E. N. KORENDYASOV Candidate of Economic Sciences A. Y. URNOV Doctor of Historical Sciences V. G. SHUBIN Doctor of Historical Sciences Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: 50 years of the OAU, AU, Russia-Africa, BRICS In December 2010, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the "Year of Africa", and on May 25, 2013, another" golden jubilee " was celebrated - the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU). The event that took place in Addis Ababa in 1963 has gone down in history as " Africa Day "and undoubtedly deserves to be called"historic". The message of congratulations sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the heads of State and Government of African countries on the occasion of this anniversary reads:: "The creation of this unique structure half a century ago was an important milestone on the way of the peoples of Africa to ensure peace, security, stability, mutual understanding and good neighborliness on the continent. The African Union is an effective mechanism for multilateral political, economic and humanitarian cooperation and coordination of the actions of its participants on the world stage. " 1 FROM THE OAU TO THE AU The OAU has become an all-encompassing organization in the full sense of the word. All the States of the continent that gained independence after the formation of the OAU joined it. Is this not an eloquent testimony to the desire for unity, the strength of pan-Africanist ideas? At that time, the process of decolonization was still far from complete, and it was only natural that the elimination of all forms of colonialism and racism should have been declared the most important task of the OAU.2 But not the only one. Among the tasks of the OAU is to protect and strengthen the "hard-won" independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of African countries, and already in the future. page 6 In the preamble to the Charter, this was di ... Read more