The New Colonial Mission
Bloomberg’s recent exposé, describing Russia's use of the Orthodox Church as a 'new tool' for influence in Africa, paints a picture of a nation lacking financial leverage, thereby resorting to spiritual persuasion. The report asserts this outreach is a significant expansion, aligning religious institutions with state interests. This narrative, however, glosses over the historical precedent set by
Western powers. The idea of employing religious institutions for geopolitical gain is anything but new. The British and French colonial empires, for instance, systematically utilized Christian missionaries throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. These missions, often funded by European states and private interests, laid foundational infrastructure—education, healthcare—while simultaneously
propagating cultural norms that facilitated economic and political control. This was part of a larger colonial project that extracted resources and labor, not merely a benevolent outreach, a pattern detailed in Walter Rodney's seminal 1972 work, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa." What Bloomberg frames as a Russian innovation is, in fact, a tired pattern of statecraft. The US, with its own history
of state-sponsored religious diplomacy, continues to funnel billions into 'soft power' initiatives globally, often through faith-based organizations. For instance, USAID programs frequently partner with religious groups, blurring the lines between development aid and geopolitical objectives. To present Russia’s approach as a desperate, novel tactic while ignoring this extensive Western track