‘A Bridge Connecting Russia and Africa’
The HSE Centre for African Studies has marked its fifth anniversary. It was established to support Russian companies and government bodies in their engagement with countries across the continent and, over the years, has proved its effectiveness and uniqueness. A ceremonial event to mark the centre’s anniversary was held at HSE’s Cultural Centre.
‘Over the course of five years, a small team of researchers has managed to become Russia’s leading expert platform on Africa. The centre was created to help government agencies and development institutions understand the African continent, its challenges and opportunities, and today we can say that it has gone far beyond these initial objectives,’ noted HSE Vice Rector Tatyana Vasilyeva.
The centre has become not only a source of expertise for Russia, but also ‘a bridge connecting Russia and Africa,’ believes Tatyana Vasilyeva. The centre’s materials are considered among the best both in Russia and beyond. This is confirmed, she added, by ‘the positive response from African civil servants and experts to all of the centre’s academic publications, especially the most recent book Africa 2025.’
As stressed by Director of the HSE Centre for African Studies Andrey Maslov, its experts have succeeded in challenging Western African studies and putting their own agenda at the forefront of the discussion. The book Africa 2025 is based on years of research and contains 11 chapters, each of which is essentially ‘a substantial and independent study.’ The publication challenges entrenched stereotypes. For example, the genocide in Rwanda has traditionally been explained by overpopulation and resource shortages.
‘We set ourselves the task of showing that the relationship between demography and hunger is in fact the reverse: the larger the population, the easier it is to address infrastructure and logistics problems and to develop new markets,’ said Andrey Maslov.
HSE Research Professor at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs Fyodor Lukyanov, in turn, noted that there is now indeed active cooperation with colleagues from African countries. According to him, Russia is gradually opening up ‘entirely new horizons’ for itself. However, he added, Africa is still ‘burdened with widespread stereotypes.’
Anastasia Pavlenko, Deputy Executive Director and Director for Strategic Partnerships at Innopraktika, congratulated the Centre for African Studies on its fifth anniversary, praising its expert and analytical work. ‘Today, the Centre for African Studies is a platform of experts deeply immersed in the context of African countries’ development and working with our partners across Africa.’
During the discussion, Anastasia Pavlenko spoke about the joint work of the HSE Centre for African Studies and Innopraktika in implementing the Competence Transfer Programme. The initiative is aimed at sharing Russia’s advanced experience in digitalising public administration with African countries, as well as preparing the Russian-language edition of Africa 2025: Opportunities and Risks.
She paid particular attention to the promotion of Russian high-tech companies in international markets, including Africa. Within the Association of National Champions, established with the support of Innopraktika, 142 leading companies with revenues exceeding 847 billion roubles have already been brought together. These companies now face the task of entering global markets and jointly developing new technologies.
‘South Africa is among the top five countries of interest to our technology leaders. We have signed an agreement with the University of South Africa, and together with Geoscan, Innopraktika is already working in Angola, Burkina Faso, and Madagascar, and is now entering the South African market with solutions in magnetic geological exploration,’ she explained.
Anastasia Pavlenko praised the contribution of the Centre for African Studies to the development of dialogue and cooperation with the continent, noting that Innopraktika looks forward to expanding joint projects and launching new areas of collaboration.
Dean of the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs Anastasia Likhacheva thanked her colleagues for not getting carried away by their academic and expert successes.
‘You understand that it is vital to share what is most valuable—your experience, your connections, and your professional perspective on this region,’ she emphasised. ‘Given the number of African countries and the scale of Russian–African projects and challenges in this area, I believe that everyone who has chosen the Africa track will succeed in their careers. There are many opportunities in this field.’
As Pavel Kalmychek, Director of the Department for Bipartite Cooperation Development at the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, summed up, Russia is indeed moving from trade relations with the continent to deeper cooperation—and the potential for this cooperation is immense.
The anniversary event at the HSE Cultural Centre also featured a concert and a presentation of projects by the Centre for African Studies.
See also:
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