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.
Hamilton Monthly Report: August 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: September 14-20, 2022
Russia Toplines Monitored Russian accounts last week tweeted 17,668 times, generating 172,959 retweets and 528,354 likes. Russian propagandists shared the directives, threats, and falsehoods pushed by President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister [...]
A Call for Securing Democracy: Von der Leyen Delivers Her Third State of the European Union Address
On September 14, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivered her third State of the European Union speech. With European democratic values and institutions under immense pressure, both abroad and at home, the address conveyed [...]
Democracy’s Survival Depends on Everyone’s Individual Courage
On this International Day of Democracy, the Ukrainian people’s resistance to Russia’s ongoing war against their country is a powerful reminder of the immense courage that is required to defend democracy and safeguard the survival of an entire nation [...]
Hamilton Toplines: September 5–13, 2022
Russia Toplines Monitored Russian accounts over the past nine days tweeted 23,348 times, generating 259,630 retweets and 848,122 likes. As the Ukrainian military recaptured large amounts of territory in the country’s northeast and south, Kremlin-lin [...]
Bret Schafer in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Extreme Partisanship Threatens Our Democracy, and the Problem is Us. We Also are the Solution
In response to a recent poll showing that roughly 40% of Americans believe a civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years—a figure that jumps to more than half among those who identify as “strong Republicans”—one Chinese diplomat tweet [...]
Ukraine’s Successful Counteroffensive Around Izium: What News Is Yandex Showing?
Over the past few days, the Ukrainian military launched a successful counteroffensive to regain control of the city of Izium and other territory in the northwestern Kharkiv region from Russian occupying forces. The Alliance for Securing Democracy ra [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 29-September 4, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian state media and diplomatic accounts last week posted 16,757 tweets, generating 159,855 retweets and 489,526 likes. Russia-linked accounts last week carried the Kremlin’s statement that it would not fully resume gas supplies [...]
Laura Thornton on Information Wars at the Tbilisi International Conference 2022
Panelists Jamie Fly, President, RFE/RL Shota Gvernia, Non-Resident Fellow, EPRC Laura Thornton, Director and Senior Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy Brian Whitmore, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Stefan Meister, Head of Program, [...]
Moldova in the Crosshairs: The Top 4 Russian Narratives
In July, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said she feared that Russia could target Moldova next as it continues to wage its devastating war in Ukraine. From her statement, it seems likely that Moldova could become an increasingly significan [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 22–28, 2022
Russia Russian state media and diplomats last week tweeted 16,941 times, generating 191,154 retweets and 575,694 likes. Kremlin-affiliated accounts last week barely mentioned a Russian bomb that killed at least 22 Ukrainians and injured 50 more at a [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 15–21, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts last week tweeted 16,366 times, generating 161,117 retweets and 518,932 likes. Kremlin-affiliated accounts last week claimed that Ukraine and its “US handlers” were preparing to frame Moscow for an attack on the R [...]