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 2.0 – Analysis 3 – Why the Jeffrey Epstein saga was the Russian government-funded media’s top story of 2019
Overview In a year featuring a presidential impeachment, Brexit, mass protests in Hong Kong, and widespread geopolitical turmoil, few topics dominated the Russian government-funded media landscape quite like the arrest and subsequent suicide of bil [...]
Bret Schafer Discusses Russian Interference in African American Activist Movements on WPFW – Pacifica
Media and Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer joined David Rabin on WPFW - Pacifica to discuss how Russia has interfered in African American activist movements and how Russia will continue to try to increase polarization throughout the U.S. ahead of [...]
Russian Malign Finance and U.S. Economic Statecraft: The Indirect Approach
There is an emerging recognition in Western capitals that Russian strategic economic coercion and malign financial activity threaten to undermine the rule of law, weaken democracy, and meaningfully affect American and European politics. This underst [...]
Jessica Brandt on the Dangers of the “Ukraine Did It” Conspiracy Theory in The Hill
When authentic domestic voices pick up Moscow’s narratives and spread them across the information space, they hand the Kremlin a victory, Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt argues in The Hill. [...]
Jessica Brandt on Russia’s Ukraine Conspiracy Theories in Axios
Russian influence campaigns that falsely accuse Ukraine of interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election have successfully furthered Russia's yearslong geopolitical battle against its largest European neighbor, Head of Research and Policy Jess [...]
Josh Rudolph on the Diplomatic Importance of Transatlantic Economic Sanctions against Russia in the Hill
Transatlantic sanctions from the United States and Europe put real pressure on Russia to curb its aggression. American political leaders should urge Europe to refrain from lifting economic sanctions on Russia at this point in time and should signal [...]
Hamilton 2.0 – Analysis 1 – Revisionist History
Overview The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has engaged in a prolonged effort to create a version of Russian history free “from internal contradictions and ambiguities.” But attempts to airbrush Russian history have recently become a messa [...]
Hamilton 2.0 Methodology & FAQs
How to Interpret Hamilton 2.0 Hamilton 2.0 displays outputs from sources that we can directly attribute to the Russian, Chinese, or Iranian governments or their various news and information channels. These channels and accounts often engage with t [...]
Laura Rosenberger Discusses Russia’s Use of Economic Coercion with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show to discuss Russian economic coercion and malign financial influence. [...]
Mueller Testifies That Russian Interference “Deserves the Attention of Every American”; Senate Report Drives the Point Home
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before congressional committees last week on the contents of his office’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, making the case that foreign interference is “among the most serious” thre [...]
Massive Russian Financial Flows Through Moldova Show Small Jurisdictions Matter
This article was originally published as a German Marshall Fund Transatlantic Take on July 26, 2019. In 2014 the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed a staggering Russian money-laundering operation perpetrated through [...]
Laura Rosenberger on Russia’s 2016 Hack and Leak Operations on Lawfare’s The Report Podcast
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger joined Lawfare’s The Report podcast to discuss the Russian government’s hack-and-leak operation in the lead-up to the 2016 election. She describes how Russian intelligence timed the release of stolen emails and data to [...]