Center of attraction: "Russian House" in Angola is ready to open

The Russian House in Angola is ready to open. The issue of financing the center is currently being resolved, the head of the federal agency, Yevgeny Primakov, told Izvestia. All necessary agreements have already been approved and ratified with the African country. In addition, Russia is discussing the conclusion of an intergovernmental agreement with Algeria, which will speed up the opening of the "Russian House" in this country, he said. The strengthening of cultural ties and the presence of the Russian Federation in African countries can be found in the exclusive Izvestia article.

Russia is ready to open a "Russian house" in Angola

Everything is ready for the opening of the "Russian House" in Angola. According to the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Evgeny Primakov, now it remains only to wait for financing.

— We hope to open a "Russian House" in Angola this year. It depends on whether the Ministry of Finance will provide the necessary funds. Everything has been approved and ratified with Angola. We just need to rent a room and send people there to work, but it depends on the Ministry of Finance," he told Izvestia.

Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation with a request to comment on the allocation of funds for the opening of the Russian House in Angola.

— Angola is familiar with Russian culture, because there was quite an active interaction during the Soviet era for several decades. The presence of Russian business and the expansion of its influence are also important for Angola," explains Natalia Piskunova, an African political scientist, who explains the importance of opening the center.

Earlier, the head of Rossotrudnichestvo had already announced plans to open a "Russian House" in some African countries, including Sudan, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Algeria and the Central African Republic. In December 2024, such a center for Russian culture opened in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

In January last year, the agency announced that it was considering 20 applications for the creation of "Russian Houses" around the world.

In addition, the "Russian House" may appear in Algeria.

— We can only open if there is an intergovernmental agreement. It has been discussed with Algeria for a long time," Evgeny Primakov clarified.

Russian Russian Houses' main task is to spread Russian culture abroad. You can take Russian language courses at the centers for free and receive a scholarship to study in Russia. In addition, cultural, educational and sports programs are held in the "Russian Houses".

— All these discoveries are taking place in the context of the general policy of strengthening soft power in Russia's foreign policy. Africa is now a very important economic and political destination for our country. The opening of such centers helps to expand cultural influence, expand the coverage of Russian language schools, helps Africans become familiar with Russian culture, and also provides support to our compatriots who live in various African countries," says Natalia Piskunova.

Cooperation between Russia and Africa

A new milestone in Russia's cooperation with African countries began in 2022. Against the background of unfriendly actions by Western countries, Moscow began to strengthen ties with countries that did not join the sanctions policy.

Speaking at the Russia—Africa: What's Next forum on April 23, the head of the Department for Partnership with Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Tatyana Dovgalenko, noted that there are no countries in the region that are unfriendly to Russia and Moscow is a natural ally of the continent. By the way, the department itself was organized in February 2025, once again demonstrating Russia's commitment to strengthen cooperation with the countries of the region.

— The South African region is one of the most resource—rich on Earth, especially with regard to rare earth metals. Africa as a whole offers tremendous opportunities in terms of shipping and transportation. Economic reasons prevail — this is a huge sales market and amazing opportunities for comfortable and low—cost extraction of natural resources that are needed for the Russian economy, - Natalia Piskunova believes

An indicator of an effective policy is the level of trade turnover between African countries and the Russian Federation, which reached a historic high of $27.8 billion in 2024, 13% more than in 2023. At the same time, the share of the continent's countries in the total trade turnover of the Russian Federation increased to 3.9% last year.

Traditionally, Russian exports prevail over imports in trade relations with this region. Moscow mainly sends oil and petroleum products, wheat, chemical products, fertilizers, various metals and products made from them to African countries. Russia mainly imports fruits, nuts, cocoa and coffee.

— An active return to Africa by Russian companies began in 2014-2015. Good success has been achieved, first of all, in the countries of North Africa (for example, Egypt, which has traditionally been a partner of Russia). There is progress in maritime transportation to, from, and from China. In addition, these are good contracts for cooperation with suppliers of resources, such as mining rare earth metals and working with aluminum ore deposits in West Africa," the expert notes.

In addition, by 2030, Russia plans to create an independent financial system for settlements with African countries, and trade representative offices are expected to open in Senegal and Tanzania soon.

"Russian transport companies are already involved in a number of projects in Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Egypt, but so far this is a point—by—point interaction," Natalia Piskunova believes.

A promising area is cooperation in the field of air transportation. Here we are talking about both the expansion of African airports and the conclusion of agreements with local airlines, which, in the context of sanctions against Russian air carriers, opens up the opportunity for Russian travelers to get to a large number of countries. Such agreements, for example, are already in place with Ethiopian and Cairo Airlines.

An important track in Russia's cooperation with African countries is military—technical cooperation. Moscow has such agreements with more than 30 states in the region. Russia supplies them with various military equipment — airplanes, helicopters, air defense and electronic warfare systems, small arms and much more.