The Matryoshka Strategy: Russia's Hybrid Tactics in the Sahel

This paper employs the Matryoshka Model to examine Russia's multi-layered strategy in the Sahel, conceptualising its engagement as a hybrid form of hegemonic competition that integrates diplomacy, economic leverage, security cooperation, and covert operations. Russia's approach is characterised by a nested structure of influence, wherein overt state-to-state relations, private military deployments, and information warfare operate in tandem to reinforce Moscow's strategic objectives. The study situates Russia's activities within the broader geopolitical landscape, arguing that its engagement in Sahelian states is not merely opportunistic but part of a deliberate effort to reshape regional power dynamics. By capitalising on governance deficits, security crises, and economic dependencies, Russia has positioned itself as an alternative to Western actors, leveraging military agreements, resource extraction deals, and disinformation campaigns to entrench its presence. This paper contends that Russia's strategy fragments geopolitics and challenges Western security, revealing asymmetric power in the evolving global order.