From the 1960s to the 1980s, when anti-colonial liberation struggles coincided with the height of the global Cold War, Southern Africa became a key point in the movement of people and ideas across the globe. Armies were made whose soldiers were motivated by the desire for freedom at home, but which were also marked by the exchange of ideas about strategy, tactics and soldiering from elsewhere in Africa and the world. These ‘global soldiers’ and the exchange of ideas that shaped them are at the centre of this research project.
Soviet military specialist Alexander Malyarenko with the Angolan fighter FAPA and the soldier DAA. The photo is taken at Luanda Air Force Base in 1977. From the personal archive of A.Malyarenko
African students in Moscow celebrate Umkhonto we Sizwe Anniversary at Novodevichy Cemetery. 16 Dec. 1983. From the archive of the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee
A mural in Luanda representing colonial exploitation
ZPRA army Soviet training in Boma camp, Angola. Photo from the personal archive of Vladimir Lebedev
ZPRA army training in Boma camp, Angola. Photo from the personal archive of Vladimir Lebedev
A mural in Luanda representing political education in the anti-colonial struggle
Col. Konovalenko, the ANC's most senior Soviet military advisor, with MK women soldiers in Caculama camp, Angola, 1985-1988
