Russia’s relations with Mozambique and Zimbabwe

Russia maintains ties with Mozambique and Zimbabwe based on Soviet-era liberation movement relations, focusing on education, mining, and military cooperation. Zimbabwe's alignment increased during the late Mugabe era due to shared experiences with Western sanctions, while Mozambique has seen Russian involvement in fisheries, oil, and a failed intervention by the Wagner Group against Islamist insurgents.

• Russia's current ties with Mozambique and Zimbabwe are built upon historical relationships established with liberation movements during the Soviet era, with contemporary cooperation focusing on mining, education, and weapons sales.
• The relationship between Russia and Zimbabwe strengthened during the latter part of Robert Mugabe's presidency as both nations faced Western sanctions.
• The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, attempted to fight Islamist insurgents in Mozambique but withdrew from the country in 2020.
• Specific sectors of cooperation for Zimbabwe include education, military, mining, oil, and fertiliser. For Mozambique, cooperation spans education, military, fisheries, oil, mobile phones, railways, mineral sands, and space communications.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). Russia’s relations with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Russias-relations-with-Mozambique-and-Zimbabwe-copy.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Russia’s relations with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Russias-relations-with-Mozambique-and-Zimbabwe-copy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Russia’s relations with Mozambique and Zimbabwe |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Russias-relations-with-Mozambique-and-Zimbabwe-copy.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsndrussias, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Russia’s relations with Mozambique and Zimbabwe}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Russias-relations-with-Mozambique-and-Zimbabwe-copy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }