Why is Russia Suddenly So Interested in the Central African Republic?

Russian President Vladimir Putin with the president of Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadera. Image from President of Russia for media use. Russia, 2018.

Dionne Searcey travelled to the Central African Republic to report on a story that has previously lead to the murder of foreign journalists.

In July 2018 three Russian journalists were killed in the Central African Republic while investigating Russia's growing presence in the country. Their murder last year, however, has only increased international attention on Russia's shadowy aims in the Central African Republic. This includes both a scramble for the country's natural resources and a soft power campaign intended to increase Russia's reach in Africa.

Dionne Searcey is a reporter for the New York Times.  Her story published in late September exposed evidence of Russian involvement in illicit diamond mining. More broadly, though, her story explains and identifies the contours of Russia's growing political interests in the …