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
A Spate of Scandals: Europe’s Response to Foreign Interference
The Russian Media Account Hitting It Off with Spanish Speakers
Overview Six days after Russia launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, the EU banned Kremlin-backed media platforms RT and Sputnik from operating inside or directing content at the EU. In the days between Russia’s war in Ukraine (which started [...]
Hamilton Monthly Report: July 2022
This report highlights and analyzes key trends and takeaways from data collected by the Hamilton 2.0 dashboard during the previous month. Unlike ASD’s weekly Hamilton reports, which analyze the main topics and themes promoted by monitored Russian an [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 1–7, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts sent 16,344 tweets, generating 178,980 retweets and 532,493 likes.  Kremlin-linked accounts last week focused on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, calling the trip a provocation, amplifying China’s [...]
Bret Schafer Quoted in The New York Times: How Russian Propaganda Is Reaching Beyond English Speakers
At the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine, Facebook, Twitter, and major social media platforms blocked or limited the reach of Russian state media in the West, and created a patchwork of restrictions across the globe. As a result, Russian propagan [...]
David Salvo Examines Brittney Griner’s Court Sentence in Russia on CNN
A Russian court sentenced American basketball player Brittney Griner to 9 years in prison last week. David Salvo, deputy director at GMF’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined CNN to discuss her guilty verdict and the potential for a US-Russia pr [...]
David Salvo Dissects Hungarian Prime Minister Orban’s Speech at CPAC on CSPAN
David Salvo talked about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s remarks at the 2022 CPAC conference. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 25–31, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 16,217 times last week, pulling in 189,410 retweets and 549,373 likes. Kremlin-linked accounts last week focused much of their messaging around the EU’s dependence on Russian gas. While RT explained that “te [...]
Rachael Dean Wilson and David Salvo Discuss How Authoritarian Governments are Influencing Pennsylvania Elections with World Affairs Council Pittsburgh
Exacerbating polarization in America is a strategic move for authoritarian governments like Russia, China, and Iran. A democracy entangled in its own disagreements is a weakened player on the world stage and a boon for competitor nations. Iran and R [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 18–24, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 15,939 times last week, pulling in 165,609 retweets and 506,058 likes. Russian propagandists last week focused on Vladimir Putin’s trip to Tehran and the agreements he reached with the leaders of Iran and Tu [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 11–17, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian government and state media accounts tweeted 15,282 times last week, generating 170,562 retweets and 523,930 likes. Kremlin linked outlets used US President Joe Biden’s Middle East trip to paint him as inconsistent, submissiv [...]
China and Russia Continue to Subject Dissidents Abroad to Harassment, Intimidation, and Worse
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation, the world’s most powerful authoritarian states, both routinely target dissidents outside their borders because the brittleness of autocracy makes dissident citizens living freely abroa [...]
Hamilton Monthly Report: June 2022
Top Takeaways The downward spiral of Russian state media on Twitter and Facebook continued in June. Monitored Russian accounts on Twitter saw a 17 percent decline in retweets and an 18 percent decline in likes compared to May, while state media Page [...]