Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed an op-ed in 4 African newspapers final month explaining why he was on a multicountry tour of the continent—and why African nations ought to help Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Lavrov blamed Western sanctions for the meals disaster in Africa and asserted that in distinction to the U.Okay., France, Belgium and different European powers, Russia “has not stained itself with the bloody crimes of colonialism.”
The concept that Russia averted colonial enlargement has shocking resonance within the West and elsewhere. Russia by no means had formal colonies in Africa, Latin America or South Asia. However the concept the Kremlin averted colonization initiatives altogether—that it dodged the “bloody crimes” for which Dutch, Spanish or Portuguese empires have been accountable—is as risible as it’s ahistorical.
