Bello.
When the president’s body guard revolted against Bazoum in July, he started handing out flags as fast as he could. “At first I paid for them out of my own pocket, then people started to donate.” He says that they have brought in more than 3,000 euros overall.
Bello says that he doesn’t receive any support from Russia, “but I am in contact with the Russian embassy in
Mali”. He is now hoping for a show of gratitude and has asked for funding for “humanitarian projects”. So far without success.
It is clear that Russia wants to at least maintain its influence in Africa after the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. That is why Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov was in Mali and Burkina Faso. So far Burkina Faso has refused overtures from Wagner, seeking official military cooperation. And, after the death of their leader, it is unclear whether Wagner troops are prepared to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Hatred of former colonial powers
Not everyone in Niger welcomes Russia’s influence as Bello does. Dana Ibrahim, 49, asks us to talk in a sheltered backyard. The activist is known as the “General of the Streets”, because he can mobilize tens of thousands via social media. He boasts that he was arrested 21 times for organizing demonstrations during Bazoum’s presidency and that of his predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou.
He says that a few days after the coup, the army asked him for help. They wanted mass demonstrations to signal to the international community that the people were on the military’s side – and that an intervention by ECOWAS soldiers was therefore risky. Ibrahim says that they cannot replace hatred of France, the former colonial power, with support for Russia.
Because that is what this is about: driving out France, who he says had long maintained controlled over uranium mining in Niger. Others see this narrative as a smokescreen for political power struggles. Many believe that former President Issoufou’s network initiated the coup because they were worried about growing oil revenues.
The deeply felt anti-French sentiment in the country undoubtedly provided a perfect breeding ground for the coup.
And the resentment seems to be stronger than concern about the rise in terror attacks, with the most recent taking place only 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital city of Niamey.
Bello says that Niger can solve this problem on its own. “We can overcome the terrorists in six months without France.” A generous prognosis given they only have around 20,000 soldiers and no money. Since the coup, Niger has cut its planned spending by almost half, which could mean soldiers’ salaries are at risk in the next few months.
Bello and his people were ruthless in the methods they used to drive out more than 1,500 French troops in October: they attacked the French embassy and surrounded soldiers. “We blocked food deliveries to the French military bases, as well as shutting off water.”
He says the people of Niger have no issue with the other Western military contingents — besides the Americans. “Their identity cards were being used to deliver food to French soldiers.” They told the U.S. embassy that this posed a risk to the status of their military base in Agadez. Shortly afterwards the French gave up and began their withdrawal.
If Bello is to be believed, the Kremlin will also struggle to find a foothold in Niger. The Russian flags were mainly a way of building pressure on the French to withdraw. “No one will step into France’s place, not even Russia,” Ibrahim agrees. “We don’t need new colonial masters.” It remains to be seen whether Moscow agrees.