Rugby union in Lesotho on the national capital, and only sizable city, Maseru. Lesotho's poverty and lack of infrastructure make it difficult to maintain a proper national league structure. The country is surrounded on all sides by South Africa. Rugby union in South Africa is a major sport - the country has both hosted and won the Rugby World Cup - and Lesotho is saturated by South African media of various types. Lesotho can therefore be considered one of several countries within South African rugby's sphere of influence - including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Botswana. In late 2011 the Maseru Kings Rugby Club was
Lesotho–Russia relations the most prominent of whom is Monyane Moleleki, the Basotho foreign minister, who graduated from Moscow State University. Since 1996, the Russian government provides to Lesotho, scholarships for three Basotho citizens to obtain basic higher education, and one scholarship for a Basotho citizen to study in graduate school. Lesotho–Russia relations Lesotho–Russia relations () are the bilateral relations between Russia and Lesotho. The Soviet Union and the Kingdom of Lesotho established diplomatic relations on 1 February 1980. The Soviet Ambassador to Mozambique was initially concurrently accredited to represent the Soviet Union's interests in Lesotho. Yuri Sepelev was appointed as the first