On April 29, 2025, the III International Forum of Journalists from Russia and Africa took place. This year, the Forum was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland. The event was held at the Multimedia Center of the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The Forum was organized by the Russian-African Club of Lomonosov Moscow State University in partnership with the Faculty of Journalism, the Faculty of Global Processes, the Public Diplomacy Foundation, and with the support of the Secretariat of the "Russia-Africa Partnership Forum" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation).

Welcoming remarks to the participants were delivered by Elena Leonidovna Vartanova, Vice-President of the Russian-African Club of MSU and Dean of the Faculty of Journalism; Alexander Fedorovich Berdnikov, Executive Secretary of the Club and Chairman of the Commission for Public Security and People’s Diplomacy of the Council on Nationalities Affairs under the Moscow Government; Louis Gouend, Chairman of the Club's Commission on Relations with Diasporas and Media and President of the Cameroonian Diaspora in Russia; Timur Vladimirovich Shafir, Head of the International Department of the Union of Journalists of Russia; Timbkieta Daniel Sawadogo, Head of the Russian-African Club branch in Burkina Faso and other Sahel Confederation countries, and former Cultural Attaché of Burkina Faso in Russia.

The Forum was attended by representatives of African embassies:

Ms. Cecile Heppes, Counselor of the Embassy of South Africa; Ms. Vivalda Candida Marques Miguel, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Angola; Mr. Conceição Joaquim Paulo, Press Attaché of the Embassy of Angola; Ms. Sonia Farahnaz Benmaza, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Embassy of Algeria; and Mr. Mursi Awad Mursi Taha, Third Secretary of the Embassy of Sudan.

Alexander F. Berdnikov conveyed greetings to the Forum participants from the First Vice-President of the Club and Dean of the Faculty of Global Processes at MSU, Ilya Vyacheslavovich Ilyin.

Dean Elena Leonidovna Vartanova warmly welcomed the participants and noted that the Forum has firmly established itself as an open and authoritative platform where important decisions are made on the Russia-Africa agenda.

Louis Gouend called on journalists from Russia, Africa, and other countries to actively join the Rusafromedia.ru media platform—a unique information resource created by the Russian-African Club of MSU, which provides all opportunities for open and honest exchange of information.

Timur Vladimirovich Shafir, Head of the International Department of the Union of Journalists of Russia, expressed strong support for the Forum and emphasized the importance of such events, where journalists from different countries and continents can freely exchange views, openly debate, analyze, make agreements, and strengthen international cooperation in the field of media.

Timbkieta Daniel Sawadogo, Head of the Russian-African Club branch in Burkina Faso and other countries of the Sahel States Confederation, and former Cultural Attaché of Burkina Faso in Russia, highlighted the importance of the Forum for Africans, especially for graduates of Soviet and Russian universities, who serve as a bridge of friendship between Russia and Africa.

Nikolai Alekseevich Sologubovsky, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, war correspondent for "Moskovsky Komsomolets" and "International Life," and author of books and photo exhibitions about conflict zones, addressed young journalists, stating that journalism is not a profession but a state of mind. N.A. Sologubovsky stressed that the African soldiers who died fighting fascism, as well as Russian soldiers and officers who served on the African continent during World War II, have been undeservedly forgotten. The speaker proposed that Forum participants support the initiative to establish a Heroes of Africa Square in Moscow dedicated to World War II, honoring both Africans and Soviet soldiers. He also handed the Forum organizers a draft of an appeal to the State Duma of the Russian Federation regarding this initiative.

 

Gene Draman, military correspondent for the national Radio and TV Channel of Burkina Faso (Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina - RTB), shared that, given the acute military-political situation in his country, the struggle on the information front has become one of the government's key national strategies. Special media units have been formed—battalions of information fighters within the communication field. These are, in effect, military-journalist units present in every brigade of the Armed Forces and Rapid Reaction Forces, enabling war correspondents to fight on the information frontlines of the anti-terrorist war. The speaker considers this a very timely and important initiative, as losing information battles inevitably leads to real military defeats.

Issa Diawara, a blogger and geopolitics expert from Mali, emphasized that in situations where official media are entirely occupied by imperialist colonizers, as was recently the case in his country, the work of bloggers on social networks becomes especially crucial. They are able to truthfully report events, explain their causes and consequences, and expose false information. He cited specific examples when information spread by bloggers through social media saved entire villages from terrorist attacks.

Sergey Viktorovich Epishkin, CEO of the international group "Anti-Terror Center-Orel" and member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, sent his report to the forum, which was read by Svetlana Nikolaevna Tingaeva—the widow of his fallen comrade, Oleg Tingaev. Her husband lost his life in Iraq during a peacekeeping mission. During her speech, exclusive photographs from Epishkin's military archive were shown. The report placed particular emphasis on the dangers of military journalism, noting that many journalists have given their lives to ensure the truth about tragic events reaches millions.

Participants of the Forum honored all fallen war correspondents with a Minute of Silence.

Igor Erikovich Krugovykh, President of the International Movement "Peace Creation," stressed that the main objective across all fields of activity is to achieve lasting and stable peace, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and broad cooperation among countries and peoples. The expert emphasized the importance of preventive information as the basis of peacebuilding processes. Krugovykh presented the participants with the “Agenda for Peace” of the Russian-African Club of Lomonosov Moscow State University. He also proposed organizing a contest for journalistic and youth works on visions of the future for peoples, countries, continents, and the new world order, with results to be announced at the International Competition for Russian and African Journalists: “War Correspondents of Russia and Africa on the Frontlines of Global Wars and Armed Conflicts.”

Military correspondent and blogger Oleg Blokhin greeted Forum participants from Africa, where he is organizing the work of a Russian media outlet. According to Oleg Blokhin, Africa is a continent to which one always wants to return. He believes that the role of military journalism is not only to report on current events, but also to showcase Russia’s mission in Africa. "We are not only helping to stop conflicts, but we also provide assistance in the post-war period. We must not allow a situation where the war is won, but the peace is lost. Our task is to help African peoples rebuild their economies and strengthen their states to prevent future wars," said Oleg Blokhin.

The Program Director of the Russian-African Club at Lomonosov Moscow State University, President of the Public Diplomacy Foundation, and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Global Processes, Ilya Leonidovich Shershnev, proposed creating an African School of Preventive Public Diplomacy. Its purpose is to help the peoples of Africa harmonize interethnic, interreligious, and civil relations during crisis situations and assist in reducing conflict levels in African societies. Russia is ready to offer Africa effective social technologies for strengthening interethnic relations and developing a pan-African identity.

Director of the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism Threats (CATU), Ramil Masgutovich Latypov, believes that the fundamental factor in defending against information terrorism is direct presence in zones where information-propaganda terrorist actions may occur. According to the speaker, the presence of Russian media in Africa today is vanishingly small. The language barrier and lack of targeted funding become threatening factors, leading to the loss of the information-propaganda confrontation with the West. In the speaker's opinion, the lack of Russian media presence in Africa can be compensated by creating joint media structures, both state and network-based. Only by increasing the means and forces of informational resistance can Russia retain its position on the continent, the speaker concluded.

Permanent expert of the Russian-African Club at MSU, director of the Afrocentricity Think Tank Analytical Center in Togo, Dr. Yves Ekoué Amaïzo, highlighted the Club’s role in spreading truthful, unbiased information about world events in Africa. Commenting on the peculiarities of modern media, the speaker noted that disunity in the media and the pollution of the information field with falsehoods are serious problems. The expert especially stressed the inadmissibility of distorting historical facts when Western media seek to belittle, or completely exclude, the role of the USSR and Russia in the victory over fascism in World War II.

Maksim Valentinovich Reva, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the news agency "African Initiative," spoke about his travels to the special military operation (SVO) zone and meetings with soldiers on the front line, thanks to which he realized that the feat of war correspondents is to capture the authenticity of events and the lives of people who are literally making history. Commenting on information interaction between Russia and Africa, M.V. Reva highlighted some difficulties, such as insufficient Internet coverage in Africa. Residents of many regions still receive news only via radio or television, and these resources often lack freedom of speech and depend on the government, which in turn serves the interests of their Western masters.

Yulia Vadimovna Kazakova, a lecturer from the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), emphasized the importance of involving young journalists, including students, in covering important events. Young professionals, she noted, are highly valuable in creating modern formats for presenting historical materials, such as interactive maps and game formats, which are most accessible and understandable to the younger audience.

Professor of Political Science from India, Dr. Ratnesh Dwivedi, shared his perspective on the potential influence of Russian media on the processes of building a global peace process. The speaker considers it particularly important to attract a broad audience in unfriendly countries to Russian information sources, with the aim of changing minds and reevaluating the standards imposed on them by their governments.

War correspondent Gleb Ervye believes that the most important thing in a journalist’s work, especially in military journalism, is not to hide the real problems existing within military departments, but rather to draw attention to them through honest and impartial reporting, especially if doing so can save lives in conflict zones. The speaker stated that a correspondent on the front line acts as a moral tuning fork, weighing all the risks and trying to maintain a balance—so as not to cause harm, but also to accurately portray the real situation in order to help resolve existing problems.

Valeria Alexandrovna Khmara, editor-in-chief of the Telegram channels Afrika, African Spring, and the channel of the African-Russian Energy Association of the International Center for Business Promotion, believes that in order to deliver truthful and competent information about Africa, it is necessary to possess knowledge about the continent’s characteristics, the history of African countries, and the historical background of current events.

Smorodina Viktoria Alexandrovna, editor-in-chief of the International Reporters news agency—which unites foreign war correspondents working in Russia—considers the counteraction of Western intelligence agencies, especially French ones, a critical challenge in building Russia-Africa information cooperation. In this regard, she argues that insufficient Russian attention to strategic communications in Africa—including new media, cinema, music, literature, theater, and books (all areas that shape generational ties and the so-called cultural code)—is unacceptable. Russia must make every effort to create this cognitive landscape in Africa in order to win the information war for African minds.

Her colleague, Tidiane Bamadio, International Reporters’ correspondent in Mali, supported her and confirmed that African journalists critically lack systematic press briefings, press conferences, open press services from Russian government representatives, and other accessible Russian information sources.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Anikovich, Director of the Department of Special Projects at the Media Holding “Regions of Russia,” emphasized that historical memory, and the work around it, is a factual weapon. According to the speaker, the task of professional journalists is to identify and use historical facts to strengthen cooperation between Russia and Africa in the information space. For this, he highlighted the importance of the scientific and educational environments of MSU and HSE as platforms for joint historical research with African research organizations, so that students and graduate students can later work with these materials. The speaker suggested creating a working group for such cooperation, including “Regions of Russia” media holding, to monitor, analyze, and forecast Russia-Africa cooperation, identifying strategic threats that hinder Russian initiatives in Africa.

Commenting on his colleague’s speech, A.F. Berdnikov suggested that V.V. Anikovich join the Russian-African Club at Lomonosov Moscow State University to develop joint activities in this area.

The head of the Russian House in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Alexander Aleksandrovich Evstigneev, who also has experience as a war correspondent, emphasized the important role of bloggers, who often can provide more information than representatives of official mass media. According to the speaker, Africa needs analyst journalists, including those specializing in military topics. He especially highlighted the urgent need for the presence of Russian news agencies in Africa, which are critically few on the continent, making the issue of funding for these structures particularly pressing.

Permanent expert of the Russian-African Club at Lomonosov Moscow State University, academician of the PANI, Sergei Nikolaevich Chesnokov, titled his report "I would learn Russian only for…" The speaker talked about an essay contest of the same name held in universities, in which students from many African countries and around the world participated. He expressed the opinion that the peoples of Russia and Africa share a strong mutual need for communication—both in economic and humanitarian-cultural areas, as well as in matters of security. The speaker presented a pilot project being launched at Chambaga State University in Uganda, aimed at teaching Russian to professors, lecturers, associate professors, and postgraduate students, who can later teach Russian to African youth.

Journalist and host of the podcast show "Moscow Mingle: Stories of International Studies in Moscow," Mohammed Awal Farid, delivered a presentation on World War II, showcasing documentary footage from battlefields and the historic Victory Parade held on June 24, 1945, on Red Square in Moscow to celebrate the USSR’s victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War. During his presentation, Mohammed Awal Farid recited a war poem by Yulia Drunina in Russian. The speaker emphasized the critical importance of delivering factual historical information about the tremendous role of the USSR and Russia in defeating fascism to the younger generation of Africans.

Juan Manuel Rincon, a journalist from Colombia attending the forum, greeted participants and stressed the importance of platforms like this for developing tools for cooperation between countries and peoples. The Colombian colleague welcomed, with enthusiasm, the creation of a Russian-Latin American Club at the Faculty of Global Processes of Moscow State University, praising this initiative as a means of strengthening multifaceted ties between Russia and the Global South.

In conclusion, Hafiz Abakar Basi Abdelshafi, Head of the Commission for Youth Affairs of the Russian-African Club at Lomonosov Moscow State University, spoke. He thanked his colleagues for their interesting reports, making special note of the presentation by the honored journalist Nikolai Alekseevich Sologubovsky about the role of African peoples in the victory over fascism—facts which remain unknown to most people in Africa and the world. Basi Hafiz expressed confidence that the peoples of Africa feel gratitude towards Russia and the former USSR for supporting the independence of many African states. This feeling of gratitude, according to the speaker, is a fertile basis for building and strengthening comprehensive interaction between Russia and Africa.

The forum ended with a friendly tea party.

Forum journalist Russia and Africa