U.S. Reveals Putin’s Manipulation Strategy – Russia Spent $300M to Influence Elections Around the World.
Many extreme right-wing parties have also been financed by the Kremlin.
Since the beginning of the summer, you often hear the same phrase from different European politicians: “Sanctions against Russia do not work, they must be lifted”.
Generally, the profile of politicians speaking in the media to propagate this message is the same: they are populists of the extreme right. We could have the example in France with Marine Le Pen and her friends of the National Rally, or even in Italy with Matteo Salvini and his friends of the Northern League.
I will stop here, but you should know that the situation is similar all over Europe.
At this stage of the war in Ukraine, Putin understands that the only chance left for Russia to subdue Ukraine is to break the European cohesion behind Zelensky's country. If the West continues to apply its massive support to Ukraine and the massive sanctions against Russia, then Ukraine will in all likelihood end up winning this war started by Putin and free its entire territory from the Russian invader.
The situation is so urgent for Putin that he just went to see Xi Jinping in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to beg for more help. Putin hoped that Xi Jinping would agree to sell arms to Russia, which is in dire need of them. But Putin was denied. China wants to fight against Western domination of the world, but surely not to see its economy sanctioned by the West at a time when the economic and social situation is difficult in China.
Some people still wonder why these far-right populists support Putin and the interests of the Kremlin.
Well, these populists are financially supported by the Kremlin to simply stir up trouble in Europe. A study that has just been made public by American intelligence in mid-September 2022 is quite edifying on this subject. Russia has discreetly sent at least 300 million dollars to political parties and candidates in more than twenty countries since 2014 in an attempt to influence elections.
The U.S. “considers these to be minimum estimates, and that Russia has likely secretly transferred more funds that have not been tracked,” a senior U.S. official said. “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Among the most striking cases cited in the new analysis is that of a Russian ambassador posted in an Asian country who gave millions of dollars to a presidential candidate.
As you can see, the attempts to manipulate Russia go beyond Europe.
All over the world, Russia is supporting far-right candidates
The American intelligence did not specify the names of all the countries concerned. But according to a source close to the matter in the Biden administration, Russia spent about $500,000 to support a candidate for the center-right Democratic Party of Albania in a 2017 election.
Moscow also reportedly funded parties or candidates in Montenegro, Bosnia, or Madagascar, according to the same source. The person, who was not authorized to speak officially, said Moscow used Brussels as a center from which many foundations and structures supported far-right candidates.
The Russian embassy in Ecuador also received “large sums” of money between 2014 and 2017, apparently to influence the outcome of elections, the source added.
In Europe, Moscow used sham contracts and shell companies to fund political parties, while Russian state-owned companies funneled money as far away as Central America, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, according to Washington. Russia has sometimes sent cash but has also used cryptocurrencies and luxury gifts, according to American intelligence.
Moscow uses social networks as a weapon
The senior official said U.S. diplomacy would share the findings with the governments of more than 100 other countries. The administration of Joe Biden had asked his services for this estimate in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which led the United States to do everything to isolate Moscow and arm Kyiv.
Russia's alleged interference in foreign elections “is also an attack on sovereignty,” denounced State Department spokesman Ned Price. “It is an attempt to erode the ability of people around the world to choose the governments they believe best represent them,” he added.
This new assessment did not analyze Russian interference in American politics. But U.S. intelligence agencies have previously accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, including using social media to support Donald Trump, who had expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, the Kremlin's strategy seems to be showing more and more its limits in the West, as the war unleashed by Putin on February 24, 2022, will have been the last straw. Faced with this odious war, Europeans have finally decided to open their eyes and understood that it was no longer possible to close their eyes to Putin's expansionist madness.
What is being played out in Ukraine goes far beyond what Putin wants to admit. It is not just another regional war, but it is the future of peace in Europe that is being played out in Ukraine, as Zelinsky has reminded us so well on many occasions.
Some reading
More Than Ever in Trouble, Vladimir Putin Is Desperately Seeking the Support of Xi Jinping. “Hello Xi, I beg you to help me.”
Elon Musk’s Love for Dogecoin Could Cost Him a Lot of Money. Some Plaintiffs Are Suing Him for $258B. This will add a little more controversy around the founder of Tesla.
Russia, China, North Korea, Iran — The Emerging Cartel of the Sanctioned Wants to Oppose U.S. Domination. The West must prepare for this confrontation if it wants to preserve peace in the future.
Checkmate for Vladimir Putin’s Russia in Ukraine? With economic and industrial paralysis in Russia, military defeats in Ukraine, and rising protests in Russia, Putin has no way out.
Putin Is Faced With a Situation He Hates: He Has to Decide Under the Pressure of the Ukrainians’ Success. Putin is now facing double pressure: that of Ukraine and the hawks in Russia.
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