Chad, a decades-old ally of France, is now cleverly playing off Russia and its traditional Western partners, deepening relations with Moscow in a ploy that irritates and pressures Paris and Washington.
President Mahamat Déby visited his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin in January, while Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, in June to continue the dialogue.
Some Chadian officials have floated the idea of a new military partnership, though the current focus has been on strengthening cultural and media ties.
Last month saw the opening of an official Russian cultural centre in N'Djamena.