By Michael Amajama
What often begins as an innocent invitation to learn Russian, attend cultural exhibitions, or apply for overseas scholarships is increasingly ending on battlefields thousands of kilometres away. Across Africa and other regions of strategic interest to Moscow, Russia’s so-called cultural centres—branded as Russian Houses—are being repurposed into hubs for propaganda, covert influence and recruitment linked to the war in Ukraine. Increasingly, these networks intersect with activist groups, labour brokers and, in some cases, religious institutions.
A new investigation by INPACT reveals how institutions long presented as benign instruments of soft power are now playing a far more direct role in supporting Russia’s military and intelligence objectives. What emerges is not a single recruitment scheme, but a layered ecosystem in which culture, ideology, labour migration and desperation converge—often with devastating consequences for young Africans.
Once marketed as platforms for promoting Russian language, literature and cultural exchange, Russian Houses are now increasingly emerging as tools of hybrid warfare, operating at the intersection of propaganda, political influence, recruitment and deniable state activity. INPACT’s report, *From Dostoevsky to Drone Strikes: The Double Life of Russian Houses*, shows how cultural diplomacy has been transformed into a strategic extension of Moscow’s war effort.
Traditionally, cultural centres are designed to seduce rather than coerce, to win hearts rather than mobilise bodies. But Russia’s Houses are no longer about Pushkin, ballet or scholarships alone. They now function as physical nodes within a broader influence ecosystem—one that reshapes narratives, recruits manpower and normalises Russia’s military ambitions abroad.
From Soft Power to Strategic Infrastructure
According to INPACT, Russian Houses are overseen by Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian Federal Agency for the Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation. Established by presidential decree in 2008, the agency was officially mandated to promote a positive image of Russia globally.
Rossotrudnichestvo claims to operate 87 Russian Houses worldwide, including several in Africa, mirroring institutions such as the British Council, the Goethe-Institut, and the Alliance Française. Their stated missions include teaching the Russian language, hosting cultural exhibitions, facilitating educational exchanges and offering scholarships through institutions such as the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN).
However, INPACT’s research suggests that behind this familiar façade lies a far more troubling reality.
A Franchised Influence Network
Unlike most cultural diplomacy institutions, Rossotrudnichestvo operates through an unusual franchising model, allowing private Russian organisations, local companies and associations—including entities linked to private military companies—to open and manage Russian Houses under a unified brand.
While this model accelerates expansion, it also blurs accountability. By outsourcing operations to non-state actors, Moscow gains plausible deniability while maintaining strategic influence on the ground.
INPACT identifies Africa Politology, a network born out of Wagner Group operations, as a central player. Confidential documents reviewed by investigators indicate that Africa Politology finances and supports franchised Russian Houses as part of a broader strategy of covert political influence on behalf of the Russian state.
Where Opportunity Becomes a Trap
For many Africans drawn into this system, the entry point is not ideology but survival.
That was the case for Bankole Manchi, a 36-year-old Nigerian automobile mechanic who believed he had secured a legitimate overseas job. In a video testimony shared online, Manchi explained that he was introduced to what appeared to be a straightforward employment opportunity in Russia. The visa process, he said, was straightforward—no interviews, no embassy scrutiny, just names and paperwork handled by intermediaries he trusted.
He travelled from Lagos to Addis Ababa and onward to Moscow, hopeful that the promised income—about ₦500,000 a month—would help him expand his spare-parts business and support his family. Instead, upon arrival, he was handed over to unfamiliar handlers and transported to a military-style camp.
There, he said, were recruits from Nigeria, Ghana, France, Brazil, China, and other countries, many of whom were unable to communicate with one another. Phone translation apps became survival tools. “Once you enter the camp, there is no going back,” he recalled.
Training began with drills and classroom instruction, then escalated to weapons handling, grenades and night exercises. Injuries occurred, he said, but training continued regardless. It was only later that recruits were told they would be deployed to the front.
Moved under the cover of darkness, Manchi said he later realised they were inside Ukrainian territory. Heavy gunfire followed. He was shot in the leg. Food was scarce, and medical care came late. He described the experience as being treated as expendable manpower in a war he neither understood nor consented to fight.
A Pattern Across Africa
Manchi’s account is not isolated.
In another testimony published by UNITED24 and shared by journalist Philip Obaji Jr., a Ugandan man said he and others were promised civilian jobs in supermarkets, airports and private security firms. Upon arrival in Russia, they were allegedly forced into military service. Protests were ignored, and recruits were held under armed guard in locked facilities.
The Ugandan described underground shelters infested with bedbugs, severe food shortages and constant fear. He said he eventually escaped and fled toward Ukrainian forces, who detained him briefly before verifying his identity and ensuring his safety.
Researchers and analysts tracing these cases say recruitment networks operate through local agents in countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, routing victims through transit hubs like Nairobi, Juba and Turkey. Short-term employment letters—sometimes valid for only days—are allegedly used to secure visas, after which recruits are coerced into military service.
Social media researcher Sholla Ard has claimed to uncover documentation linking some of these operations to companies allegedly used as fronts for recruitment, warning that young Africans are being trafficked into an active war zone under false promises of employment.
When Culture Meets Militarisation
INPACT’s investigation shows that Russian Houses increasingly host war-themed events, glorify the Russian military and amplify Kremlin-aligned platforms such as *African Initiative*. Rather than neutral cultural spaces, they function as echo chambers legitimising Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Some have reportedly become recruitment gateways—not always directly for combat roles, but for labour pipelines feeding Russia’s military-industrial complex, including drone manufacturing facilities critical to the war effort.
In former Soviet republics such as Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian Houses have been shut down and staff arrested on espionage-related allegations. These precedents raise questions about the risks posed to African states with weaker regulatory oversight.
Religion as an Enabler
A related INPACT investigation highlights the growing role of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa as part of Russia’s broader influence on architecture. Following Moscow’s split with the Patriarchate of Alexandria in 2021, the Church established an African Exarchate that expanded rapidly across countries where Russian security forces were already present.
Investigations suggest that religious education and church-sponsored labour projects have, in some cases, served as entry points into recruitment pipelines. African students invited for theological training or restoration work were later diverted into war-related labour and, in some instances, combat roles in Ukraine.
Beyond Culture, Toward Consequences
Taken together, the evidence points to a disturbing convergence: cultural diplomacy, labour migration, ideological influence and military recruitment operating within a single ecosystem.
INPACT’s findings suggest that Russian Houses are no longer neutral spaces of cultural exchange. They represent a new generation of influence infrastructure—optimised for deniability, speed and strategic impact.
From Dostoevsky to drone strikes, Russia’s cultural diplomacy has acquired a second life, one with profound implications for Africa’s sovereignty, democratic resilience and human security. For African governments, the challenge is no longer whether to engage culturally with global powers, but how to protect their citizens from covert systems that exploit desperation, manipulate trust and funnel young lives into a foreign war.
If left unchecked, these networks risk turning Africa’s greatest resource—its youth—into collateral damage in conflicts far beyond its borders.
Michael Amajama, a geo-politics analyst, writes from Abuja @ amajamaip@yahoo.com
