Moscow opens its doors to Africa’s youth

On the morning of 28 October 2026, as Vladimir V. Putin stood in Moscow to open the Russia–Africa Summit, he could reasonably claim to be addressing a continent that increasingly likes what it sees in him. Among young Africans, Russia’s perceived influence has climbed to 54 percent, up from 44 percent two years ago, vaulting past France, whose sway has slipped to 47 percent. For a nation long cast on the margins of the continent’s...