Russia Honours Oliver Tambo at Gauteng Cemetery in Tribute to ANC Hero

• Russian Chargé d'Affaires Evgeny Sadikov laid a wreath at Tamboville Cemetery on 27 October 2026 to honour Oliver Tambo
• The ceremony reflects a decades-long relationship between Moscow and the ANC that dates back to the Soviet era
• The tribute follows a 2025 event where the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation recognised Russian contributions to the anti-apartheid struggle

GAUTENG — Russia has marked the legacy of Oliver Reginald Tambo with a formal wreath-laying ceremony at Tamboville Cemetery, where Russian Chargé d'Affaires Evgeny Sadikov led the tribute on Tuesday, 27 October 2026.

The ceremony acknowledged Tambo's leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991 and his pivotal role in rallying international support against apartheid.

Russia and the ANC's Soviet-era relationship

The historical bond between Russia and the ANC traces its roots to the Soviet Union, which provided critical backing to the liberation movement during the apartheid years. According to South African History Online, the Soviet Union made £300,000 available to Tambo in 1964 after the ANC was banned by the apartheid government, as he sought international solidarity for the movement.

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Military cooperation was also established early on. In 1963, the Soviet Union approved training for members of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the ANC's armed wing, covering guerrilla warfare, military strategy, and firearms. Soviet assistance extended further to include educational opportunities for members of the liberation movement.

A defining moment in the relationship came in November 1986, when Tambo led an official ANC delegation to Moscow and met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a meeting widely regarded as cementing the ties between both sides.

See X post from the Russia Embassy here:

Tambo foundation recognised Russian anti-apartheid support

Tuesday's wreath-laying follows a ceremony held in October 2025 in which the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation formally honoured Russian individuals who contributed to the struggle against apartheid. At that event, the names of Russian military personnel who died fighting against apartheid were handed over at Freedom Park.

Freedom Park chief executive Jane Mufamadi praised the significance of that support, noting that Russians had stood against racial discrimination at a time when black people faced mistreatment in the West because of their race.

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Tambo's standing in South Africa continues to be shaped by his diplomatic work and his success in building a global coalition against apartheid, efforts that the latest ceremony sought to acknowledge and preserve.

Ramaphosa unveils statue of OR Tambo

Previously, Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled a statue seeking to honour the legacy of struggle veteran Oliver Tambo on Tuesday. The statue is situated outside OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng and is the second of its kind. The first was unveiled by former president Jacob Zuma.

The month of October has been declared by the City of Ekurhuleni as OR Tambo Month and the nine-metre tall bronze statue of OR Tambo will be unveiled exactly 103 years since the birth of the globally respected leader.

Source: Briefly News