Africa Notes: Russia's Arms Sales to Africa: Past, Present, and Future - September 1992

With the end of the Cold War, and of ideologically motivated superpower associations with African governments, Russian arms sales to the continent have predictably dropped. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, African countries in 1990 imported (from all sources) major weapons priced at $1.316 billion-a sharp drop from the 1982 figure of $5.595 billion. The 1992 figure is expected to be lower still due to the recent arms embargo imposed on Libya, heretofore one of the continent's major arms importers. This downward shift may only be a temporary phenomenon, however. There are largely unreported indications that Russia may be on its way to reestablishing itself as a significant arms exporter to Africa.