USSR Defended African Countries, Helped Asia, Foreign Diplomats Say

In foreign policy, the Soviet Union relied on the principle of internationalism, seeking to support the processes of decolonization and the acquisition of statehood and independence, primarily of countries in Asia and Africa – whom Moscow for a long time provided with not only political, but also economic assistance.

On the anniversary of the Soviet Union's creation, the ambassadors of a number of foreign states shared with Sputnik how they see the Soviet period in bilateral relations, and said that in addition to diplomacy, it helped to make ties stronger.

Sudan's Ambassador to Russia Mohammed Sirraj recalled that thousands of Sudanese students studied in the USSR and then returned home and assumed important and high-ranking positions, He also said that Khartoum highly appreciates the two countries’ cooperation in the field of culture and science, in particular the archaeological missions of the Soviet Union in Sudan.

"Bilateral relations between Sudan and the USSR began in 1956, the same year Sudan gained independence. The two countries have maintained warm friendly relations since then. I am deeply convinced that cultural relations have always constituted an important axis in relations between the two countries since the Soviet Union era. Everyone knows that thousands of Sudanese students studied in the USSR, graduated from universities here and then began to occupy important and prominent positions in the country," the ambassador told Sputnik.

According to him, cooperation between the two countries also extended to the field of researching antiquities and discovering the features of Sudanese civilization - an important and valuable effort carried out by archaeological missions on the Nile River and in the Red Sea region.

Ethiopia Has 'Always Been Friends' With Russia

In his turn, Ethiopian Ambassador Alemayehu Tegenu Aargau emphasized that Russian-Ethiopian relations, established in 1898, only strengthened during the Soviet period and now continue to be at a very good level.

His country, he noted, was among the first in Africa to establish diplomatic relations with Russia and the USSR because Ethiopia was not colonized.

Like the ambassador of Sudan, he singled out important aspects such as humanitarian and cultural ties, including in the field of education. The diplomat stressed that he had himself studied at a Soviet university.

"We have always been friends, our relations developed well even in Soviet times. Thirty thousand students graduated from universities in the USSR, and I was one of them. Now all graduates speak Russian and know Russian culture well, this is an important factor for cooperation," the diplomat said.

The ambassador also noted that in the Soviet times, a massive building for the diplomatic mission was erected in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, with its area occupying about 20 hectares. It is located on the top of a mountain at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level, in a very beautiful place, which emphasizes the importance of the relations two countries at that time, he explained.

Defending Africa

The Angolan ambassador to Moscow, Augusto da Silva Cunha, told Sputnik about how the USSR helped his country survive during its period of gaining independence and described his studies in the USSR and how, in his opinion, relations between people have changed since then.

"I studied in the USSR in the 1980s, the times of acute crisis, the Cold War of two blocs - capitalist and socialist. The advantage of the Soviet Union in those days was its position as a defender of African countries that were either in the grip of colonialism or gained independence, but all were still dependent on other countries - you can call it neo-colonial relations," Cunha said.

According to him, the USSR played a key role in the survival of Angola, as after gaining independence, the country faced external aggression due to its geographical location and influence on other African countries. The ambassador noted that "friendly, fraternal relations" were established between Luanda and Moscow, and the two nations had agreements in areas such as education, geology and mining.

"Many Angolan students came to study in the Soviet Union: both in the military, like me, and in civilian universities,” he added.

According to Cunha, a lot has changed since then, particularly in relations between people, since he claimed that back then, they had more solidarity and mutual assistance - both in the USSR itself and in the world as a whole. Now, the diplomat added, the world lives "in a system of wild capitalism, and money speaks louder and louder."

Toponyms Help Keep Memory Alive

Cambodia's ambassador to Russia, Eat Seyla, in turn stressed that his country owes a lot to the Soviet Union because of the assistance it provided, which has remained in memory due to the names of various places across the Asian country.

"In 1979, when the regime changed and we found ourselves isolated, only the socialist countries helped us, including the USSR. It provided humanitarian assistance, helped with food. Russia continues to do this even now," the ambassador said.

Seyla noted that Soviet specialists came to Cambodia in large numbers. A "Russian market" appeared in the country, where you could meet a Russian-speaking audience. Interestingly, the place is still called the "Russian market." There is also a Russian hospital, it used to be called Soviet - it was built at the expense of the USSR.

Seyla further said that the boulevard leading from the airport to the center of Phnom Penh is called the Boulevard of the Russian Federation, while it was previously called the Boulevard of the Soviet Union.

The envoy recalled that in Cambodia, there are many former students who studied in the USSR, and they "have memories of this time."

"I myself studied in Moscow in the Soviet years, during perestroika. I studied at MGIMO [Moscow State Institute of International Relations] from 1986 to 1992. In those days there were many students from Cambodia who came to study in the USSR," Seyla said, recalling his days in the Soviet Union and Russia.

He added that he saw the collapse of the USSR and the transfer of power from Mikhail Gorbachev to Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, and returned to Russia after more than two decades, hardly recognizing the country he had once been in.

“Of course, Lenin is still in the mausoleum, there are monuments to him in Moscow. But people have changed a lot, they think in a completely different way,” the diplomat summed up.