The curtains were drawn, the chairs were set and a projector was lowered. More than 30 people gathered in the crowded room and a video started to play. It told a story Moscow has recounted for years: about the “return” of Crimea to Russia in 2014, about how many locals supported this annexation and how the peninsula is now a desirable tourist destination. For many in the room, the politics of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine had little relevance to everyday life. But at this local affiliate of a cultural agency known as Russian House in the capital of Mali, a country in West Africa, the important thing was that people come away with the Kremlin’s view of the issue. As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine drags on through its fourth year, Moscow is increasingly looking to win allies and garner support in non-Western countries. The center of this effort is Africa, where more than a dozen so-called Russian Houses have been established in ma
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