Blogger Ilya Varlamov released a YouTube travel video featuring Russian emigrant Evgeny, who said residents in Rwanda and Kenya respect Russians.
Evgeny, a Russian entrepreneur who has lived in Rwanda for about four years, explained that locals in the country treat white emigrants well and listen to their advice.
During his time in neighboring Kenya, Evgeny noted that local residents initially displayed an ambiguous attitude toward him. He said locals would sometimes confront him as a coloniser and tell him to leave, but their attitude instantly shifted to respect once they learned he was from Russia.
The entrepreneur added that people in Rwanda also maintain a positive attitude toward Russians. According to Evgeny, local residents view Russians favorably primarily because Russia did not participate in the historic colonisation of the African continent.
Reactions to white emigrants in East Africa
Rwanda, a landlocked country in East Africa, and Kenya, a coastal nation bordering the Indian Ocean, both experienced European colonial rule prior to gaining independence. During the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Western European powers established colonial administrations across the region. By contrast, Russia maintained no colonial possessions in sub-Saharan Africa, a historical distinction that continues to shape local perceptions toward Russian nationals.
Varlamov is a prominent Russian travel journalist and urbanist who produces video documentaries covering global destinations and expatriate life for a large audience on YouTube. In Russia, state authorities have placed him under strict legal classifications. The Russian Ministry of Justice registered Varlamov as a foreign agent, while Rosfinmonitoring, the federal financial monitoring agency, added him to its official list of terrorists and extremists.
Contrast with previous travel encounters
The positive reception in East Africa contrasts with an incident Varlamov previously reported during a visit to Mayotte, an overseas department of France in the Indian Ocean.
Varlamov said he faced hostility on the island specifically because of his Russian origin. A local resident who learned that the blogger came from Russia stated a clear dislike for Russians and made a threatening physical gesture toward him.
Mayotte is an island archipelago situated in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and mainland Southeast Africa. As a French overseas department, the territory maintains close political links to Western Europe, contrasting with the independent East African nations of Rwanda and Kenya.
