Russia has long been waging operations against democracies using all of the asymmetric tools ASD tracks—information manipulation, cyberattacks, malign finance, civil society subversion, and state economic coercion. The Kremlin’s geographic scope in conducting operations to undermine democracy continues to expand and its tactics continue to evolve. Find ASD’s work on Russia’s attempts to interfere in democracies on this page.
Interference Matters
Catch Me If EU Can: How RT and Sputnik Evade EU Content Bans
Hamilton Toplines: October 25–31, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian diplomats and state-funded media provided updates on the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rome. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the meeting but delivered a video address that criticized unnamed G20 members for al [...]
Kristine Berzina for Carnegie Europe: Is Europe’s Energy Crisis Self-Inflicted?
Europe is facing soaring gas prices. To avoid further crises, the EU should speed up its transition to renewables, reduce dependence on Russia, and formulate a coherent energy policy. Europe learned from the 2006 and 2009 gas cut-offs and put in pl [...]
David Levine Discusses Countering Russian Interference in European Elections with IFES
The government of the Russian Federation uses different approaches to destabilize democratic governments across Europe and encourage the rise of populist, anti-democratic regimes. In the face of this challenge, what can be done to assist countries i [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 18–24, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian diplomats and state-funded media disparaged NATO to justify the Kremlin’s move to suspend its permanent mission to the alliance. Moscow’s decision followed NATO’s expulsion of eight members of the Russian mission for allege [...]
The German Elections Dashboard in September 2021: Foreign Election Coverage and RT Deutsch’s YouTube Ban
September was an important month for German politics with the federal elections taking place on September 26. Our pre-election analysis demonstrated the reach of and bias in Russian coverage ahead of the elections. Both before and after the election [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 11–17, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian officials and state-funded media continued to push back on accusations that the Kremlin abused its dominance in the European energy market to cause the continent’s gas shortage. Moscow-linked outlets amplified President Vla [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 4–10, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian officials and state media focused on the surging gas prices in Europe, which some EU politicians have said stems from Russia manipulating the gas market to speed up the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. State-backed out [...]
Kristine Berzina Discusses High Gas Prices in Europe and Gazprom on BBC
U.K. and European natural gas prices have been swinging, but they abruptly decreased as Russian President Putin suggested Gazprom may increase its gas supply to Europe. Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina joined BBC Newshour to discuss. Listen at 18:18 [...]
RT Deutsch Finds a Home with Anti-Vaccination Skeptics in Germany
YouTube’s decision last week to remove RT’s German-language channels for violating the platform’s coronavirus misinformation policy sparked an outcry from Moscow, with the foreign ministry claiming that the move was “fully in line with the logic of [...]
Hamilton Toplines: September 27–October 3, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian officials and state media were outraged by YouTube’s decision to take down RT’s German-language channels for violating the platform’s coronavirus misinformation policy. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called YouTube [...]
Putin At Play: Russian Disinformation Pinballs Around the Globe
Russian disinformation campaigns have become notorious around the world for their ability to cause chaos. And while some suggest Moscow’s motives begin and end with creating havoc, the reality is that Russia has clear strategic goals in mind. The Kr [...]
Hamilton Toplines: September 20–26, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian officials and state media focused heavily on the UN General Assembly (UNGA), making it the most frequently used phrase on the Moscow-linked Twitter dashboard. Much of the coverage attempted to highlight Russia’s diplomatic [...]