Executive summary
Although positivity around Russia-Africa relations was observed, most notably in South Africa and Mali, the surveyed populations presented as generally indifferent to or negative towards Russia. The Russia-Ukraine war was a key driver of anti-Russia attitudes. Additionally, the data found a division in sentiment between some African governments and their citizens, who tend to be more wary of associating with Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Data suggested measurable bot activity present in pro-Russia sentiment across all surveyed countries. Given the latest developments such as the referendums in eastern Ukraine and the Nord Stream pipelines leak, additional analyses on data collected from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa found evidence of continued strong anti-Russian sentiment — even where Twitter users speculated about Western interference.
