Free to decide their destiny? Indigenous resistance to external forms of socialist modernity in Siad Barre’s Somalia

Abstract

Based on a wealth of original material from Russian and East European archives, in addition to Western primary sources, this paper focuses on the uneasy Soviet–Somali patron–client relationship in the 1970s. It traces the development of Moscow’s stake in Mogadishu since Mohamed Siad Barre’s coup d’état in 1969 and dissects largely futile Soviet attempts at embedding lasting presence in Somalia’s military ranks and security apparatus. As this paper shows, Somalia’s socialist experiment proved a challenging affair on multiple counts, not only for the Soviets but also for the African country’s leaders. Mogadishu’s turn to the left faced serious opposition from within Somalia’s own society, suffered from insufficient commitment and division within the state apparatus, and was confronted by local and international pressures coming from Arab and Western quarters. This cleavage strongly impeded the successful completion of the arduous tasks of socialism-building, resulting in short-lived and largely unsuccessful experiments at little understood social engineering.

Keywords:

• Soviet Union
• Socialism
• Somalia
• Cold War
• Horn of Africa
• East–South

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For general overviews of changes in North-East Africa, see Woodward, Horn of Africa, 136–7; Yodfat, “Soviet Union and the Horn of Africa,” 6; Payton, “Somali Coup of 1969,” 499–500; Sinitsyn, Missiya v Efiopii, 158–9; Verhoeven, Water, Civilisation and Power in Sudan, Chapter 3; Schoenberger and Reich, “Soviet Policy in the Middle East,” 17–8; Garin, Slovo i Delo, 369; Golan, Soviet Policies in the Middle East, 68; Albioni, Red Sea Region, 31.

2 Sofinskii, “Somali na puti progressa,” 63–4.

3 My own research revealed no direct involvement of the Soviet KGB in the coup. However, several other sources point to potential Soviet complicity – or foreknowledge, at least – of the late October events. See Andrew and Mitrokhin, World Was Going Our Way; See also among others Galaydh, “Notes on the State of the Somali State”; and Payton, “Somali Coup of 1969,” 499–500. Taking a more restrained line in this regard, this account accepts that even if some Soviet diplomatic personnel in Mogadishu knew in advance of Siad Barre’s plans, Moscow’s deeper involvement would necessitate more concrete documentary evidence which I was unable to uncover in KGB papers circulated across other socialist states’ security organs. To the account developed herein, the deeper Soviet involvement did not occur before the early 1970s, despite the existence at the state level of contacts prior to Siad Barre’s coup. The birth of an independent Somalia through the unification of the former British Somaliland Protectorate and the Italian Trust territory in 1960 provided the Soviet Union with the opportunity to establish a foothold in Somalia. However, in an attempt not to jeopardise its position in Addis Ababa, Moscow had to take a cautious approach in Mogadishu, considering the unresolved territorial issues between the neighbouring states. The 1963 military agreement between Moscow and Mogadishu failed to reach the highs the Somalis hoped for as Khrushchev sought to strike a balance between the two states, as evidenced by the 1964 border skirmishes in which the Soviet leader aimed to mediate between the two competing states. Therefore, expecting a deeper KGB involvement in enticing Siad Barre’s coup, without any hard evidence, which in shadowy KGB business rarely comes to light, would run against the Kremlin’s official policies towards the region in the 1960s.

4 Cable, Moscow to Secretary of State no. 5897, October 23, 1969, NACP, RG59, CFPF 1967–69, b. 2087, f. POL 21 SOMALI 1/1/67.

5 Memorandum of conversation (MemCon), Sinitsyn-Gavlasek, November 5, 1969, AVP RF, f. 581, o. 13, p. 12, d. 3, ll. 2–3 [32–3].

6 MemCon, Sinitsyn-Elev, November 14, 1969, AVP RF, f. 581, o. 13, p. 12, d. 3, l. 2 [35].

7 MemCon, Safonov-Thun, October 23, 1969, AVP RF, f. 581, o. 13, p. 12, d. 3, l. 1 [13]. See similar assessments offered by Sinitsyn in conversation with Bulgarian and Czechoslovak diplomats in Moscow in Sinitsyn-Gavlasek, November 5, 1969, AVP RF, f. 581, o. 13, p. 12, d. 3, l. 1 [31], and Sinitsyn-Vylov, November 3, 1969, AVP RF, f. 581, o. 13, p. 12, d. 3, l. 1 [29].

8 MemCon, Thun-Safonov, 23 October 1969, AVP RF, f. 581, o. 13, p. 12, d. 3, l. 2 [14].

9 Hamrick, “Siad, The Soviet Union and Ethiopia,” April 7, 1975, NARA Online, RG59, DN: 1975MOGADI00506, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=7380&dt=2476&dl=1345 (accessed September 25, 2019).

10 Shaw, “Somalia and the Soviet Union,” May 7, 1974, TNA, FCO 31/1746, fo. 3.

11 Hadsel, “Soviet Influence in Somalia,” Airgram no. A-128, November 8, 1970, NACP, RG59, b. 2596, f. POL SOMALI-USSR.

12 “Pismo chlenov sovetskikh kolektivov, rabotayushchikh v Somaliiskoi Demokraticheskoi Respublike (g. Mogadisho)” [“Letter from Members of Soviet Collectives Working in the Somali Democratic Republic (Mogadishu)”], March 31, 1971, RGANI, f. 1, op. 6, d. 87, l. 130.

13 Gyula Rapai, “A szomáliai államfő látogatása a Szovjetunióban” [“Somali Head of State’s Visit to the Soviet Union”] December 1, 1971, MNL, XIX-J-1-j, Szomália, 1971, 94d, p. 5.

14 Crozier, “Russia’s Bounty Has Given Her the Edge in Somalia,” The Times, March 3, 1975, p. 14.

15 Beam, “Conversation with Soviet MFA Officials Re Somalia and Ethiopia,” Airgram no. A-1351, December 17, 1971, NACP, RG59, SNF 1970-73, Political and Defense, b. 2596, From POL SOMALI-USSR to POL 7 SP, f. POL SOMALI-USSR.

16 Intelligence Memorandum, “Soviet–Somali Relations,” January 26, 1973, NACP, RG263, Tranche Twenty Two, b. 2, #17268 – # 28641.

17 NIDC, November 16, 1977, CIA Records Search Tool (CREST), NACP, ESDN: CIA-RDP79T00975A030400010056-2.

18 Ribarov, [“Report on the Development of the Ethiopian–Somali Relations”], December 10, 1973, DAMVnR, f. Yaven, op. 30, d. 59, pr. 1173, s. 17, l. 48.

19 “Současná úroveň vztahů Somálské demokratické republiky se Sovětským svazem” [“The Current Level of Relations between the Somali Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union”], July 3, 1973, AMZV, f. TO-T, kr. 1970–74, Somálsko, 1, sv. 239/111, 1, s. 3.

20 Goody, Technology, Tradition and the State in Africa; Ali, “Foreign Factor in the Somali Tragedy,” 541.

21 Hocevar, “Društveno-ekonomska i politička kretanja u zemlji” [“Socio-Economic and Political Trends in the Country”], no. 213/75, June 12, 1975, DAMSPRS, f. Politička arhiva (PA) – Mala zemalja […Somalija…] 1975, fasc. 223, dos. 6, sig. 435693, ss. 14–5.

22 Andrew and Mitrokhin, The Mitrokhin Archive II, 449.

23 “Současná úroveň vztahů Somálské demokratické republiky se Sovětským svazem,” July 3, 1973, AMZV, ss. 1; 5.

24 “O deyatel’nosti SShA v Afrike” [“About US Activities in Africa”], c. 1973, COMDOS, f. 1, op. 10, no. 1970, s. 4, l. 32.

25 Ghalib, Cost of Dictatorship, 127.

26 Cromwell, “Soviet Assessment of Somalia and Somali–Soviet Relations,” Airgram no. A-111, September 17, 1972, NACP, RG59, SNF 1970–73, b. 2596, f. POL SOMALI-USSR; Hocevar, “Drustveno-ekonomska,” s. 15. On rumoured visit of Andropov, see also S. Hamrick, “BBC Broadcast on Soviet Influence in Somalia,” March 6, 1975, NARA Online, RG59, DN: 1975MOGADI00338, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=200713&dt=2476&dl=1345 (accessed September 25, 2019).

27 Crozier, “Russia’s Bounty Has Given,” 14.

28 Ghalib, Cost of Dictatorship, 127.

29 Crozier, “Russia’s Bounty Has Given,” 14.

30 Hocevar, “Drustveno-ekonomska,” 16.

31 Interview with J. Loughran, June 22, 1988, ADST Online, https://www.adst.org/OHTOCs/Loughran, John L .toc.pdf?_ga = 2.260002701.681037023.1569518393-1323610275.1569518393 (accessed September 26, 2019).

32 KGB Reference no. 241, “O deyatel’nosti amerikanskikh spetssluzhb protiv uchrezhdenii i grazhdan sotsialisticheskikh stran, nakhodyashchikhsya v Afrike” [“On the Activities of the US Special Services against Institutions and Citizens of Socialist Countries in Africa”], c. 1970, COMDOS, f. 1, op. 10, a.e. 724, s. 7, l. 205.

33 Hersi, Arab Factor in Somali History.

34 In the same way, the former First Chief Directorate deputy director, Vadim Kirpichenko, claimed that all accounts of active Soviet inference in African domestic affairs are completely unfounded. The Kremlin, he added, provided advice, and military and security assistance, only on the initiative of the locals. See Kirpichenko, Iz arkhiva razvedchika, 87.

35 Westad, Global Cold War, 273.

36 Shaw, “Somali Democratic Republic: Annual Review for 1973,” January 1, 1974, TNA, FCO 31/1743, fo. 1.

37 For a similar, albeit broader, analysis on the incompatibility of African realities and Soviet expectations, see Kirpichenko, Iz arkhiva razvedchika, 85.

38 Legum and Lee, Conflict in the Horn of Africa, 32.

39 The colonial partitioning of the Somali population within the borders of five territories – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Italian Somalia and the British-controlled Somaliland – had a profound impact on Somali nationalism. However, the establishment of the Somali state, by uniting British Somaliland and Italian Somalia in July 1960, created an incomplete state in the eyes of nationalist Somali’s leaders, further reinforcing the ideal of uniting all Somalis in one state. Somali population falling within Ethiopian territory in the Ogaden region played a key role in Mogadishu’s politics and resulted in two military campaigns against its western neighbour, in 1963–64 and, most notably, in 1977–78.

40 KGB Reference no. 491/D, “O vnutrennei i vneshnei politike Somali” [“On Somalia’s Domestic and Foreign Policy”], August 1972, COMDOS, f.1, op. 10, a.e. 1815, s. 1ff, l. 146ff.

41 Gundersen, “Discontent within Somalia,” August 6, 1974, TNA, FCO 31/1744, fo. 3. This letter was received at the EAD on September 17; it probably was written on September 1, as it discusses events that took place on this date.

42 See Shaw, “The Revolutionary Government and Islam,” January 28, 1975, TNA, FCO 31/1925, fo. 4; and O. Ahmed, “A Statement by the Somali Refugee Relief Committee,” February 4, 1975, TNA, FCO 31/1925, fo. 3.

43 Shaw, “Internal Situation,” April 8, 1975, TNA, FCO 31/1925, fo. 8.

44 Letter, MacKechnie to Gundersen, April 15, 1975, TNA, FCO 31/1925, fo. 7.

45 Krastev, “Polozhenieto v Somaliya prez parvoto trimesechie na 1975 godina” [“The Situation in Somalia in the First Quarter of 1975”], April 12, 1975, DAMVnR, f. Poveritelen, op. 26p, d. 20, pr. 235, s. 8, l. 19.

46 Ibid., 5.

47 Richardson, “Soviet Influence in Somalia,” March 10, 1975, NARA Online, RG59, DN: 1975LONDON03616, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=200626&dt=2476&dl=1345 (accessed September 25, 2019).

48 Hamrick, “BBC Broadcast on Soviet Influence in Somalia.”

49 Hamrick, “Somalia’s Feud with BBC Regarding Soviet Influence,” March 17, 1975, NARA Online, RG59, DN: 1975MOGADI00391, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=202394&dt=2476&dl=1345 (accessed September 25, 2019).

50 Krastev, “Polozhenieto v Somaliya,” 8–9.

51 Desfosses, “Naval Strategy and Aid Policy,” 183.

52 [“On the Ethiopian–Somali Conflict”], ADMAE, Problem 224, anul 1978, ţara Etiopia–Somalia, Dosar 1032, 5 [92].

53 Hamrick, “Egyptian Views on Soviet Military Activity in Somalia,” April 28, 1975, NARA Online, RG59, DN: 1975MOGADI00621, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=19617&dt=2476&dl=1345 (accessed September 25, 2019).

54 Crozier, “Russia’s Bounty Has Given,” 14.

55 KGB Reference no. 523/D, “Ob otnosheniyakh mezhdu Efiopiei i Somali” [“About the Relations between Ethiopia and Somalia”], August 1972, COMDOS, f.1, op. 10, a.e. 1815, s. 3, l. 212.

56 Kirk, “Podgorny Visit: Economic Assistance,” July 20, 1974, NARA Online, RG59, DN: 1974MOGADI01150, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=141673&dt=2474&dl=1345 (accessed September 25, 2019).

57 Sinitsyn, Missiya v Efiopii, 199.

58 Ribarov, [“Report on the Development of the Ethiopian–Somali Relations”].

59 MemCon, Ratanov-Zawde Gebre-Hiwot, April 11, 1974, AVP RF, f. 143, o. 37, p. 27, d. 1, l. 2 [55].

60 MemCon, Ratanov-Paranjpe, August 15, 1974, AVP RF, f. 143, o. 37, p. 27, d. 1, ll. 1–2 [177–8].

61 Cable, State 135878, June 11, 1975, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, The Papers of Elliot Richardson, b. 291, Ambassadorial File, Great Britain, f. Indian Ocean.

62 Horn of Africa, Study Pursuant to NSSM 184, July 6, 1973, NACP, Nixon Presidential Material Staff, b. H-068, National Security Council Institutional (‘H’) Files Meeting Files (1969–74), f. SRG Meeting – NSSM 184 Horn of Africa 7/25/73.

63 Cable, Mogadishu to Belgrade no. 240, July 12, 1975, DAMSPRS, f. PA […Somalija…] 1975, fasc. 223, dos. 6, sig. 435693, s. 1; Similary, Somalia’s ambassador to Beijing noted that Moscow has helped Mogadishu in building up the Somali army and arranging ports, without them being used as Soviet military bases. See Cable, Beijing to Bangalore No. 056745, c. 1974, ADMAE, Problema 210, anul 1974, tara Somalia, Dosar 4515, 1 [2].

64 Hocevar, “Drustveno-ekonomska,” 15.

65 MemCon, Cabinet Meeting, 16 July 1975, GRFL, NSA, b. 13, Memoranda of Conversations, 1973-7, f. Ford, Rumsfeld, Senators Dewey Bartlett and Robert Griffin.

66 Yodfat, “The Soviet Union and the Horn of Africa, Part Two,” 35.

67 MemCon, Ford – Bartlett, Griffin, July 7, 1975, GRFL, NSA, b. 13.

68 Karlov, “Otnosno sreshtata na dr. Petar Mladenov s Ustinov V. A.” [“About the Meeting of Comrade Peter Mladenov with Ustinov VA”], November 24, 1977, DAMvNR, f. Yaven, op. 33, d. 125, pr. 2555, s. 2, l. 68.

69 TASS, “Zayavlenie prezidenta Somali” [“Statement by the President of Somalia”], November 15, 1977, Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii [Moscow], f. 4459, f. 43, d. 18883, ll. 78–9.

70 Karlov, “Otnosno sreshtata na dr. Petar Mladenov s Ustinov V. A,” s. 3, l. 69; cf. Cable, Algiers to Karachi, No. 012156, March 30, 1977, J. Lazarescu to M. Dinu, Director Department 2 MAE, ADMAE, Problema 220/G, anul 1977, ţara Cuba, Dosar 981, 1. Reportedly, Moscow knew that during Siad Barre’s visit to Saudi Arabia in July 1977, Siad received an offer of American weapons worth US$ 460 million, to be supplied ‘if Somalia broke entirely with the Soviet Union’. See Brutents, Tridtsat’ let na Staroi ploshchadi, 212.

71 Henze, Layers of Time, 303.

72 There are numerous accounts treating the dissolution of the Somali state, including, most recently, Haji Ingiriis, Suicidal State in Somalia. See also Kapteijns, Clan Cleansing in Somalia; Geshekter, “Death of Somalia in Historical Perspective,” 81; and Samatar, “Social Decay and Public Institutions,” 215.

73 On the occasion of the first anniversary of the 21 October coup, Siad Barre proclaimed: ‘In our Revolution we believe that we have broken the chain of a consumer economy based on imports, and we are free to decide our destiny’. Quoted in Mohamed, “Gender and State Policies,” 117.

74 Gilkes, “Descent into Chaos,” 47.

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Radoslav Yordanov

Radoslav Yordanov completed his Doctoral Studies at Oxford University, defending a thesis on the Soviet Union’s involvement in Ethiopia and Somalia during the Cold War. This thesis served as the basis for his recent book, published in the Harvard Cold War Book Series. Following visiting stints at the Russian Academy of Science’s Institute of World History and Columbia’s Harriman Institute, he is currently working on his second book-length manuscript at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Using a broad range of newly declassified materials from Eastern European archives, this project aims to conceptualise the relationships between the former Soviet Bloc states and the Third World. His most recent research on East–South relations during the Cold War appeared in the Journal of Cold War Studies, Journal of Contemporary History and International History Review.