Angola convicts two Russian nationals on terrorism and espionage charges
Rachel Savage
Two Russian men have been convicted in Angola on terrorism and espionage charges for allegedly plotting a coup and organizing deadly fuel price protests that killed 22 people. Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin were sentenced to 8 and 11 years in prison, respectively, and have appealed.
Two Russian nationals have been convicted by an Angolan court on terrorism and espionage charges, after being accused of plotting a coup and helping to organize deadly protests in the southern African country last year.
Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin were sentenced to 8 and 11 years in prison, respectively. They denied the allegations, stating they were in Angola for cultural and business activities.
From July 28 to 30, 2025, a minibus taxi strike protesting rising fuel prices turned into riots and looting, leaving 22 dead and more than 1,600 arrested, according to official figures.
Angolan security forces were accused of firing live ammunition at protesters; the government said their use of force was justified. Human Rights Watch previously said Angola used excessive force when firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a peaceful protest against higher fuel prices on July 12, 2025.
Angolan prosecutors said Lakshtanov and Ratchin aimed to influence next year’s presidential election, including by funding Angola's largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), or forcing a leadership change within the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party that has governed the country since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Prosecutors also claimed the men were linked to Africa Politology, a Russian propaganda and disinformation network that evolved from the Wagner mercenary group.
According to an investigation by news outlets including Forbidden Stories, Africa Politology was taken over by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) after the death of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023. Wagner was rebranded as the Africa Corps and integrated into the Russian military.
Angola, an economy heavily reliant on oil exports, has historically had close ties with Russia. During the Cold War years of Angola's 1975-2002 civil war, the Soviet Union and Cuba backed the MPLA, while the U.S. and apartheid-era South Africa supported its rivals, including UNITA. However, Angolan President João Lourenço has improved relations with the U.S. and Europe since taking power in 2017.
Over the past decade, Russia has expanded its presence in Africa. The Wagner Group and later the Africa Corps have provided security for Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra since 2017.
In 2021, Wagner forces arrived in Mali to support the military junta. The Africa Corps has also backed military regimes in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso. Since 2023, Russian troops have been deployed in Equatorial Guinea, Libya, and Sudan, according to a U.S. Congressional report.
Madagascar President Michael Randrianirina has also strengthened ties with Russia since taking power in a coup in October 2025. Russians are part of his presidential guard, and a weekly program on Madagascar-Russia relations aired on national television earlier this month.
Two Angolans were also tried alongside the Russians. Sports journalist Carlos Tomé received a two-year suspended sentence. Francisco de Oliveira, secretary-general of UNITA's youth wing, was acquitted.
According to the Lusa news agency, prosecutors have appealed those sentences. Lakshtanov and Ratchin have also appealed their convictions but will remain in custody while the appeals are processed.
The Russian embassy in Angola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
