This book explores the relationship between Russia and South Africa from 1918 to 2025 as a window into the transformation of the global order. It examines how two very different societies interacted across four successive eras: the revolutionary age, the Cold War, the post-Cold War unipolar moment, and the emerging multipolar world.

The chapters trace the influence of the Russian Revolution in South Africa, Soviet support for the anti-apartheid movement, the role of Southern Africa in Cold War diplomacy, and the impact of democratic transition in the Soviet Union and of its collapse. The book then analyses contemporary relations through the lenses of BRICS, foreign policy, security cooperation, domestic politics, trade, investment, and responses to the war in Ukraine. Moving beyond traditional bilateral history, it shows how ideas, identities, and competing visions of world order have shaped relations between the two countries and their place in international politics.

Irina Filatova is a Russian and South African historian and Honorary Research Associate at the University of Cape Town. She has taught at universities in Russia and South Africa and is the author of numerous publications on African history and Russia–South Africa relations, including The Hidden Thread: Russia and South Africa in the Soviet Era (Jonathan Ball), co-authored with Apollon Davidson. 

Ivan Krivushin is Professor of Modern History and International Relations at HSE University, Moscow. His research focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa and Russia’s relations with the Global South. He is the author and co-author of several books on African politics, Russian foreign policy, and international relations.

Christopher Saunders is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Cape Town and a leading scholar of Southern African history. His research has focused on South Africa, Namibia, decolonization, and liberation movements. He has published extensively on the history and politics of the region.

Alexander Voevodskiy is Associate Professor at HSE University and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His work examines Soviet policy in Southern Africa, liberation movements, and the international history of the Cold War.