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.
Laura Rosenberger on Countering Chinese and Russian Digital Influence Operations with CNAS
Director Laura Rosenberger joined a panel of experts convened by the Center for a New American Security for a webinar discussion entitled "Countering China and Russian Influence Operations." [...]
Russian Coronavirus Aid to Italy: The Mask Falls Off
Since February of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has swept the globe, China has been engaging in what media commentators are calling “mask diplomacy”—the sale or donation of medical supplies to countries battling the terrible disease. Russia [...]
Laura Rosenberger on China’s Adoption of Russian Disinformation Tactics in Axios
Director Laura Rosenberger explained that the Chinese party-state's information manipulation tactics in the past few weeks have diverged from what we've seen in the past in Axios. She pointed out three main tactics that Beijing has applied in its co [...]
Chinese and Russian State-Owned Media on the Coronavirus: United Against the West?
Beginning in late January, when news emerged of a “novel coronavirus” spreading through China, Beijing’s propaganda apparatus shifted into overdrive. The epidemic has also been heavily covered in externally-directed Russian state-backed media outlet [...]
Jessica Brandt on Russian Election Interference in Wired
Russia has amplified conspiracy theories suggesting that delays in reporting Iowa caucus results were part of an effort to deny Senator Bernie Sanders a win, as well as theories purporting murky ties between other candidates and the company that cre [...]
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 [...]