This is a gripping history of how the Russian state and criminal gangs became intertwined, says Simon Sebag Montefiore SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE This book could not be more relevant: it explains some aspects of the sinister events that have tainted the streets of London and Salisbury, and the politically inspired hackings in America and Europe, while illuminating… Continue reading The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia by Mark Galeotti – review: ‘These guys make Sicily’s crime families look soft’
The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia by Mark Galeotti – review: ‘These guys make Sicily’s crime families look soft’
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Russian Review: What is soft power and how to use it correctly?
This ‘book review’ is being pushed by the ‘soft power’ (information warfare) folks at the Russian Foreign Ministry. This is not ‘just’ a book review as much as it is also a commentary on soft power and the influence of nations from a Russian perspective of US efforts. While the author does not outright state… Continue reading Russian Review: What is soft power and how to use it correctly?
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Another Former Russian Intelligence Officer Poisoned in the UK (28)
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. A feeling of desperation, rage, and ‘flailing about’ is creeping into the Russian narrative. The target audience appears to be the West in their English language publications, but Russian arguments are disjointed, overly boisterous, and, well, pompous. The messaging is almost equivalent to desperation on a personal level from… Continue reading Another Former Russian Intelligence Officer Poisoned in the UK (28)
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White House Doesn’t Deny Trump Invited Putin to D.C.
A fairly clear strategy seems to be emerging out of the White House, but it seems the press refuses to acknowledge what President Trump is doing. President Trump appears to be putting talks between himself and Putin on an intensely personal level and letting his administration do the actual legwork and actions on behalf of the United… Continue reading White House Doesn’t Deny Trump Invited Putin to D.C.
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Russia and the art of “provocation”
Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. This is, without a doubt, the best explanation for Russian provocation charges I’ve ever read. Without a doubt, this tactic is “central to their behavior”, says an informed friend. Bravo! By Lynn Ellen Paty The United States and Britain’s allies around the world have expelled at least 116 alleged… Continue reading Russia and the art of “provocation”
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The Curious Case of David Jewberg, the Fake Senior Pentagon Russia Analyst
Fascinating case study, a superb Bellingcat investigation. Thoroughly investigated, well sourced, and it appears many, many knowledgeable people were contacted. The screenshots in the article are in Russian but are well explained in the accompanying comments. It’s a long read but worth it. Where there is no proof, it is presented as such. Good article! I’ll… Continue reading The Curious Case of David Jewberg, the Fake Senior Pentagon Russia Analyst
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Skripal attack: 2,800 Russian bots ‘sowed confusion after poison attacks’
Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor March 24 2018, 12:01am, The Times Russia unleashed an “extensive” disinformation operation in Britain after the Salisbury spy attack, with thousands of suspected robotic accounts spreading doubt and conspiracy on the internet, officials believe. It is understood that an estimated 2,800 such online accounts are suspected of posting material about the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and… Continue reading Skripal attack: 2,800 Russian bots ‘sowed confusion after poison attacks’
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Putin Regime Turning to Anti-Semitism, ‘Last Card of a Dictatorship,’ Eidman Says
Monday, April 2, 2018 Paul Goble Staunton, April 2 – The “well-organized” campaign of Internet posts blaming the Jews for the Kemerovo tragedy suggests, Igor Eidman says, that the Russian authorities are again as at the start of the 20th century seeking to stir up anti-Semitism “in order to shift popular dissatisfaction from the authorities to… Continue reading Putin Regime Turning to Anti-Semitism, ‘Last Card of a Dictatorship,’ Eidman Says
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Did California’s Ro Khanna get duped by Russia’s propaganda?
This is mind-numbing. The Hill is a fairly respectable publication. They’re throwing major shade at this Congressman and it is well deserved. The Hill is exposing Russian propaganda and Active Measures and telling us how it’s done. They’re also exposing Representative John Conyers, D-Mich, who resigned last year over sexual harassment allegations. In 2015 Conyers… Continue reading Did California’s Ro Khanna get duped by Russia’s propaganda?
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Propaganda as a drug – even for Putin’s Russia
March 30, 2018 – 23:18 By Kseniya Kirillova, for Defencereport Recently, Russian propaganda has committed another abomination against the dissident Ilya Yashinand his elderly grandmother. The camera crew “Life” broke into a nursing home, where the sick 84-year-old woman lived, and, having written down several of her comments, wrote a story directed against her grandson based on these comments.… Continue reading Propaganda as a drug – even for Putin’s Russia
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Obama official: We could have stopped Russian trolls
There are some major problems with this article. Brett Bruen, who served as the White House director of global engagement from 2013 to 2015, says the Obama administration could have “thwarted” Russian trolls. They produced some fact sheets and videos and claimed success. In return, his effort was labeled a ‘recreation’ of the old USIA… Continue reading Obama official: We could have stopped Russian trolls
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Russia’s digital warfare has put Western democracies in the crosshairs
Opinion: Russia is sowing discord, amid allegations of ties to assassinations and investments into social-media companies. The time for complacency is over by Lisa Shymko Apr 2, 2018 Lisa Shymko is a Canadian political scientist, journalist, and international affairs analyst who serves on the boards of several Canadian non-governmental organizations. She has advised successive Canadian governments on… Continue reading Russia’s digital warfare has put Western democracies in the crosshairs
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We must rethink Russia’s propaganda machine in order to reset the dynamic that drives it
To understand Russian propaganda, we first have to discard the idea that the Kremlin is in charge of a coordinated media machine acting together with cyber-warriors to attack a single audience. Stephens Hutchings explains why Russian media discourses are much more complicated than often presented. The theme of propaganda dominated much British media coverage of the Skripal… Continue reading We must rethink Russia’s propaganda machine in order to reset the dynamic that drives it
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Another Former Russian Intelligence Officer Poisoned in the UK (29)
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. </end editorial> The Russian propaganda campaign appears to be escalating, which is indicative of a lack of traction – most media and public in the West accept the UK argument rather than the Russian arguments. Other than nuke / ABM / ASAT sabre rattling, the Russians rolled out retired… Continue reading Another Former Russian Intelligence Officer Poisoned in the UK (29)
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Facebook Has Removed Hundreds of Accounts Linked to a Russian Troll Farm
I do not believe Facebook and other social media is doing all it can do to help counter Russian trolls, Russian fake news, and Russian disinformation. Russian information warfare efforts continue on a much wider and deeper level than just trolls. This article indicates Facebook is continuing to oust previous efforts by the Russian trolls… Continue reading Facebook Has Removed Hundreds of Accounts Linked to a Russian Troll Farm
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Open source investigators identify Russian sniper in Donbas
A comment about this on another page mentioned this represents Russian “war crimes”. I do not if this is a war crime, but it certainly represents a Russian outright lie. Russia continually lies and says it has no active duty military in Ukraine. Here Yuriy Petrov, “sniper serving with the 40th Marine Brigade based in the… Continue reading Open source investigators identify Russian sniper in Donbas
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Is “Medium” A Pro-Russian Proxy Site Or Is It Fair And Balanced?
Today I read an article by Caitlin Johnstone, who is a non-apologetic pro-Russian journalist. She published a story, More Evidence That The UK’s Russia Narrative Is A Verdict In Search Of A Crime. Caitlin has a long history of writing and publishing pro-Russian stories. If you don’t believe my assessment of Caitlin Johnston, I urge you to… Continue reading Is “Medium” A Pro-Russian Proxy Site Or Is It Fair And Balanced?
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Another Former Russian Intelligence Officer Poisoned in the UK (30)
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. </end editorial> The Russian campaign continues unabated, but the “clearly unhelpful” comment by the head of the Porton Down labs has given them some traction in the media, as taken out of context the Russians have exploited it to the hilt. The UK is now learning the same painful… Continue reading Another Former Russian Intelligence Officer Poisoned in the UK (30)
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Putin Thinks He’s Winning and is Expanding His Stalinist Attack on West, Pavlova Says
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 Paul Goble Staunton, April 3 – Many in the West following the decision of more than 20 countries to expel Russian diplomats to show solidarity with the British think that Vladimir Putin has been driven into an untenable position and soon will be forced to back down in the face of… Continue reading Putin Thinks He’s Winning and is Expanding His Stalinist Attack on West, Pavlova Says
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Russia’s influence is much more than propaganda and fake news
04/04/2018 By Vincent Charles Keating and Katarzyna Kaczmarska The concern over Russia’s influence in the West has grown considerably in the past few years, particularly the Russian regime’s use of information technologies to malign unfriendly Western politicians and undermine the Western public’s faith in democracy. Christopher Paul and Miriam Matthews, for instance, argued that Russia’s… Continue reading Russia’s influence is much more than propaganda and fake news
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