From Anti-Colonialism to Anti-West

Moscow’s New Political Export

The Sochi gathering of the global movement “For the Freedom of Nations!”, hosted under the auspices of Russia’s United Russia party, is not just a political forum. It is the early stage of an attempt to assemble, formalize, and potentially lead a counter-hegemonic coalition. Publicly, it speaks the language of anti-colonialism and liberation; strategically, it seeks to build a bloc that challenges the West’s monopoly over the definition of what is “legitimate” in politics, economics, and global governance. Russia is betting that history - if properly contextualized - can be weaponized.

The ideological narrative is carefully constructed. By branding sanctions, political pressure, election monitoring, NGO funding, and even diplomatic criticism as “neo-colonial interference,” Moscow reframes routine instruments of Western influence as violations of sovereignty and, potentially, as crimes against humanity. This rhetorical repositioning has several uses. First, it creates a unifying ideological umbrella for the Global South - one that applies equally to Venezuela, Mali, Indonesia, and South Africa. Second, it challenges the claim of Western liberalism to universal validity. And third, it taps directly into historical memory: with references to Simón Bolívar, Samora Machel, and other anti-imperialist icons, Moscow dresses a geopolitical project in the costume of historical justice.

This is not merely rhetoric. The movement is seeking to leave footprints in institutions, particularly at the United Nations. The proposal to classify colonial and neo-colonial practices as crimes against humanity is not symbolic. If such language formally enters the UN Convention system, it could upend the legal boundaries of foreign policy by making many Western practices - not only military interventions, but even election-based political engineering - potentially prosecutable. The ultimate goal is to reduce the space for “responsibility-free” pressure, limiting the West’s ability to shape political outcomes abroad without facing legal or reputational consequences.

China’s quiet presence adds another layer. The tightening of cooperation between the Communist Party of China and Russia’s ruling United Russia party is an advanced form of political synchronization. Russia supplies the ideological framework and historical legitimacy; China contributes its economic weight, infrastructure projects, and financial leverage. Together, they can offer the developing world something the West traditionally monopolized: investment paired with ideological alignment. In strategic language, Moscow and Beijing are constructing a hybrid alternative to Euro-Atlantic influence - one that blends money, messaging, and political alignment.

One particularly interesting concept from the Sochi forum was “electoral neo-colonialism.” It goes beyond practices like ballot-stuffing or hacking - those belong to the realm of traditional fraud. Instead, it targets soft power: foreign-funded media, curated opposition figures, selective invitations to international platforms, “acceptable candidates”, and damaging public diplomacy. In other words, it frames Western-style “democracy promotion” as a method of political re-colonization, designed not to install democracy - but to install allies.

This has sparked uncomfortable reflections in Africa, where many leaders and political elites have Western degrees, donors, and “fan clubs” abroad. The debate is now shifting from whether foreign training is “good or bad” to whether it produces independent leaders - or simply well-educated proxies. The movement is trying to build a litmus test: not all global connections are colonial - but some are.

The movement is not rushing. It emphasizes “small steps” and “institutional evolution”. The likely future hosts - Algeria, Caracas, Addis Ababa, and Jakarta - are not randomly chosen. Algeria is the ideological capital of historical decolonization; Caracas is the symbol of resistance under sanctions; Addis Ababa hosts the African Union; Jakarta is an anchor of ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific. Hosting the movement in these capitals would help project it as broader, indigenous, and decentralized - not just a Russian initiative with foreign guests.

In essence, Russia is attempting to turn anti-colonialism from a talking point into a geopolitical platform. The message is designed to resonate: the era of ideological monopolies - whether colonial or liberal - is over. Sovereignty, in this new framework, means not only governing one’s own territory, but also governing one’s own ideology, political process, and information space.

The real question, of course, is whether it becomes a bloc or merely remains a rhetorical club. But that will not be decided in Sochi - or even in Moscow. It will depend on whether the Global South is ready to stop listening, and start speaking.