Evening star., 1960-10-01
BY SMITH HEMPSTONE
Contributing Writer


MALINDI, Kenya-The deer
Russian interest in the Congo
make it crystal clear that the
emergent states Of Africa have
Supplanted Southeast Asia q;
international communism's pri.
mary goal for the 1960S.
Russian interest in the con-
tinent is no new thing. A party
Of Czarist engineers attempted
to establish a post on the Som.
ali coast in 1888 (the French
frustrated the effor) and books
about Africa were being pub.
lished in Russian as early a.
1876. More than 100 new titles
have been added since Worlc
War II.
A South African Communist
Party, which initially lost
ground with the Africans by
appealing only to white work
ers, was organized within a few
months of the Russian Revolu.
ton. Although the Communist
spotlight was primarily focused
on Asia, interest in Africt
perked up in the 1940s ant
l950s.
Big Push in 1858
But the Soviets' real push got
underway in 1858 when Com.
munists gained control of II
percent Of the trade union
movement in the Sudan anC
established a West African
bridgehead in newly -indepen.
dent Guinea.
These moves followed the
failure of terrorist campaigns
in Kenya and French Gamer
oons. Significantly. both JomC
Kenyatta and Ruben Um Nyobe
who led the movements, hac
spent considerable time behint
the Iron Curtain.
Russian broadcasts to Africs
began in the spring of 1858
with q total Of three and one
half hours per week in English
and French. Since then, broad
cast time has been increased tt
II and one-half hours per weel
in French and IA in English
This year Swahili broadcast
got underway.
In 1859. Radio Peking begar
beaming English language pro
grams to Africa and Radio
Prague joined the voice-wal
with daily broadcasts to tn
French and Portuguese colon
les. 90
Push University Program
In line with the expansion
of radio propaganda, the Com
munist nations in the past twt
years have made a strong pusl
to get Africans into Iron Cur
tain universities. Prague hai
become a major center for Afri'
can students, as have Moscow
Leningrad, Leipzig, Bucharest
Sofia, Budapest and Peking.
1t is difficult to estimate tht
number Of Africans studying
behind the Iron Curtain be-
cause they usually go there b!
circuitous routes and co-opera'
tive Communist immigration
officials frequently fail to mari
their passports. 1t is unlikely
that there are fewer than 1000
Most African students re.
ceive full scholarships from
Communist-front organization!
such as the International Unior
of Students or the World Fed.
Grafton of Democratic Youth
They also get free transporta.
tion and allowances.
Next month will see the
opening of Moscow'S new
Friendship University, with 6
planned enrolment of 5000
from Asian, African and South
American countries. To make
its African visitors feel a.
home, the Kremlin has estab'
lished the Soviet Association
flor Friendship with the African
People and has staged a mum.
ber of exhibitions featuring
African poetry, music and art
Prof. Ivan Potekhin, tht
Soviets' top Africanist, hai
been tabled to direct a hug
Institute Of African Studies IL
Moscow.
Reds Run Guinea
On the diplomatic front, tn,
Communists have been Just a.
a 6 gr essive. After puttini
Guinea in the bag with a seriei
of trade agreements which
lock the West African state II
the Soviet bloc, Czechs have
arrived to operate Conakry!
reau, indicate that Russia haI
rice production, Poles to man
age the country's public work