Russian operatives are using new tactics to expand Moscow’s reach in Africa, two years after the death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. An investigation led by RFI and the monitoring group All Eyes on Wagner shows influence campaigns remain active from Angola to Chad.
The findings, published with All Eyes on Wagner, reveal how Russia is reshaping its methods while keeping a strong presence across the continent.
On 7 August, two Russian nationals were arrested in the Angolan capital Luanda after violent protests over soaring fuel prices. They face charges including criminal conspiracy, document forgery, terrorism and terror financing.
Angolan authorities said the pair had set up a network of propaganda and disinformation designed to stir unrest and bankroll the demonstrations.
The arrests shed light on Moscow’s evolving toolkit in Africa.
One of the men, Lev Lakshtanov, is accused of masterminding the operation, RFI journalist Carol Valade said.
Death toll rises in Angola after protests and looting over fuel hike
Operative in ‘cultural diplomacy’
At 64, Lakshtanov has a long track record in the world of Russian soft power. He founded Farol, a cultural NGO for Portuguese-speaking countries, backed by Rossotrudnichestvo – the state agency for cultural diplomacy created under former president Dmitry Medvedev.
Plans were under way to open a Russian cultural centre in Luanda this year.
After spending time in Brazil, Lakshtanov wound up his activities in Russia around the time of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He later appeared in the United Arab Emirates before quietly settling in Angola on a tourist visa.
With his associate Igor Racthin, he moved into Luanda’s Gamek district. The pair posed as journalists, sought contacts with opposition figures, and reached out to Buka Tanda, a Russian speaker and senior member of the youth wing of UNITA, Angola’s main opposition party.
They told Tanda they were preparing a documentary and wanted to set up a cultural centre. He introduced them to his cousin, a journalist at state TV.
Soon the group was running paid interviews with politicians and commissioning opinion polls on perceptions of Russia – until their arrest on charges of orchestrating fuel protests.
Former Wagner media operative lifts the lid on Russian disinformation in CAR
Echoes of Chad
The case mirrors events in Chad a year earlier. In September 2024, three Russians and a Belarusian were arrested in N’Djamena.
Among them were Maksim Shugaley and Samir Seyfan, both long linked to Wagner’s African influence operations.
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The group posed as investors, rented property, cultivated political contacts and recruited Russian-speaking Chadians. Two presented themselves as journalists, offering training and funding to reporters – then asking them to publish pro-Russian articles for cash.
They were detained during the inauguration of a Russian cultural centre in the capital, also set up under Rossotrudnichestvo.
Wagner replaced in Mali by Africa Corps, another Russian military group
From Wagner to Africa Corps
These cases show how Moscow’s strategy has shifted. “They are now more discreet but busier than ever, expanding and becoming increasingly professional,” said Lou Osborn, of All Eyes on Wagner.
The operations now run under the umbrella of the African Initiative, closely linked to Africa Corps – the Kremlin’s new command structure bringing Wagner’s former military assets under state control.
A wider network of private actors and consultants, many tied to Wagner or Russian intelligence in the past, is also active. Angolan police and Western officials refer to this circle as “Africa Politology”.
The findings come five years after the 18 August 2020 coup in Mali, which ended decades of French influence and brought the country into Russia’s orbit.
Since then, Wagner’s troops in Mali have been replaced by Africa Corps, while Moscow has signed multiple trade and nuclear energy deals with Bamako.
