President Faustin – Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic is ordering to make the study of the Russian language compulsory for university students in the state, changing from the original Spanish. The minister of education in CAR is, in fact, planning on travelling to Moscow in January to work out aspects to such plans. Russia and the Central African Republic have had closer and closer ties since 2018, in which Russian military specialists and aid was sent to the country to aid in fighting internal armed threats. There is also conspiracy and rumors that the mercenary Wagner group with close connections to Russian leadership have also aided in such efforts. I see this all very interestingly in light of the history behind it. The Russian language had not been studied since the reign of President Bokassa in the 1970’s, who was a revolutionary general who led a revolt against French, and largely western forces and ideas. We must remember that Bokassa was also backed by communist nations like the Peoples’ Republic of China at the time. While that may seem insignificant in it of itself, it is important to remember while analyzing the role the CAR can play in allying with Russia, and their willingness in the past to stand against western powers, when in the region on both sides, America is also trying to solidify relations. To relate this to IR, I relate this very much so to the notion of psyche, and history so often discussed while analyzing a state’s motives. With Iran as a great example, countries do not operate in historical vacuums and Russia is no exception. Decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has been working very hard to recreate the once strong relations and networked alliance of countries it can remember, as seen in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. I see them doing the same in Africa, with literally the same country as they did before.
