For Ghanaian young people considering Russia as a destination for cultural exchange, education, or new opportunities, a little caution may be wiser than enthusiasm at this particular moment.

There is nothing wrong with cultural exchange because young people should travel, learn languages, experience other societies, study abroad and build international friendships. Ghana has benefited enormously from generations of young people who crossed borders in search of knowledge, opportunity and a broader understanding of the world. But not every international opportunity comes without a wider context.

As Russia prepares to host its International Youth Festival in Yekaterinburg from September 11 to 17, 2026, bringing together thousands of young people from around the world, Ghanaian youth should look beyond the programme's attractions and ask some basic questions: Who is offering this opportunity? What interests lie behind it? What safeguards are in place? And what happens after the festival, scholarship or exchange ends?

Those questions matter now because of what we know about the experiences of some Ghanaians who travelled to Russia after being promised opportunities.

On September 7, 2026, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed that Ghana has repatriated 4,972 citizens from various countries since 2025 following interventions by the government, diplomatic missions and international partners. Many were people who had ended up in distress abroad, including victims of fraudulent recruitment and human trafficking.

More troubling for this particular conversation is what he said about Russia, where 62 Ghanaians have died in connection with the Russia-Ukraine war, 15 remain missing, and two are being held by Ukrainian authorities as prisoners of war. He said illegal recruitment networks had lured some young Ghanaians to Russia with promises of opportunities that eventually led them into the war.

These are not abstract geopolitical statistics but Ghanaian lives. They are people who left home believing that somewhere beyond our borders was an opportunity to work, earn money, study, or build a better future. Instead, some never returned.

That reality should not lead us to reject every Russian cultural or educational initiative, but rather make us more questioning of the environment in which these initiatives are taking place.

And that brings us to the larger question: what is Russia seeking to achieve through its growing investment in cultural exchange, youth programmes, scholarships, education, language initiatives and Russian Houses across Africa?

There is nothing unusual about a country using education and culture to build relationships. The United States, China, Britain, France and Germany do it. Countries have long recognised that relationships built among young people today can become diplomatic, commercial, academic and political relationships tomorrow.

Russia is doing the same, but the difference is that Russia's renewed African engagement is taking place amid a major geopolitical confrontation and a war in Ukraine. Its cultural diplomacy therefore cannot be viewed entirely apart from the broader contest for influence.

Russian Houses are one example. They are presented as platforms for language, education and cultural exchange, and they have expanded in several African countries. Analysts and journalists have also raised questions about their role in Russia's wider influence-building efforts.

The Washington Post has documented how former African students of Soviet and Russian universities have become important intermediaries in Russia's renewed engagement with Africa, helping build educational, business and diplomatic relationships. Russia's scholarships and language programmes are part of that effort.

Again, none of this means that a Ghanaian who studies Russian, attends a cultural event or accepts a scholarship automatically becomes a Russian agent. That would be absurd. Influence is not always about recruitment into something sinister, but sometimes it is simply about shaping how a generation sees the world.

That is why young Africans need media literacy alongside international opportunities. A young Ghanaian should be able to enjoy Russian culture without becoming an unwitting vehicle for Russian geopolitical narratives. He or she should be able to accept a scholarship while understanding who funds it, what obligations accompany it, and what institution ultimately controls the programme.

The same scrutiny should apply to every foreign power engaging our youth. The answer, therefore, is not to close Ghana's doors to Russia but to open our eyes.

Universities should scrutinise exchange agreements, and parents should ask questions about programmes their children are being invited to join. Journalists should investigate the organisers and funding behind youth initiatives while civil society organisations monitor recruitment pathways. Young people themselves should learn to distinguish between a genuine opportunity and an attractive doorway into something they do not fully understand.

We can’t leave out the government. If Ghana is negotiating with Russia to stop the illegal recruitment of its citizens, as Ablakwa says it is, then youth exchanges should be part of that conversation. Ghana should be asking Russia what safeguards exist to ensure that participants in cultural, educational and employment programmes are not subsequently exposed to military recruitment or other forms of exploitation.

The proposed Ghanaian Diaspora Consular Fund is also important because the state cannot continue treating the evacuation of citizens in distress as an emergency that begins only after something has gone terribly wrong. Ablakwa says the government has faced a significant financial and logistical burden responding to these cases. However, prevention and awareness are cheaper than repatriation.

For Ghanaian youth, international opportunity is valuable, but not every opportunity should be accepted without questions. Russia may have universities worth attending, a culture worth experiencing and genuine opportunities worth exploring. But given the troubling cases of Ghanaians recruited into the Russia-Ukraine war, invitations involving Russian youth programmes, employment or travel deserve scrutiny.

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Author: Ismail Akwei, Executive Director, Media Literacy Development Foundation