Russian Lawmakers: The U.S. Is Waging A 'Dirty' Media War To Influence Russia's Political Process

Western politicians and journalists have accused Russia of intervening in Western elections and in the political process in general. However, Russia insists that it is the aggrieved party and the West is the one promoting a media war designed to influence the Russian political process. On May 19, Just Russia MP Leonid Levin, chair of the Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, briefed Duma members on the results of his committee hearing regarding the compliance of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and CNN with the framework of Russian law..

Levin said: "According to the analysis presented, during the two months period ahead of 2016 parliamentarian elections, RFE (also known as Radio Liberty) and VOA in most cases provided negative and one-sided coverage of state authorities and processes initiated by the authorities. Moreover, in some cases there was a massive dissemination of messaging, doubting the democratic nature of the Russian electoral process."

Levin concluded that during the 2016 electoral campaign "the above mentioned American radio stations, funded by the U.S. federal budget, were engaged… in one-sided propaganda and delegitimization of the Russian affairs electoral process."

During the session, some lawmakers stated that RFE and VOA are part of vast U.S. network exerting influence over Russian internal political life, while operating in conjunction with various NGOs and funds, designated as foreign agents (under Russian law).

The lawmakers also underlined the role of Board of Governors (regulating RFE and VOA), stating that its 2016 budget (160 million U.S. dollars) was allocated for countering ISIS and Russian information influence. According to the Russian lawmakers, the mere fact that the Board of Governors' concerns are both terror groups and the official Russian media is most revealing about the U.S. government's views and objectives..

Gennady Zuganov, head of the Communist party said that the current situation reminds him of the Caribbean Crisis (1962) and the concept of intimidating of the USSR by non-military methods. Zuganov also added that the U.S. is using "the dirtiest methods aimed at [producing the] decomposition of [Russian] society, and tearing the country apart from within by the anti-Sovietism and Russophobia." According to Zuganov, "if Russophobic Naval'shina [the term is used pejoratively to describe opposition leader Alexei Navalny's actions] will take over, we'll have the country broken apart." Zuganov called to confront this tendency in the media.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of LDPR party, proposed banning any foreign funding for the media and asked for a closed meeting to tackle the issue with FSB chairman Aleksandr Bortnikov. Moreover Zhirinovsky criticized contemporary Russian TV-stations and movies, which "are slinging mud at us more than foreign ones do." His conclusion was that there is a need to create a ministry of information and propaganda.

United Russia MP Vyacheslav Nikonov said that the goal of world domination that the U.S. set 50 years ago brought about not only economic, but also political domination. According to him, the information war against Russia started back in the 16th century when the mass media first emerged because Russia, even back then, was perceived as an obstacle to world domination. "We have all the grounds to initiate a parliamentary investigation into Western influence on Russian elections," Nikonov said.

Just Russia MP Nikolai Ryzhak proposed enacting a special law banning Russophobia. 

The Duma's speaker Vyacheslav Volodin supported the idea of inviting the FSB director for a closed hearing on the issue. (See Duma.gov.ru, May 19, 2017)

The following are excerpts from a report, titled "U.S. Influence On Political Situation In Russia During The 2016 State Duma Elections And In The Long Term," written by Alexey Mukhin, director of the Russian think-tank Center for Political Information (See report in Russian):

(Source: Sharzhipero.ru)

'The Development And Financing Of These Channels Of Influence Is Done Under The Supervision Of The U.S. Law Enforcement And Security Services'

"The totally information-based modern society turns absolutely everybody into participants of the so-called Big Information War, which sometimes takes the shape of a political confrontation and sometimes that of an economic competition. The development of social networks and other kinds of media communication makes any user into a mass medium, regardless of their level of competence and responsibility. As a result, social media become a truly powerful method of promoting both products and technologies of influencing vast audiences in order to manipulate them –for political ends, among others.

"Abroad, after the introduction of restrictions on the activity of foreign NPOs in Russia:

• "Work has been performed on creating special units, including in the armed forces, special services and other governmental agencies, as well as NPOs for informational confrontation with Russia;
• "The number of centers producing anti-Russian content has increased, especially in countries with a large proportion of Russian-speaking population;
• "At the legislative level, Strategies for countering Russian informational policy have been reinforced;
• "Additional funding, personnel recruiting and training have taken place.

"The development and financing of these channels of influence is done under the supervision of the U.S. law enforcement and security services (Defense Ministry, CIA, NSA), which have special information war units, as well as under the supervision of governmental institutions and structures related to 'civil administration' (the U.S. State Department, East Strategic Communications Task Force within the European External Action Service), using the resources of non-governmental organizations, private funds, traditional mass media (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Voice of America, the BBC media corporation, etc.), specialized expert groups and research centers, usually created at American universities.

"Furthermore, all these entities are inextricably connected organizationally, technically and financially. Some organizations that have experience in this kind of 'cooperation' with the mass media are:

• "Foundation for Independent Radio Broadcasting;
• "Foundation for Information Policy Development;
• "International Research and Exchange Board;
• "Eurasia Foundation, etc.

"Since the adoption in Russia of federal laws about 'foreign agents' and undesirable organizations, which made the destructive activity of the Western countries more complicated, there has been greater activity in searching for ways to maintain the work of American NGOs and NPOs in Russia and introduce new forms and methods of financing Russian NPOs, information structures and private persons spreading anti-Russian propaganda.

"There are attempts to remove municipal printed media from the jurisdiction of regional administrations and to appoint 'independent' editors. As a means to achieve this end, there are recommendations to use alleged loopholes in the Russian legislation that permits the registration of two statutes (of the founders and of the editorial office), which allows the mass medium, in case of liquidation of the founding organization, to continue its activity under the control of oppositionist, so-called liberal, forces.

"In order to exert destructive influence on the informational situation, measures are taken to expand the network of freelance correspondents in Russian regions on the basis of RFE/RL correspondent network.

"For instance, in October 2016, active promotion of the international internet service for journalists, 'Hackpack.press,'[1] was started in the Russian media-community.

"One can also note the active implementation of foreign educational programs for the representatives of the Russian press corps, the interaction and sharing of experience by American and European journalists with Russian journalists and editors of online periodicals of non-system opposition.

'The U.S. Actively Studies The Russian Segment Of The Internet And Social Networks And Determines Their Vulnerability Points'

"In 2016, the Russian Language News Exchange (registered as an NPO, based in the Czech Republic, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs)[2] was established; its goal is to create negative content in the territory of the Russian Federation, systematize it and further circulate it via foreign Russian-language anti-Russian mass media.

"In addition, with the aim of exerting targeted influence by 'think tanks' (the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University), the U.S. actively studies the Russian segment of the internet and social networks and determines their vulnerability points, psychological peculiarities of information perception by different groups and strata of the Russian virtual population (technologies of media psychology).

"By the results of previous large-scale studies of the Russian segment of the internet, foreign organizations identify 'opinion leaders' and organize focused work with them with the help of media NPOs, including programs of conducting investigative reporting and collecting “sensitive” social and political information. Citizen journalists actively seek and put online information that is negative towards the Russian authorities, as well as 'legalize' fake news instigated by the West.

"Later, the destructive information is used by the Russian oppositional mass media and internet resources, gets further development in foreign press and at the same time is circulated in Russian-language media outlets.

"Thus, the Dutch initiative 'Global Voices' with the financial support of the G. Soros Foundation is implementing a project called RuNet Echo, which conducts active monitoring of the Russian internet space, primarily social networks and the blogosphere, with the aim of fostering protest sentiments in certain strata of society and organizing publicity events. Special attention is paid to the study of nationalist movements in Russia and political PR campaigns. RuNet Echo employees have developed a guidance manual to teach foreigners the skills of 'disinformation' exposure.[3]

"The results of monitoring foreign internet resources testify to the high level of media activity by non-governmental analytical structures in the U.S. and the European expert organizations affiliated with them; its goal is to provide information support to the anti-Russian aspirations of global and regional powers, as well as to supranational structures.

"Among the expert and analytical organizations, whose activity exhibits the signs of exerting destructive informational impact on political and socio-economic processes taking place in the Russian Federation and in the world regions that are of strategic interest to Russia, some stand out:

• "The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom and The Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign and National Security Policy (incorporated into the Heritage Foundation);
• "The Atlantic Council and its structural unit The Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security;
• "The Brookings Institution;
• "The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and its structural unit The Carnegie Moscow Center;
• "the Woodrow Wilson Center and its structural unit The Kennan Institute;
• "The Council on International Relations, which is a structural part of Johns Hopkins University;
• "The Center for Transatlantic Relations and The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (all in the U.S.);
• "The European Council on Foreign Relations and Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Great Britain);
• "The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Germany);
• "The Center for Eastern Studies (Poland);
• "The Eastern Europe Studies Center (Lithuania);
• "The Ostrogorski Center (Belarus).

"Specifically, the American Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) launched a new internet portal – Information Warfare Initiative Portal (headed by E. Lucas) – in April 2016, before the parliamentary election in December. The portal’s aim is 'countering Russian propaganda' in Central and Eastern European countries.[4]

"In order to create the appearance of objectivity of the above-mentioned analytical materials, their conclusions are bolstered by the opinions of specially selected experts from Russia and the CIS countries. Moreover, with increasing frequency, promising Russian scientists are involved in the activity of collecting analytical information about the Russian domestic political situation and in spreading propaganda to Russian and foreign audiences.

Joint 'Atlantic Initiatives'

"In 2016, the Strategic Communications Center in Riga http://www.stratcomcoe.org/about-us started the practical implementation of missions on early detection of Russian propaganda and counter-propaganda campaigns, as well as the development of new tools for hybrid warfare.[5]

"At the same time, the British Strategic Communication Laboratories http://sclgroup.cc in contact with the Riga Center and jointly with the British Ministry of Defense and the Pentagon is completing the development and preparation of Utah-GLOBAL teams. These teams were supposed to prepare specialists in counter-propaganda and support of 'digital activism'.

European and Transatlantic Initiatives

"Currently, active work is being performed to create a fully functional agency to counter 'Russian propaganda' and Islamism on the basis of the East StratCom Task Force within the European External Action Service (EEAS). To achieve this goal, plans exist to increase the staff and financing of the organization, as well as to allocate additional resources to 'independent' mass media and European NPOs to support the programs of professional training for journalists and creation of independent media platforms.

"As part of the U.S. legislative initiatives, the idea of 'countering the Russian threat' has found expression in the law signed on 23 December 2016 by B. Obama – the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. The law contains two initiatives of informational and propagandist character with a clear anti-Russian orientation.

"The first initiative involves a radical expansion of functions and legislative recognition over the next eight years for the interagency Global Engagement Center, created by B. Obama’s executive order in March 2016 under the auspices of the State Department and in coordination with the Defense Ministry, the intelligence community, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), and other interested agencies; the Center was initially oriented towards fighting informational threats from ISIS. The Center has been set the following tasks:

• "To support the efforts to counter foreign agencies using disinformation and propaganda to influence the political and social spheres in the US, its allies and partner nations;
• "To support independent mass media in other countries, to collect from available sources examples of propaganda and disinformation;
• "Analyze and write reports on tactics, techniques, and procedures  of foreign information operations.

"The financing of the Center in the amount of 160 million dollars is entrusted to the State Department and the Pentagon. Via grants and contracts, the new structure will support 'civil society groups, media content providers, NGOs, research and development centers, private companies and academic institutions.'[6]

"The other initiative concerns the reform of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG; the reform's initiator is E. Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs), aimed at optimizing the composition of the board – the replacement of the former leadership structure (which consisted of eight experts on mass communications, broadcasting and international relations, appointed by the president and approved by the Senate) with a Chief Executive Officer, appointed by the president and personally supervising the information and propaganda activity aimed at disseminating news in the countries where ' no free mass media exists.'

'The U.S. Has Developed A Fundamentally New Formula Of Influencing The Russian Media Landscape'

"As part of the effort to modernize the structure of foreign propaganda operations, conducted at the moment by the American government, active work is being done to develop measures to improve the efficiency of interference into the policy of other countries by exerting targeted informational and psychological influence on the population.

"Thus, on 12 January 2017, in Washington, BBG jointly with a nongovernmental organization called The International Research and Exchange Board (IREX; is financed by the U.S. State Department, supports 'independent' mass media and organizes educational programs aimed at 'developing' leadership qualities of citizens in countries with emerging democracies. Although the Russian office of this organization was closed, it continues to act in the territory of RF with the help of U.S. diplomatic missions) organized a briefing on Big Data and Media Development.

"In particular, a new model of strategic impact on the target audience was presented at this event. The model is based on three components:

• "Providing information for the local population by the targeted delivery of content via the local mass media and media platforms;
• "Involving the target audience in the processes of circulating the content prepared by the U.S. foreign propaganda agencies;
• "Influencing people, media organizations, and government structures.

"Thus, the U.S. has developed a fundamentally new formula of influencing the Russian media landscape; it has the following features:

• "It has a ramified system of organizations that differ in their form of ownership, legal status, sources of financing, structure, and declared field of work; this system outwardly appears to be the result of civil society's natural development.
• "It coordinates the activity and manages separate structural elements on a day-to-day basis, as a rule, via private individuals who are connected to U.S. security services and governmental agencies, and are developers and directors of several structures simultaneously, formally unconnected to each other by legal, financial or administrative relations.
• "It has a significant number of centers that produce desired content, differing in formats and delivery methods; it is technologically universal and flexible in forms and methods of media work.
• "It has high capacity to reach a large number of objects of informational and propagandist impact and to adapt to sudden changes in the political situation.
• "The BBG (Broadcasting Board of Governors, which deals with external propaganda – Radio Liberty, Voice of America, etc.) budget has grown. Thus, the 2017 budget request for BBG was $777.8 million, which is almost 30 million more than last year. Special emphasis is given to Russia and the young generation.[7]
• "As part of anti-Russian sanctions, the U.S. State Department allocated $60 million to 'Russian democratic and civil organizations for the support of media and free internet in Russia' from 2016 to 2018. The State Department will allocate $20 million annually for these purposes, acting both directly and via Soros’s National Endowment for Democracy, as stated in the document on the site of the US Congress.

"The main goal at this stage: to distract the Western and Russian public from the facts of interference in the Russian elections (in December 2016 and – in the long term – in March 2018) by a direct and rather baseless accusation that Russia interfered in the American presidential election in 2016; also, to preventively reduce the influence of Russia on a series of elections in Europe in 2017.

"It is also noteworthy that social networks are already and will in the nearest future be under strict censorship in the interests of the U.S. Relevant initiatives are already being implemented."