By STEPHEN KAPAMBWE –

IT could have easily been 30 degrees below zero had celebrations to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Zambia and Russia been held on a chilly day in Moscow.
But the evening of Tuesday, October 28, 2014 was warm, cosy and inviting when Russian Ambassador Konstantin Kozhanov hosted friends of Zambia and Russia at Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka to mark the 50th anniversary of relations between the two countries.
Perhaps the warmth of the evening exuded from the cordial relations Zambia and Russia have shared since the pre-Independence days.
Those relations, marked by multi-faceted assistance Russia provided to Zambia before and after the struggle for Independence spanned many fields like politics, economics, education, arts and sports.
Memories of the path the two nations have walked in the last 50 years were on display, in the form photographs, documents of agreements signed by the two countries and newspaper cuttings that told of watershed events that have taken place both in Zambia and in Russia.
A newspaper cutting of ‘Dr V J Mwaanga’s full extraordinary life’, accompanied by a photo when Dr Mwaanga became the first Zambian to envoy to the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at the age of 21 in September 1965, was one of those pieces of information on display.
Photographs portraying the cultural support rendered by Russia to Zambia, as well as memorable visits of Dr Kaunda and his wife Betty – who is now late – in 1974 during which they met President Nikolai Podgorny of the USSR were also on display.
High level visits between the two countries, like visits of Zambian delegations to the Kremlin, the memorable visit to Zambia of President Podgorny during which the USSR delegation had an opportunity to visit the mighty Victoria Falls in Livingstone, and many other exchange
visits, were all displayed for invited guests to have a feel of how the two countries conducted themselves in the last 50 years.
Today, an estimated 300,000 people in Zambia speak fluent Russian, having been in Russia at one time or another for professional training or cultural exchange programmes.
Among the dignitaries that attended the reception was Zambia Open University (ZAOU) Professor Ackson Kanduza who disclosed that the Russian ambassador had in the recent past taken it upon himself to deliver a talk about Zambia-Russia relations during interactions with ZAOU students.
This was during the run up to celebrations marking Zambia’s golden jubilee of Independence.
Professor Kanduza said the ZAOU had been privileged to host Mr Kozhanov who came from a country that played an influential role in global events.
Dr Mwaanga recounted the days he lived in Moscow after he became the first Zambian envoy to Russia shortly after the two countries established diplomatic affairs.
“I got to Moscow at the height of the cold war.
By then most Africa countries were not liberated,” he said.
He recalled that when he went to present credentials, Russian officials were so interested and knowledgeable about Zambia that he took nearly an hour discussing them areas of support that Russia was providing to Zambia.
“The Russians understood our situation especially as a result of the Unilateral Declaration of the Independence (UDI) by Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) under Ian Smith.
Dr Mwaanga said at the time he served in Moscow, the USSR hosted a large number of Zambian students who were pursuing various programmes in a number of universities.
Those students went on to occupy important positions in the Zambian Government which was under First Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
Some became cabinet ministers and some served in critical institutions like the Bank of Zambia.
But Dr Mwaanga’s work in Moscow exposed him to a number of things that made his tour of duty memorable and humorous in some cases.
“The weather is one thing that was quiet interesting. There were days when we woke up and we could not start our cars because the petrol in the tanks had frozen,” he said.
The weather became a pressing matter for the Zambian staff at the Zambian mission who were not used to temperatures dropping as low as 30 degrees below zero.
Troubled by the developments, Dr Mwaanga wrote the then Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Mark Chona requesting for permission to purchase additional heating equipment for the staff at the Zambian Mission.
But the request was denied.
Later, Mr Chona travelled to Moscow.
During his visit to the Zambian mission, Dr Mwaanga deliberately reduced the temperature in the room where Mr Chona had been ushered into so that the temperature was lower than in the other rooms.
Mr Chona found the weather so unfriendly that he cut his four-day stay in USSR to only two days after which he left for London.
When he returned to Zambia, he approved Dr Mwaanga’s request and the Zambian mission in Moscow was given the green light to purchase additional heating equipment.
But in all, the veteran politician who is now over 70 said Zambia had enjoyed happy relations with Russia.
He regretted that the former USSR had in the last 50 years split into a number of independent states.
He praised Russia for the support rendered to Zambia in particular and Africa in general during the struggle for freedom.
Ambassador Kozhanov described Zambia as a reliable, trusted and important partner in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The envoy said Zambia is not only an influential player on the international political scene, but is also globally recognised and deservedly praised for its adherence to democratic principles.
He said Zambia is also recognised for its political stability and its efforts in promoting peace and security in conflict prone areas of Africa.
He described Zambia as one of the fastest growing and dynamic African economies that had evolved through many trials and tribulations.
The envoy said Russia had heavily contributed towards the sustainable development of Zambia from the early years following the country’s attainment of Independence on 24th October, 1964.
That cooperation remains very much alive especially in the area of education where Russia has not only continued to provide State scholarships, but has undertaken to increase the number of scholarships to Zambia.
Recently, Ambassador Kozhanov announced his country’s decision to provide an additional 55 to 60 State scholarship each year to Zambia within a range of programmes of higher professional education,
peacekeeping and other long-term and short term courses.
He said the programmes that would be provided via the educational institutions of the Russian ministry of Internal Affairs would be for officers and future specialists of Zambian law enforcement agencies.
“This means that the total number of Russian scholarships granted each year to Zambia runs up to 190. This significant increase in the number
of scholarships may be seen as the Russian contribution to the commemoration of two Golden jubilees – the 50th Anniversary of the Zambian Independence and the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries,” he said.
He was speaking at a send-off ceremony of 127 Zambian students who had been awarded scholarships to study in Russian this year.
Under the training initiative, Russia has trained Zambian physicians, scientists, engineers, information technologists and other essential experts that included leading Government figures.
Ambassador Kozhanov said in coming years, Zambia and Russia were expected to strive towards further unlocking and developing the vast potential in trade, economic and investment cooperation.
This was in light of on-going implementation of the revised foreign policy which was recently adopted by the Zambian Government to be focused on economic diplomacy.
“Our predecessors and founding fathers have laid a foundation and given momentum to strengthening of political and economic ties between our two countries and those of us who have picked up the torch are expected to maintain and expand this treasured and memorable experience to coming generations,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the history of friendliness in Zambia-Russia relations which are based on mutual trust and understanding would live on and be further enriched by the positive contribution from Zambian and Russian descendants in the next 50 years.
The envoy said the celebrations of fifty years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Zambia and Russia marked five decades of an everlasting friendship.
They were also an indication of mutually beneficial multi-faceted cooperation in economic, political and humanitarian areas.