Sofia Johanson

I received my BA in Spanish and Russian from Cambridge in 2023, where I developed an interest in memory politics, the instrumentalization of historical narratives, and debates surrounding the durability of truth. My research will centre around contemporary Russian involvement in Africa, focussing on the role of state media - both in its capacity to influence citizens of Mali and the CAR, and its efforts to depict Russia as a liberator to its domestic audience. This work will deal with the official promotion of the Soviet Union's historically anti-colonial position, whilst examining the inconsistencies which this narrative provokes.