I could say with a high level of confidence almost definitely. They barely need a reason to take a bribe lately.

Then there is an electricity crisis here and there where some rumblings of Rosatom building nuclear power stations here. Might be our corrupt politicians see opportunity there.

There is the historical view that communist Russia was an ally to the ANC in the apartheid years and many ANC politicians hold romantic views of communism.

There was also a story recently of a Russian ship offloading or loading something in the naval town of Simmons town not to long ago.

But the biggest problem is the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Naledi Pandor and some in the military are backing Russia while the presidency and the fiscal policy in general is to court the west for loans and foreign investment.