In South Africa, Russia’s ‘anti-colonial’ narrative sways public opinion

A stall sells an uMkhonto weSizwe Party branded T-shirt with the image of former South African President Jacob Zuma with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Durban, South Africa on March 27, 2024 [Rogan Ward/Reuters]

In 1986, Sue Dobson, a young white woman from Pretoria, was recruited by the African National Congress (ANC) to be a spy within the South African apartheid regime.

As part of her mission, she was flown to Moscow for specialist training.