Speaking at a commemoration event marking the historic ties between the former Soviet Union and the African National Congress (ANC), Dr Gwen Ramakgopa said: “Soviet support for the anti-apartheid struggle was not abstract. It was practical, sustained, and often decisive.”

Ramakgopa, who is the ANC’s Treasurer General, told the audience that Soviet and broader socialist assistance extended far beyond military aid. “Beyond arms and training, the Soviet Union and socialist institutions more broadly offered scholarships, safe haven, logistics, and cultural exchange,” Ramakgopa said. “Universities such as the Peoples’ Friendship University, later known as Patrice Lumumba University, played a significant role in educating exiled activists, part of a wider Soviet cultural and educational offensive toward the decolonising world.”

Ramakgopa said the ANC recognised that this legacy formed part of a broader international tapestry of solidarity that included Cuba, the Nordic countries, the Frontline States, and millions around the world who: “marched, boycotted, divested, and prayed for our freedom.”

She noted that while scholars may continue to debate: “proportions and motives,” the historical record confirmed the depth of that solidarity. “The bedrock truth, documented in archives from Johannesburg to Moscow, is that without the solidarity represented in these archives, our road to 1994 would have been longer and darker,” she said.

Turning to South Africa’s current foreign policy, Ramakgopa said that since the end of Apartheid, democratic diplomacy had sought to balance: “historic loyalties with constitutional values and global responsibilities.” She described the country’s engagement with BRICS, including Russia, as: “one expression of our belief in a more plural and rebalanced international order, even as we insist on the primacy of international law, human rights, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.”

Ramakgopa said that debates over South Africa’s international alignment were legitimate and necessary. “Such debate is healthy,” she added, “but history is not only about what happened, it is about what we do now with the inheritance of struggle and friendship.”

Her remarks come at a time when South Africa’s relations with Russia have drawn renewed scrutiny, underscoring how liberation-era alliances continue to shape Pretoria’s diplomatic posture three decades into democracy.