Why Did Russia Forgive $20 Billion Of Debt To Africa?

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, recently announced the cancellation of more than $20 billion in debt owed to African nations. This is just a portion of the foreign debt that has been forgiven in previous years. Russia has had a long-standing relationship with the Dark Continent, like many developed nations, but it has never treated Africans cruelly to achieve its goals like other nations have.

Africa and, to a lesser extent, Asia and Latin America's obligations to the Soviet Union were forgiven by Russia. Moscow showered money on allies' governments throughout the Cold War, typically only asking for political allegiance in exchange. Third-world nations that indicated a desire to pursue socialism and supported the USSR were the principal beneficiaries of Soviet financial and military assistance.

However, following the fall of the Soviet Union, the majority of the debtors not only had no intention of returning any money but also were unable to do so, especially in the case of the majority of African nations, who are already facing dire economic conditions. The fact that debt obligations existed in the first place gave Moscow considerable sway over the policies of developing nations even after the demise of the Soviet Union, but it had no actual leverage over African nations to return their debts.

Vladimir Putin is despised by the US administration, much like Fidel Castro was, but the crime the US government has committed around the globe, including in Africa, cannot be compared to what the Russian government has done in protecting the country and its people. Africans should read to learn the truth rather than rely on false propaganda spread by Western and US media.

Although Moscow began canceling its debts in the 1990s, most of them were written off over the last 20 years, particularly during the administrations of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. Russian involvement in international issues increased as it repaired rifts with African and Asian countries. Additionally, according to Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, $ 140 billion in debt has been written off since 2000.

Not just Africa's debts were forgiven; the Russian government also canceled more than $30 billion in aid to Cuba. Cuba once received a lot of help from the USSR since, under the terms of the American-led economic blockade, the island was unable to survive on its own. Cuba's modern infrastructure and army were made possible by Soviet financial support.

World leaders the US government doesn’t like instantly become enemies. Like Nkrumah, Fidel Castro also wasn’t interested in democracy. With the support of America’s CIA, the government of Nkrumah was toppled in 1966. As for Fidel Castro, no one could explain the kind of person he was after surviving several assassination attempts on his life by the US government.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro was regarded as a legendary survivor by the time he passed away in 2016 at the age of 90. He was repeatedly believed to be dead as a young revolutionary, only to subsequently be discovered to be very much alive. However, it was possibly the 638 times, according to Cuban intelligence authorities, that the CIA allegedly attempted to kill Castro. Castro loved to tell interviewers, "If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic sport, I would win the gold medal," according to The Independent.

There was a lot of discussion in the 1990s regarding Cuba's enormous obligations to Russia and the fact that Havana lacks the resources to repay its bills. As a result, Russia started to cancel its obligations, on the one hand, there was little chance of receiving them back and, on the other hand, Cuba is one of the few Latin American nations that are friendly to Russia, which is crucial from military and geopolitical standpoint.

The Russian government doesn't make as much noise as the US government, which is one quality I enjoy. It's true that the US has gained a reputation as having the world's most compassionate government but is a government that has perpetrated the worst atrocities against humanity in Africa, according to history, which does more than just pass judgment.

Third World countries don't frequently criticize the US administration because they want a taste of the American dream and don't want their visa applications to be denied. Also, we need to find out why the United Nations is an entity that supports and backs the International Criminal Court, yet, the United States is opposed to the ICC. They believe they are above the law, even though nobody is. African leaders should wake up.

African liberation leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere chose communism over democracy for a reason. They had the wisdom to recognize that democracy is merely a cover for repression and murder. Sadly, to their detriment, the brainless, slothful African leaders are now collaborating with these wolves in sheep's clothing to devastate the continent by starving the populace.

How many factories the Soviet Union constructed, transported, invested in the budgets of African republics, and trained students is difficult to estimate. Putin is always willing to assist Africa; they did so during the coronavirus as well as the Ebola outbreak. Russia is the foreign power that Africa needs if the Dark Continent wants a government that will not decimate the continent to steal its resources.