The current state of the world economy is characterized by instability and mobility. In the context of a protracted crisis, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive contradictions between the leading actors in international economic relations and world politics are exacerbating. Each of them is trying to fix the positions they have won in the world arena, resorting to the tools of economic and military diplomacy to achieve their strategic goals. The confrontation between old and new world leaders of the world economy is being transferred not only to traditional markets, but also to new ones, which were previously on the periphery of their economic interests. The African continent today, like in the nineteenth century, attracts more and more close attention of the leading states of the world. Rich in natural resources, it becomes an arena for the struggle for control over it from the United States, China, and European countries. Taking into account the fact that for Russia the field of foreign economic activity has significantly narrowed in recent years, its return to Africa should become one of the priorities of the national foreign economic strategy. In the above context, it seems relevant to comprehensively study the stages of development of economic relations between Russia and African countries and, based on historical experience, to identify the shortcomings and failures of economic policy in relations with African partners. When writing the article, the authors used general scientific research methods, primarily the dialectical method of cognition, the logical and historical method, deduction and induction, and mathematical methods. In the course of the study, the following results were achieved. (1) Based on the analysis of historical documents, the nature of the economic relations of the Russian Empire with African countries at various stages of their evolution has been determined. It has been established that, at the initial stage of interaction, Russia, in its desire to establish economic contacts with the states in the region, relied on the principle of respect for their sovereignty as independent states, independent subjects of international economic relations; however, at the following stage, associated with the beginning of the colonial division of Africa by the European powers, Russia was forced to passively participate in the colonial aggression against the countries of the region, entering into international agreements with the colonialists on the status of African countries. (2) Based on the processing of statistical data on the foreign trade of the Russian Empire with African countries and territories, a tendency has been revealed that characterizes the gradual curtailment of Russia’s economic activity in this region.
