The Kremlin and Russian propaganda have been speaking up Russia’s redoubled focal point on Africa and the pivotal significance of the St Petersburg summit for the previous month.

Putin himself printed a ponderous op-ed about his new imaginative and prescient for Africa at the eve of the assembly.

It is unclear how a lot he spent on entertaining his African visitors for the reason that organisers, Roscongress, did not post the contract.

However for the reason that he paid 4.5bn rubles (€60m) for the same summit in 2019, the 2023 invoice was once most likely no less than as a lot — making it some of the pricey public occasions within the Kremlin calendar.

There have been dancers in Cirque du Soleil-like costumes, welcome beverages in antelope horn-type goblets, fringe debate boards, and a naval parade.

Some delegations spent the entire week in St Petersburg.

A Roscongress supply mentioned he noticed a 3rd of the visitors from six delegations by no means gathered their summit badges and opted to “spend their time within the town as an alternative”, both as a result of they did not like the required PCR check for Covid on the summit venue, or as a result of they have been having an excessive amount of amusing on the town.

However for the principle VIPs who did cross, Putin dug even deeper into his treasure chest.

For the leaders of Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic (CAR), Eritrea, Mali, Somalia, and Zimbabwe — 25,000-50,000 tonnes of unfastened grain each and every.

For Somalia — $690m (€626m) of debt to Russia written off.

For Zimbabwe — an Mi-38 presidential helicopter value as much as $15m.

For Putin — picture ops to turn the sector he isn’t so remoted, some applause, a couple of fawning statements praising his battle in Ukraine, and a few soundbites on Western neocolonial evils.

An respectable from Guinea’s embassy in Moscow even wore a Putin T-shirt and known as the Russian chief “his soul”.

Putin did not have all of it his personal approach — simply 17 leaders got here (as an alternative of 43 in 2019), some instructed him to forestall the battle, others instructed him to let Ukraine export meals to international markets.

Uninvited visitor

But when that was once predictable, no person had anticipated Prigozhin to seem in St Petersburg, finishing hypothesis whether or not he was once useless or alive following his temporary anti-Kremlin mutiny on 23 June.

And no person anticipated an army putsch in Niger similtaneously Putin’s extravaganza to scouse borrow much more headlines.

Prighozin first popped up in a photograph on the Trezzini Palace lodge in St Petersburg, which is owned by means of his Wagner Team buildings, shaking arms with Freddy Mapouka, the CAR president’s protocol leader.

This was once posted by means of Dmitry Sytyi, mentioned by means of america to be a Wagner spin physician, and went spherical the sector amid feverish hypothesis if it was once actual or now not, earlier than Sytyi deleted it from his social media accounts.

A 2nd picture, printed on Wagner-linked Telegram channels, then confirmed Prighozin with Justin Tagouh, the director of Afrique Média TV, a Wagner-affiliated Russian propaganda outlet in Cameroon.

The channels mentioned this was once taken within the “sidelines” of the summit.

However consistent with the Roscongress supply, neither Prighozin or Tagouh had summit badges, indicating that the pictures have been a exposure stunt supposed to make the mercenary leader glance as though he performed a extra considerable function within the Africa talks than he in reality did.

In the meantime, the Niger coup noticed some within the pro-junta crowds in Niamey on Thursday and Friday wave Russian flags, sing Russian songs, and put on Z-logo T-shirts (a logo synonymous with reinforce for the Ukraine battle).

And whilst Prighozin stopped in need of claiming accountability for the Niger putsch, which represents a big blow to French and US pursuits in Africa, he and his Telegram channels made probably the most of it to turn his attainable usefulness to Putin going ahead.

Telegram channels confirmed pro-Niger junta and pro-Russian rallies additionally in CAR and Mali, the place protesters thanked Wagner for “preventing terrorism and restoring safety of their nations”.

Others prompt a post-coup assembly between Prighozin and the Niger coup leaders could be afoot.

In step with a Russian supply who up to now labored with Prighozin and who’s recently cooperating with Russian intelligence services and products, neither Wagner nor the Kremlin had a hand within the Niger occasions.

“We did not paintings with them, however possibly we will have to,” the touch joked.

However joking apart, Prighozin’s exposure blitz got here amid a big shake-up in Wagner within the wake of its 23 June riot in what’s prone to have a major have an effect on on Putin’s marketing campaign to push Western powers out of Africa.

Wagner cut up in two?

The Kremlin has determined to stay Wagner’s struggle gadgets in position in nations corresponding to CAR, Libya, and Mali — however to place them beneath the command of Andrei Troshev, a former Prighozin guy observed as extra unswerving to the Kremlin, our ex-Wagner supply mentioned.

Troshev was once lately pictured with Putin however did not cross to the St Petersburg summit as a result of talks on Wagner’s army function in Africa have been being treated thru “selection channels”, the supply famous.

That leaves the query of who will take over Wagner’s political operations in Africa, which is but to be determined.

One possibility is for the Russian overseas ministry to do the election rigging, slush budget, and propaganda, however there are considerations in Putin’s management if the ministry has the fitting other folks for the process.

Another choice is to create a brand new subcommission beneath the Presidential Safety Council to take at the duties.

However with the query nonetheless putting within the air, Prighozin, in the intervening time, keeps keep an eye on of his Wagner “political technologists”, the Russian supply mentioned.

It was once those similar specialists who organised the pro-Russian rallies in CAR and Mali wherein Wagner was once discussed in a favorable gentle.

And it was once the similar spin-doctors who got here up with the speculation of snapping the ones pictures of Prighozin in St Petersburg as though he was once a very powerful summit visitor, the supply showed.