Mobutu Sese Seko, a staunch anticommunist who seized power in 1965, was not anxious to recognize the Soviets; he remembered well their support, albeit mostly vocal, of Lumumba and the Simba rebels.

Throughout the 1980s, he remained consistently anti-Soviet, and found himself opposing pro-Soviet countries such as Libya and Angola (he covertly supported the UNITA rebels); in the mid-1980s, he described Zaire as being surrounded by a "red belt" of communist and socialist states allied to the Soviet Union.

Western countries began calling for him to introduce democracy and improve human rights, leaving Zaire virtually isolated from international affairs.

[4] In 2010, thirty officers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) were awarded scholarships to study in Russian military academies.

[7] On July 27, 2023, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia signed a reciprocal visa exemption protocol for holders of diplomatic and service passports on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg.