Ethiopia–Russia relations
Encyclopedia
Ethiopia–Russia relations is the relationship between the two countries, Ethiopia
and Russia
. Russia currently has an embassy in Addis Ababa
, and Ethiopia has an embassy in Moscow. The Ethiopian ambassador to Russia is also accredited to Armenia
, Azerbaijan
, Belarus
, Georgia
, Kazakhstan
, Kirgizstan, Moldova
, Tajikistan
, Turkmenistan
, Ukraine
, and Uzbekistan
.
were taken by a Cossack adventurer named N.I. Ashinov, who attempted to establish a "New Moscow" at the coastal town of Sagallo
in modern-day Djibouti
. This short-lived settlement came to an end in February 1889 when French authorities removed the 175 Russian settlers. While Ashniov had never more than lukewarm support from the Russian Tsar, a delegation led by V.F. Mashkov to Emperor Menelik II in October 1889 was official. Mashkov discussed arms sales to Ethiopia with the Ethiopian emperor, and upon returning to Russia he was decorated by the Tsar. Mashkov made a second visit to Ethiopia early in 1891 under the sponsorship of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Paul Henze notes that the reasons of Mashkov's visits were "no doubt political, but the fact that both countries were Orthodox encouraged favorable attitudes on both sides."
Russia provided the mountain guns the Ethiopian army used in the 1895 Battle of Adwa. The Soviet Union was one of only five nations which refused to acknowledge Italy's occupation of Ethiopia.
Official diplomatic relations between the two countries were established 21 April 1943.
In 1977, the Derg
turned to the Soviet Union, its ties to the United States were severed over the Derg's human rights record. On 4–8 May 1977 a state delegation of Ethiopia led by Mengistu Haile Mariam
came to the Soviet Union on an official visit, and Mengistu was received by Leonid Brezhnev
. The Soviet Union had been supplying equipment and some advisers for months. When the Soviet Union continued to aid Ethiopia as a way of gaining influence in the country, Somalia, which until then had been a Soviet client, responded by abrogating its Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Moscow and by expelling all Soviet advisers. The Soviet turnaround affected the course of the war. Starting in late November 1977, the Soviet military assistance arrived in Ethiopia, and Cuban troops were deployed from Angola
to assist the Ethiopian army units. By the December, 17,000 Cubans had arrived and the Western Somali Liberation Front
advance was halted.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Russia currently has an embassy in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, and Ethiopia has an embassy in Moscow. The Ethiopian ambassador to Russia is also accredited to Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Kirgizstan, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
.
History
The history of this relationship has its origins in the 19th century. Russia's first steps in the Horn of AfricaHorn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
were taken by a Cossack adventurer named N.I. Ashinov, who attempted to establish a "New Moscow" at the coastal town of Sagallo
Sagallo
Sagallo or Sagallou was a short-lived Russian colony on the Gulf of Tadjoura in present-day Djibouti. In 1889, a Russian by the name of Nikolay Ivanovitch Achinov , arrived with settlers and an Orthodox priest. The French considered the presence of the Russians as a violation of their territorial...
in modern-day Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
. This short-lived settlement came to an end in February 1889 when French authorities removed the 175 Russian settlers. While Ashniov had never more than lukewarm support from the Russian Tsar, a delegation led by V.F. Mashkov to Emperor Menelik II in October 1889 was official. Mashkov discussed arms sales to Ethiopia with the Ethiopian emperor, and upon returning to Russia he was decorated by the Tsar. Mashkov made a second visit to Ethiopia early in 1891 under the sponsorship of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Paul Henze notes that the reasons of Mashkov's visits were "no doubt political, but the fact that both countries were Orthodox encouraged favorable attitudes on both sides."
Russia provided the mountain guns the Ethiopian army used in the 1895 Battle of Adwa. The Soviet Union was one of only five nations which refused to acknowledge Italy's occupation of Ethiopia.
Official diplomatic relations between the two countries were established 21 April 1943.
In 1977, the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
turned to the Soviet Union, its ties to the United States were severed over the Derg's human rights record. On 4–8 May 1977 a state delegation of Ethiopia led by Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
came to the Soviet Union on an official visit, and Mengistu was received by Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
. The Soviet Union had been supplying equipment and some advisers for months. When the Soviet Union continued to aid Ethiopia as a way of gaining influence in the country, Somalia, which until then had been a Soviet client, responded by abrogating its Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Moscow and by expelling all Soviet advisers. The Soviet turnaround affected the course of the war. Starting in late November 1977, the Soviet military assistance arrived in Ethiopia, and Cuban troops were deployed from Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
to assist the Ethiopian army units. By the December, 17,000 Cubans had arrived and the Western Somali Liberation Front
Western Somali Liberation Front
The Western Somali Liberation Front was a separatist rebel group fighting in eastern Ethiopia to create an independent state. It played a major role in the Ogaden War of 1977-78 assisting the invading Somali Army...
advance was halted.
Trade
In 2008 the joint Russian-Ethiopian economic commission allowed Russia to import Ethiopian aromatic coffees on a preferential basis.Russians in Ethiopia
- Alexander BulatovichAlexander BulatovichAlexander Ksaverievich Bulatovich tonsured Father Antony was a Russian military officer, explorer of Africa, writer, hieromonk and the leader of imiaslavie movement in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.-Biography:...
was a RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n military officer, explorer of EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, writer, hieromonkHieromonkHieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....
and the leader of the imiaslavieImiaslavieImiaslavie or Imiabozhie , also spelled imyaslavie and imyabozhie, and also referred to as onomatodoxy, is a dogmatic movement which was condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church, but that is still promoted by some affiliated with Gregory Lourie of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" , and by...
movement in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. - - Who is the count Аbay?
External links
Documents on the Ethiopia–Russia relationship from the Russian Ministry of Foreign AffairsFurther reading
- Ram Desai, "The Explosion of African Studies in the Soviet Union", African Studies Bulletin, 11 (1968), pp. 248–258.