Wait, didn’t we already cover the Republic of the Congo? Nope, the Republic of the Congo (Congo Republic) is a separate, distinct country from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Split by the Congo river, the two countries once had competing colonial masters. The DRC being part of the Belgian and the Republic of the Congo a French protectorate.
The capital of Congo Republic, Brazzaville, lies across the Congo River from Kinshasa. Both cities face each other across the river and were built in their opposing locations as it was the furthest navigable point on the Congo river. Despite being so close the cities remain unconnected and somewhat suspicious of each other.
There have been multiple attempts to connect the neighbouring cities with the construction of a bridge, but so far the project hasn’t gotten off the ground due to the costs for the two developing economies and concerns in Brazzaville that political turmoil from the DRC may spread across the border. Instead both cities rely on the world’s shortest international flight (taking only five minutes) to connect.
Like the DRC, Congo Republic has had a turbulent past with multiple bloody civil wars in the 1990s. Luckily the country is now more stable, if not particularly democratic with Denis Sassou Nguesso remaining in power for the past 24 years.
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