and have been embedded in government institutions for a long time. so there was a way that it played a positive role at that time in strengthening some of the elements that enabled governance in african countries, and at the same time, presenting a different force compared with the west. do you feel that the russian position is making progress in africa as a whole, or have the pictures that we've all seen from ukraine rather given russia a pushback? it feels as though putin is both trying to show himself, not just against the west, but also, to show that there is some influence within the african continent. it's a continuation of these historic links, the sort of sentimentalism that comes from post—independence or the cold war movement, ensuring there's some sort of economic benefit even though it's seen to be exploitative,