Editing Neocolonialism (section)

== Russia ==
Russia currently [[Russian-occupied territories|occupies parts of neighboring states]]. These occupied territories are [[Transnistria]] (part of [[Moldova]]); [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]] (part of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]); and [[Occupied territories of Ukraine|five provinces of Ukraine]], which it has illegally annexed. Russia has also established effective political domination over [[Belarus]], through the [[Union State]].<ref name="Mankoff Washington Q">{{cite journal |last1=Mankoff |first1=Jeffrey |title=The War in Ukraine and Eurasia's New Imperial Moment |journal=[[The Washington Quarterly]] |date=2022 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=127–128 |doi=10.1080/0163660X.2022.2090761 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2022.2090761}}</ref> Historian [[Timothy Snyder]] defines [[Russo-Ukrainian War|Russia's war against Ukraine]] as "a colonial war, in the sense that Russia meant to conquer, dominate, displace and exploit" the country and its people.<ref>{{cite web |title='Russia's war in Ukraine will be seen as colonial war' – interview with Timothy Snyder |url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2128983/russia-s-war-in-ukraine-will-be-seen-as-colonial-war-interview-with-timothy-snyder |website=[[Lithuanian National Radio and Television]] |date=21 November 2023}}</ref> Russia has been accused of colonialism in [[Crimea]], which it annexed in 2014, by enforced [[Russification]], [[passportization]], and by settling Russian citizens on the peninsula and forcing out Ukrainians and [[Crimean Tatars]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yermakova |first1=Olena |title=The silent Russian colonisation of Crimea |journal=[[New Eastern Europe]] |date=August 2021 |url=https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/23/the-silent-russian-colonisation-of-crimea/}}</ref>

[[File:Russian mercenaries in CAR.jpg|thumb|Russian mercenaries standing guard near an armored vehicle in the [[Central African Republic]]]]
The [[Wagner Group]], a Russian state-funded<ref>{{cite web|title=Wagner mutiny: Group fully funded by Russia, says Putin|date=27 June 2023|access-date=27 June 2023|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66029382|website=BBC News|archive-date=4 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904092015/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66029382|url-status=live}}</ref> [[private military company]] (PMC), has provided military support, security and protection for several autocratic regimes in Africa since 2017. In return, Russian and Wagner-linked companies have been given privileged access to those countries' natural resources, such as rights to gold and diamond mines, while the Russian military has been given access to strategic locations such as airbases and ports.<ref name="CBS Africa">{{cite news |title=How Russia's Wagner Group funds its role in Putin's Ukraine war by plundering Africa's resources |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-wagner-group-ukraine-war-putin-prigozhin-africa-plundering-resources/ |work=CBS News |date=16 May 2023 |access-date=25 August 2023 |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622145256/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-wagner-group-ukraine-war-putin-prigozhin-africa-plundering-resources/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Russia's Wagner Group in Africa: Influence, commercial concessions, rights violations, and counterinsurgency failure |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/russias-wagner-group-in-africa-influence-commercial-concessions-rights-violations-and-counterinsurgency-failure/ |website=[[Brookings Institution]] |date=8 February 2022 |access-date=25 August 2023 |archive-date=26 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826160911/https://www.brookings.edu/articles/russias-wagner-group-in-africa-influence-commercial-concessions-rights-violations-and-counterinsurgency-failure/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This has been described as a neo-colonial and [[Russian neo-imperialism|neo-imperialist]] kind of [[state capture]], whereby Russia gains sway over countries by helping to keep the ruling regime in power and making them reliant on its protection, while generating economic and political benefits for Russia, without benefitting the local population.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Doboš |first1=Bohumil |last2=Purton |first2=Alexander |title=Proxy Neo-colonialism? The Case of Wagner Group in the Central African Republic |journal=[[Insight on Africa]] |date=2024 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=7–21 |doi=10.1177/09750878231209705 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Russia is pursuing state capture in Africa |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2022/03/21/how-russia-is-pursuing-state-capture-in-africa-ukraine-wagner-group/ |website=[[London School of Economics]] |date=21 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Russia 'destabilising the West' with mercenaries in Africa, defence chiefs warn |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/10/russia-destabilising-west-mercenaries-africa-defence-chiefs/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=10 March 2022}}</ref> Russia has also gained geopolitical influence in Africa through election interference and spreading pro-Russian propaganda and [[Russian disinformation|anti-Western disinformation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Fact check: Russia's influence on Africa |url=https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-russias-influence-on-africa/a-66310017 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=27 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tracking Russian Interference to Derail Democracy in Africa |url=https://africacenter.org/spotlight/russia-interference-undermine-democracy-africa/ |publisher=[[Africa Center for Strategic Studies]] |date=21 June 2023}}</ref> Russian PMCs have been active in [[Wagner Group activities in the Central African Republic|the Central African Republic]], [[Sudan]], [[Wagner Group activities in Libya|Libya]], [[Mali]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Niger]] and [[Mozambique]], among other countries. They have been accused of human rights abuses and killing civilians.<ref name="CBS Africa"/> In 2024, the Wagner Group in Africa was merged into a new 'Africa Corps' under the direct control of Russia's Ministry of Defense.<ref>{{cite news |title=More control, less deniability: what next for Russia in Africa after Wagner? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/21/what-next-for-russia-in-africa-after-wagner-moscow-influence |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 May 2024}}</ref> Analysts for the Russian government have privately acknowledged the neo-colonial nature of Russia's policy towards Africa.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watling |first1=Jack |last2=Danylyuk |first2=Oleksandr |last3=Reynolds |first3=Nick |title=The Threat from Russia's Unconventional Warfare Beyond Ukraine, 2022–24 |url=https://static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Unconventional-Weapons-final-web.pdf |publisher=[[Royal United Services Institute]] |pages=14–23 |date=20 February 2024}}</ref>

The "[[Russian world]]" is a term used by the Russian government and [[Russian nationalism|Russian nationalists]] for territories and communities with a historical, cultural, or spiritual tie to Russia.<ref name="Mankoff Washington Q"/> The Kremlin meanwhile refers to the [[Russian diaspora]] and [[Geographical distribution of Russian speakers|Russian-speakers in other countries]] as "Russian compatriots". In her book ''Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire'' (2016), [[Agnia Grigas]] highlights how ideas like the "Russian world" and "Russian compatriots" have become an "instrument of Russian neo-imperial aims".<ref name="Grigas">{{cite book |last1=Grigas |first1=Agnia |title=Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire |date=2016 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=2–3, 9}}</ref> The Kremlin has sought influence over its "compatriots" by offering them Russian citizenship and passports ([[passportization]]), and in some cases eventually calling for their military protection.<ref name="Grigas"/> Grigas writes that the Kremlin uses the existence of these "compatriots" to "gain influence over and challenge the sovereignty of foreign states and at times even take over territories".<ref name="Grigas"/>