Tanzania's president visits Russia amid frayed Western ties
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is on a three-day state visit to Russia , which has included a meeting with President Vladimir Putin . This is the first time since 1969 that a Tanzanian leader has visited Moscow. Back then it was Julius Nyerere, whose socialist policies
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is on a three-day state visit to Russia , which has included a meeting with President Vladimir Putin .
This is the first time since 1969 that a Tanzanian leader has visited Moscow. Back then it was Julius Nyerere, whose socialist policies shaped Tanzania in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Russian efforts to build a relationship with Hassan's government began shortly after her disputed 2025 reelection, when she received 98% of the vote . A Russian delegation met with Hassan after the October vote, reportedly with a personal message from Putin.
Hassan has brought a Tanzanian business delegation to Russia which is hoping to sign trade, tourism and minerals deals. Currently, the balance of trade between Tanzania and Russia is around $307 million (€264 million) per year, but a new Russia-Tanzania Business Council created in January aims to boost this figure. Air Tanzania has said it would start flights from Dar es Salaam to Moscow by the end of 2026.
"Russia has long been a major partner of Tanzania," said Godwin Gonde, a lecturer at the Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim Centre for International Relations in Tanzania. "It is a country that does not pay much attention to the internal affairs of the countries it chooses to cooperate with."
He told DW that choosing to visit Russia "carries significant diplomatic weight, because many Western countries have imposed sanctions on Tanzania and certain leaders," thereby depriving them of the chance to visit those nations.
In recent years, Russia has sought to reestablish ties with former Cold War partner nations. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, many of those relationships had receded in importance. Russia has attempted to strike trade deals, engage multilaterally through BRICS and offered military deals in Sahel countries like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
"By welcoming Tanzania, especially at this time, it sends a message to Western nations that [Russia] still has a place among African nations," said Gonde, adding that Russia is working to eclipse Western influence on the continent.
