‘Russia’s African lab’: How Putin won over Burkina Faso after French adieu

Supporters of Burkina Faso's military government leader, Ibrahim Traore, hold the national flags of Burkina Faso and Russia during a demonstration in Ouagadougou on October 6, 2022. Traore was appointed president of Burkina Faso a day earlier following the West African country's second coup in less than nine months [Issouf Sanogo/AFP]

In the heart of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, a poster advertising free Russian language courses has been attached to the large, iconic model of a globe on a road intersection which locals refer to as the “United Nations roundabout”.

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union (USSR) had a strong presence in Africa through diplomatic representation and cultural centres, including in Burkina Faso. Three decades since Russia left large parts of Africa amid the breakup of the Soviet Union, however, signs of its return are visible in Burkina Faso, where the capital’s walls are adorned with pro-Russian graffiti, and Russian flags fly in the streets.