139-636: Russian disinformation campaigns have occurred in many countries. For example, disinformation campaigns led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have been reported in several African countries. Russia , however, denies that it uses disinformation to influence public opinion. Often Russian campaigns aim to disrupt domestic politics within Europe and the United States in an attempt to weaken the West due to its long-standing commitment to fight back against "Western imperialism" and shift
278-468: A New York Times interview with him, "the rubles were piling up faster than his mother could count them". From 1991 to 1997, Prigozhin was heavily involved in the grocery store business. He became 15% stakeholder and manager of Contrast, which was the first grocery store chain in Saint Petersburg and founded by his former classmate Boris Spektor. Around the same time, Prigozhin became involved in
417-518: A fitness trainer at a children's sports school. In 1979, 18-year-old Prigozhin was caught stealing and was given a suspended sentence of two years and six months in prison. He served his sentence working at a chemical plant in Veliky Novgorod . In 1980, he returned to Leningrad and joined a gang. He participated in a burglary spree in Leningrad, before being caught after choking a woman on
556-546: A lathe operator, tractor driver, and cabinet maker after receiving training at a vocational school . In 1988, the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union reduced his sentence to ten years on good behavior, noting that he had begun "corrective behavior". He was sent to a medium-security penal colony and was released in 1990. In total, Prigozhin spent nine years in detention. Immediately after his release, he started attending
695-613: A " firehose of falsehood " by observers due to its high number of channels and willingness to disseminate outright falsehoods , to the point of inconsistency. It differs from Soviet-era disinformation tactics in its use of the internet, claimed amateur journalism, and social media . The European Union and NATO both set up special units to analyze and debunk falsehoods. NATO founded a modest facility in Latvia to respond to disinformation. An agreement by heads of state and governments in March 2015 let
834-456: A "huge" number. He called for a response, stating: "The council of commanders of PMC Wagner has made a decision – the evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped". Prigozhin declared the start of an armed conflict against the Ministry of Defence in a message posted on his press service's Telegram channel. He called upon individuals interested in joining the conflict against
973-673: A 15-member editorial department in late 2022 to reduce the risk that the cultural works made by IRI could diverge from their "intended meaning". Martin Kragh [ sv ] of the Center for East European Studies in Stockholm described this as following the pattern of political commissars , stating, "Everything we see in these documents is completely Soviet". Lev Parnas , Igor Fruman , Yuriy Lutsenko , John Solomon , Dmytro Firtash and his allies, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova were noted in
1112-453: A 70% ammunition shortage. Shoigu, Gerasimov, where the fuck is the ammunition? Look at them, bitches". Prigozhin said to the Russian military commanders: "You sit in expensive clubs, your children enjoy life, you make videos on YouTube . You think that you are the masters of this life, and that you have the right to dispose of their lives". On 6 May, Prigozhin, in his next address, revealed for
1251-488: A Fox News internal report Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration: a Full Timeline of Events , which was written by Fox News senior political affairs specialist Bryan S. Murphy and made public by Marcus DiPaola, as indispensable "in the collection and domestic publication of elements of this disinformation campaign" and numerous falsehoods. On 3 February 2022, John "Jack" Hanick, who helped established
1390-539: A Russian-led attempt to antagonize and influence Americans online, which is still ongoing." Social media companies have moved to limit Russian disinformation on their platforms. In October 2019, Facebook moved to take down accounts connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin used to interfere with African political affairs. Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council at the time, said Russia's aim
1529-505: A Soldier . The 1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in Soviet cinema. Eldar Ryazanov 's and Leonid Gaidai 's comedies of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catch phrases still in use today. In 1961–1968 Sergey Bondarchuk directed an Oscar -winning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace , which was the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union. In 1969, Vladimir Motyl 's White Sun of
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#17330922720471668-427: A blogger, and also bends his fingers that he doesn't like the special operation ... We didn't come up with this special operation, but we took a visor and said: "If we went to fuck with our neighbors, we should fuck all the way". Prigozhin condemned the luxurious lifestyle of the children of Russia's top officials and in particular singled out Shoigu's son-in-law Alexey Stolyarov [ ru ] for not joining
1807-542: A combination of aggressive marketing and specific achievements," in particular the capture of Bakhmut , and since Bakhmut was the only major capture of the Russian army in many months, "the public could not ignore such an achievement". By June 2023, Prigozhin had begun making regular statements that were not allowed for any other public figure in Russia. Journalists noted that many of his statements would have resulted in criminal charges against other people. This period witnessed
1946-412: A high-risk role, although he could not refuse it. Dmitry Utkin , a Russian military veteran, was also named as a founder and commander of Wagner. As Prigozhin had no military background, he reportedly relied on Utkin to oversee Wagner's military operations. Utkin was once head of security for Prigozhin and was also listed as director general of Concord Management. Prigozhin rose to prominence during
2085-410: A human-rights focused Ghanaian NGO to target black communities in the U.S. Russian campaigns have also evolved to become more cross-platform, with content spreading, not only on Facebook and Twitter, but also on Tumblr, Wordpress, and Medium. The IRA is also more emboldened, with evidence that they recruited U.S. journalists to write articles critical of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden. During both
2224-542: A lack of ammunition, his fighters would leave Bakhmut on 10 May 2023 and hand over their positions to units of the Russian Defense Ministry if they did not receive more ammunition. Prigozhin published a video in which he shouted with a face distorted with anger against the bodies of the murdered Wagnerites: "Now listen to me, bitches, these are somebody's fathers and somebody's sons. And those scum who don't give ammunition, bitch, will eat their guts in hell. We have
2363-559: A mediator to broker a settlement. Charges were dropped and Wagner ceased its march on Moscow. As part of the agreement, Prigozhin moved to Belarus and Wagner troops were slated to return to Ukraine, but those plans were cancelled in the wake of Wagner's refusal to sign military contracts. Despite his charges being dropped, Prigozhin remained under investigation for treason. The BBC tracked Prigozhin's private jet flying from Belarus to Russia in late June. The jet made several flights between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, but whether Prigozhin
2502-467: A metamorphosis, beginning to position himself as a "truth teller", ready to speak the unpleasant truth and to criticize the Russian leadership in the harshest terms. In addition to his rhetoric against the Ministry of Defense, Prigozhin also had a conflict with the leadership of the Chechen Republic , and personally with its Head , Ramzan Kadyrov . By June 2023, Prigozhin was aiming for the image of
2641-530: A radical populist movement. The general principles of such a movement: a rigid division of society into "good people" and "bad elite", a demand (and promise) to save the nation, and authoritarian methods of implementing these slogans. Prigozhin has been described as being member of the " war party " within Russia's leadership, a group of hardliners in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , but critical of what they see as ineffective or incompetent prosecution of
2780-557: A rebellion against the Russian military leadership. Wagner forces captured Rostov-on-Don and advanced toward Moscow. The rebellion was called off the following day, and the criminal charges against Prigozhin were dropped after he agreed to relocate his forces to Belarus . On 23 August 2023, exactly two months after the rebellion, Prigozhin was killed along with nine other people when a business jet crashed in Tver Oblast , north of Moscow. The Wall Street Journal cited sources within
2919-558: A rebellion in June 2023. Prigozhin was sometimes referred to as "Putin's chef" because he owned restaurants and catering businesses that provided services to the Kremlin . Once a convict in the Soviet Union , Prigozhin controlled a network of influential companies whose operations, according to a 2020 investigation, were "tightly integrated with Russia's Defence Ministry and its intelligence arm,
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#17330922720473058-669: A second restaurant, New Island, a floating restaurant that became one of the most fashionable dining spots in the city. Inspired by waterfront restaurants on the Seine in Paris, Prigozhin and Ziminov created the restaurant by spending US$ 400,000 to remodel a rusting boat on the Vyatka River . He said his patrons "wanted to see something new in their lives and were tired of just eating cutlets with vodka". Before Prigozhin decided to focus on upscale dining, one of his dining establishments initially featured
3197-528: A state-run English language Russia Today TV started broadcasting, and its Arabic version Rusiya Al-Yaum was launched in 2007. The allocation of advertising by governmental agencies is an important means of influence over content, as is access to subsidized state-owned printing, distribution and transmission facilities. Private businesses refrain from advertising on independent outlets. Starting from 2015, satellite and cable channels with subscription fees would be forbidden from airing advertisement, thus hindering
3336-399: A striptease show. Prigozhin was reportedly known to punish poor performance or misconduct of employees of his catering businesses with physical violence. In 2001, Prigozhin personally served food to Vladimir Putin and French president Jacques Chirac when they dined at New Island. He hosted US president George W. Bush in 2002. In 2003, Putin celebrated his birthday at New Island. Over
3475-519: A surge in his popularity among the Russian populace, particularly among nationalists. In a May survey conducted by the Levada Center , respondents were asked to identify the politicians they trusted the most, and for the first time, Prigozhin emerged as one of the top ten names on the list, marking a notable shift in his public perception from non-political to a political figure. The Dutch political scientist Cas Mudde described Prigozhin's "program" as
3614-419: A tightening of Kremlin control over an already heavily regulated media landscape" the state owned RIA Novosti news agency reported the same day. The station's editor-in-chief, Alexei Venediktov, and his deputy, Vladimir Varfolomeev, were also removed from the broadcaster's board of directors. Venediktov, one of the station's founders, had written on 11 March on his Twitter account: "Gazprommedia (owner of 66% of
3753-633: A time when a Russian soldier is dying at the front. I'm just asking – give me ammunition!". In May 2023, Prigozhin spoke out again about the Shoigu family: "Shoigu's son-in-law walks around shaking his buttocks, meaning his buttocks, and his daughter opens the Kronstadt forts. Did you earn money for these forts?! You spend your money on these forts? Spend it on fucking ammunition. And when the Minister of Defense shakes his little daughter and shakes some motherfucker who's
3892-457: A total annual circulation of 1.6 billion copies. After television, newspapers are the second most popular media in Russia. Local newspapers are more popular than national ones, with 27% of Russians consulting local newspapers routinely and 40% reading them occasionally. For national newspapers, the corresponding figures are 18% and 38%, respectively. As of 2008, companies close to the Russian government, such as Gazprom , had acquired several of
4031-485: A video depicting its mercenaries using a sledgehammer to execute Yevgeny Nuzhin , a deserter who had reportedly been returned to the Russians in a prisoner exchange. Prigozhin commented, "It seems to me that this film should be called: 'a dog dies a dog's death'" and "It was an excellent directional piece of work, watched in one breath. I hope no animals were harmed during filming." On 4 May 2023, Prigozhin cautioned against
4170-453: A website targeted at "military enthusiasts, veterans, and conspiracy theorists." Following the mass protests against the outcomes of the 2011 Russian legislative election organized by several persons, including Pussy Riot , Anton Nossik , and Alexei Navalny , who used Facebook, Twitter, and LiveJournal blogs to organize the events, Vyacheslav Volodin , who was Deputy Prime Minister at the time and later became First Deputy Chief of Staff of
4309-863: Is correlated with a heightened susceptibility to disinformation. However, inoculation was shown to improve participants' ability to recognize and perceive disinformation as less credible, heighten perceptions of Russia's responsibility for the war, and strengthen solidarity with Ukraine. As social media gained prominence in the 2010s, Russia began to use platforms such as Facebook , Twitter , Reddit , and YouTube to spread disinformation. Russian web brigades and bots, typically operated by Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA), were commonly used to disseminate disinformation throughout these social media channels. In late 2017 Facebook estimated that as many as 126 million of its users had seen content from Russian disinformation campaigns on its platform. Twitter stated that it had found 36,000 Russian bots spreading tweets related to
Russian disinformation - Misplaced Pages Continue
4448-510: Is just one aspect of Russia's information war, which may include controlling undersea communications cables , shaping national narratives , manipulating the news cycle, and flooding the information space with Russian bots and trolls . The goal is to achieve strategic victory and exert reflexive control . These efforts were used as part of its disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine . The Washington Post reported in April 2024 that
4587-629: Is partly owned by Yury Kovalchuk. The main TV channels are distributed through multiplexes: First Multiplex: Second Multiplex: Third Multiplex (Broadcast exclusively on the territory of Moscow and Moscow Region, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol): Other well-known channels: International TV channels: Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention in the period immediately following 1917, resulting in world-renowned films such as The Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein . Eisenstein
4726-445: Is predominant. Media outlets need to obtain licenses to broadcast. Of the total number of media outlets, 63% can distribute information across Russia, 35% can broadcast abroad and 15% in the CIS region. Reporters Without Borders compiles and publishes an annual ranking of countries based upon their assessment of their press freedom records ( World Press Freedom Index ). In 2016, Russia
4865-468: Is similar in radio where journalist has set up an Internet forum in which radio journalists can publish reports that their often strictly formatted radio stations refuse to broadcast. As of 2018, the three main news agencies in Russia were TASS , RIA Novosti and Interfax . Other news agencies include Rossiya segodnya , REGNUM News Agency , Russian Agency of Legal and Judicial Information , and Rosbalt. Overall there are more than 400 news agencies in
5004-496: Is the country to do if suddenly it turns out that grandpa is a complete asshole?". According to Meduza , the Kremlin negatively reacted to Prigozhin's words about "grandpa". "Of course, he can then say that this is about Shoigu or about an abstract layman, but people draw understandable conclusions". Since the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war, " Grandpa in his bunker " has become an insulting nickname for Vladimir Putin , implying incompetence and irrationality. On 9 May, Prigozhin accused
5143-598: Is to make its presence felt in the same way it did during the Cold War, but with a much smaller investment using disinformation campaigns. In 2020, the US State Department identified several "proxy sites" used by Russian state actors "to create and amplify false narratives." These sites include the Strategic Culture Foundation , New Eastern Outlook , Crimea-based news agency NewsFront and SouthFront ,
5282-481: Is walking around like a beggar, from the world by a thread, asking unit commanders to help in some way". Prigozhin then published a photo with the bodies of dead Wagner fighters, saying that, lack of ammunition meant that his squads were suffering heavy losses. He said: "We're just going to die twice as much until everyone runs out. And when all the Wagnerites run out, then most likely Shoigu and Gerasimov will have to take
5421-412: The 2016 United States elections . Russia has used social media to destabilize former Soviet states such as Ukraine and Western nations such as France and Spain. It has been suggested that since 2019, Russian-sponsored troll accounts and bots have formed and taken over prominent left-wing and right-wing subreddits on Reddit, such as the antiwar, greenandpleasant, and aboringdystopia subreddits, "suggest[ing]
5560-561: The 2016 United States presidential election were employees of the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the runup to and during the 2020 U.S. presidential election , Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) demonstrated evolved tactics for spreading disinformation. Probably to evade the detection mechanisms of social media platforms, the IRA co-opted activists working for
5699-548: The Constitution of Russia guarantees freedom of speech, the press has been plagued by both government censorship and self-censorship . There are more than 83,000 active and officially registered media outlets in Russia that broadcast information in 102 languages. Of the total number of media outlets, the breakdown is as follows: magazines – 37%, newspapers – 28%, online media – 11%, TV – 10%, radio – 7% and news agencies – 2%. Print media, which accounts for two thirds of all media,
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5838-734: The Donbas War , and later played a significant role in Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It has also supported regimes friendly with Putin's Russia in the Middle East and in Africa . Prigozhin repeatedly denied links to the Wagner Group, but during the 2022 Russian invasion he travelled to Ukraine to oversee the group's progress and was pictured at the frontline wearing military fatigues alongside Russian Duma member Vitaly Milonov . In September 2022 he said that he had founded Wagner in 2014 to "protect
5977-574: The Federal Security Service (FSB) for inciting an armed rebellion . PMC Wagner proceeded to capture the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don , and began an advance on Moscow. During the scuffle, Wagner shot down an Ilyushin Il-22M airborne command post plane and several military helicopters. A few moments later, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation, denouncing Wagner's actions as "treason" and vowing to take "harsh steps" to suppress
6116-607: The GRU ". In 2014, Prigozhin reportedly founded the Wagner Group to support Russian separatist forces in Ukraine . Funded by the Russian state, it played a significant role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported Russian interests in Syria and in Africa . In November 2022, Prigozhin acknowledged his companies' interference in United States elections. In February 2023, he confirmed that he
6255-493: The Gerasimov doctrine . They believed that Western governments were instigating color revolutions in former Soviet states which posed a threat to Russia . The concept of informatsionnaya voyna ( Russian : информационная война , lit. 'informational war') encompasses various strategies, including cyberwarfare , often described as technical defenses against technical attacks in warfare. However, cyberwarfare
6394-632: The Konstantin Malofeev owned Tsargrad TV in 2015, allegedly was working to establish similar networks in Greece and Bulgaria , and worked at Fox News as a founding producer and news director from 1996 to 2011, was arrested in London for violating sanctions against Malofeev. Hanick was the first person criminally indicted for violating United States sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War . During
6533-573: The Leningrad Chemical and Pharmaceutical Institute to get a pharmaceutical degree, but failed to complete his studies. Prigozhin would later flaunt his prison past to convince prisoners to join the Wagner Group . After his release from prison in 1990, Prigozhin began selling hot dogs alongside his mother and stepfather at the Apraksin Dvor open-air market in Leningrad. Soon, according to
6672-477: The Presidential Administration of Russia and was responsible for domestic policy, was tasked with countering these efforts and began to rein in the internet using Prisma ( Russian : «Призма» ) which "actively tracks the social media activities that result in increased social tension, disorderly conduct, protest sentiments and extremis" by monitoring in real time from more than 60 million feeds about
6811-641: The RIA Novosti news agency, the Voice of Russia broadcaster was merged into a new media agency Rossiya Segodnya , officially "to save money", under a 9 December 2013 presidential decree. On 18 February 2014, a shareholders' meeting replaced the station's long-serving director, Yury Fedutinov, with former the Voice of Russia's Yekaterina Pavlova, a Kremlin-loyalist in "the latest in a series of personnel reshuffles at top state-owned media organizations that appear to point toward
6950-587: The Russian foreign ministry was using disinformation to weaken Western countries, in particular the United States, of which Russia objects its capitalist ideology on the basis of its commitment to uphold the Marxist–Leninist ideology. The document was said to be the first official confirmation of such policies and the Post noted Russian attempts to disrupt American and European domestic politics. The Post said this
7089-453: The Russo-Ukrainian War , Russian state TV channel Russia-1 has used Tucker Carlson interviews on Fox News to support the Kremlin's objectives in Ukraine. Carlson's interview with the pro-Russia Retired Colonel Doug Macgregor was aired on Russia-1 to demoralize Ukraine. Another interview by Carlson of Tulsi Gabbard , who often appears on Fox News as a guest, was shown on Russia-1 to support
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#17330922720477228-565: The Sochi Olympics . Two of the three main channels are majority owned by the state. Channel One is 51% publicly owned, while Rossiya is 100% state-owned through the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK). NTV is a commercial channel, but it is owned by Gazprom-Media , a subsidiary of Gazprom of which the state owns 50.002%. These three channels have often come under criticism for being biased towards
7367-509: The Sputnik news agency are state-sponsored media. Research has tested methods to debunk the effects of Russian disinformation, particularly in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine. One study examined how inoculation can empower individuals of Russian descent living in the West against pro-Kremlin disinformation. The study found that having a Russian identity and being exposed to Russian media
7506-480: The United Russia party and the Presidential Administration of Russia . They are accused of providing disproportionate and uncritical coverage of United Russia and their candidates. The channels do, however, provide large amounts of free airtime to all opposition election candidates, as required by law. During the 2008 Russian presidential election , the four presidential candidates all received 21 hours of airtime on
7645-698: The information field . In February 2023, the tensions began to escalate between Prigozhin and Russia's military establishment. This came against the background of the Russian winter offensive, with Russia's only success accomplished by Wagner forces at the cost of heavy losses. In February 2023, Prigozhin began to complain about the "shell hunger" of Wagner during the battle for Bakhmut. On 22 February, in another audio message, Prigozhin said, "The Wagner PMC kind of does not exist. We used to be given ammunition formally for some military units, which like to take Bakhmut instead of us". According to Prigozhin, "the Wagner PMC
7784-512: The "people's hero of the Special Military Operation ". In May 2023, according to Russian opinion polls, the sociological service Russian Field noted that Prigozhin "is fighting not only on the external front, but also on the internal front, actively earning recognition and a rating. And he converts the former into the latter very well". According to Russian sociologists and political scientists, Prigozhin increased his visibility "through
7923-523: The 2003 Law on Communications, and the 2006 Law on Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information. They have been amended several times. Other federal laws regulate specific issues, such as media coverage of state authorities and political parties, electoral campaigns and restrictions concerning national security. The broad definition of extremism in Russia legislation and its use to silence government critics has fostered self-censorship among journalists to avoid harassment. Amendments to
8062-512: The 2016 United States elections by developing plans of action: for example, with Russian intelligence assets and using a large disinformation campaign, Putin would support Republicans and the Trump campaign and disrupt Democrats and the Clinton campaign, and, if Trump were likely to lose the 2016 election, then Russia would shift its efforts to focus upon voter fraud in the United States in order to undermine
8201-590: The 2016 and the 2020 US elections, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI, RISS or RISY; Russian : Российский институт стратегических исследований - РИСИ ) was integral to disinformation efforts from Putin and the Kremlin. During the 2016 elections, Leonid Reshetnikov headed RISI, followed by Mikhail Fradkov during the 2020 elections. During the 2016 presidential election, George Papadopoulos met several times with Panos Kammenos who had numerous close ties to Russian intelligence, Vladimir Putin and
8340-530: The 2016 annual report of the Swedish Security Service on disinformation, spokesman Wilhelm Unge stated: "We mean everything from Internet trolls to propaganda and misinformation spread by media companies like RT and Sputnik." RT and Sputnik were created to focus on Western audiences and function by Western standards, and RT tends to focus on how problems are the fault of Western countries. Russia's television outlet RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and
8479-535: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the initial stages, the Russian Ground Forces suffered significant casualties, but the announcement of mobilization for reservists was delayed by Putin. As a result, authorities actively sought to enlist mercenaries for the invasion, which led to a heightened influence and power for Prigozhin and the Wagner Group. Prigozhin was allocated substantial resources, including his own aviation assets. Additionally, starting in
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#17330922720478618-606: The 2023 death of Yevgenny Prigozhin who supported the Internet Research Agency, Microsoft identified several " troll farms " that support Russian disinformation efforts. According to Microsoft, Storm-1516 are Russian disinformation efforts about Ukraine often associated with the anti-liberal think tank Center for Geopolitical Expertise during the Russo-Ukrainian War that often use "Doppelganger" operations. Ruza Flood (a.k.a. Doppelganger2), Storm-1679, Storm-1841 (a.k.a. Rybar) and Storm-1099 are Russian disinformation efforts about
8757-801: The EU create the European External Action Service East Stratcom Task Force, which publishes weekly reports on its website "EU vs Disinfo." The website and its partners identified and debunked more than 3,500 pro-Kremlin disinformation cases between September 2015 and November 2017. In 2016, the US government established the Global Engagement Center (GEC) as an agency within the United States Department of State to counter foreign propaganda efforts. When explaining
8896-545: The General Staff in 2012. Prigozhin was chosen to run the company and he was tasked with operational and logistical aspect due to his pre-existing service relationship with the Defense Ministry (in 2012, he received a contract to supply meals to the Russian military worth US$ 1.2 billion over one year) and close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Three different sources claim that initially Prigozhin objected to such
9035-498: The IRI was allocated the equivalent of € 180 million. The IRI was required to make every film premiering before the 2024 Russian presidential election evoke feelings in favour of one of four goals: either defending national/cultural/traditional values; showing a permanent trend of improvements in the quality of life in Russia; contemporary Russian heroes; or a fourth theme, "we are together" for Russian-occupied territories . The IRI created
9174-557: The Kremlin group tasked with interfering in the 2016 United States elections. Kammenos formed the Athens -based Institute of Geopolitical Studies which in November 2014 signed a "memorandum of understanding" with the former SVR officer Reshetnikov who headed RISI. In 2009, RISI, which had been an SVR operation, was placed under control of the Russian president with Reshetnikov regularly meeting with Putin and participated in Russian interference in
9313-421: The Kremlin's position in which Gabbard said "President Biden could end this crisis and prevent a war with Russia by doing something very simple: guaranteeing that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO, because if Ukraine became a member of NATO, that would put U.S. and NATO troops directly on the doorstep of Russia, which — as Putin has laid out — would undermine their national security." Russia-1 removed parts of
9452-539: The Mass Media Law also specifies the rights and duties of journalists. Russia was among the first countries to introduce radio and television . While there were few channels in Soviet times, in the past two decades many new state and privately owned radio stations and TV channels have appeared. Mass media in Russia continued to develop in 2000s, as the number of periodicals, broadcasting companies and electronic media has more than doubled from 1997 to 2006. In 2005
9591-486: The Mass Media Law in the late 2000s limited the spread of "extremism, terrorism, violence and pornography" as well as the coverage of anti-terrorism operations. However, the 2006 Federal Law on Combating Terrorism and the 2006 Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity, along with the Federal List of Extremist Materials , became a matter of concern for both domestic and international observers. The Human Rights Committee of
9730-407: The Ministry of Defense was more focused on internal power struggles and "intrigues" than actually fighting. The Ukrainians themselves later supported this account, with their 3rd Separate Assault Brigade stating on Telegram that the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade had "escaped" from the city and the remaining troops had suffered very high casualties. Within a few months, Prigozhin underwent
9869-401: The Ministry, portraying the rebellion as a response to the alleged strike on his men. In a video released on 23 June 2023, Prigozhin claimed that the government's justifications for invading Ukraine were based on falsehoods, and that the invasion was designed to further the interests of the Ministry of Defence and Russian oligarchs . He accused the Ministry of Defence of attempting to deceive
10008-567: The National State-Owned TV and Radio Channels adopted in May 2009 guarantees that each Parliamentary Party must enjoy equal share of coverage at state-owned national TV and radio channels. The independent nature of editorial policies towards viewing Parliamentary parties, as well as citizens right to be comprehensively and informed of parties activities without bias are stipulated by the Law. Control over
10147-559: The Russian Federation. According to statistics published by UNESCO in 2005, Russia had the largest number of newspaper journalists in the world (102,300), followed by China (82,849) and the United States (54,134),. As of 2008 Russia had over 400 daily newspapers, covering many fields, and offering a range of perspectives. The total number of newspapers in Russia is 8,978, and they have a total annual circulation of 8.2 billion copies. There are also 6,698 magazines and periodicals with
10286-672: The Russian army. Prigozhin complained that "the children of the elites smother themselves with creams and show this on Instagram, YouTube and so on, while ordinary people's kids return home torn apart in zinc-lined coffins". Prigozhin intensified his rhetoric against the Ministry of Defence in April. In May 2023, he said: "We have been put on an artificial shortage of ammunition that is in storage. We were receiving no more than 30% of our needs. So our losses were much higher than they should have been, but we were getting ahead. A month ago they stopped giving us ammunition, and we're getting no more than 10%". On 5 May 2023, Prigozhin announced that, due to
10425-550: The Russian military worth US$ 1.2 billion over one year. Some of the profits from this contract are alleged to have been used to start and fund the Internet Research Agency . On 11 December 2018, a company claimed to be unaffiliated with Concord Catering called Msk LLC (Russian: ООО "Мск" ) was paid 2.5 million rubles for an annual "Heroes of the Fatherland Day" banquet held at the Kremlin. However, Msk LLC shares
10564-452: The Russian territory): Channel One (a.k.a. First Channel), Russia-1 (a.k.a. Rossiya), and NTV . As stated by the BBC , both Channel One and Russia-1 are controlled by the government, while state-controlled energy giant Gazprom owns NTV. According to 2005 television ratings , the most popular channel was Channel One (22.9%), followed by Russia-1 (22.6%). The survey responders' local TV company
10703-461: The Russians" when "the genocide of the Russian population of Donbas began". He explained that he played a personal role from the start, claiming that he "found specialists who could help" after "[cleaning] the old weapons and [sorting out] the bulletproof vests" himself. Prigozhin also confirmed allegations, previously denied by the Russian government, that the group had been involved in other countries aligned with Russian overseas interests, saying
10842-459: The U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics . In the post-Yeltsin era, Russian disinformation has been described as a key tactic in the military doctrine of Russia . Its use has increased since 2000 under Vladimir Putin , particularly after the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia . This style of disinformation propaganda has been described as
10981-427: The US government as saying that the crash was likely caused by a bomb on board or "some other form of sabotage". Since then, researchers and other analysts have reached the conclusion that an on-board bomb or explosive likely downed the plane. Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin was born an only child on 1 June 1961 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg , Russia). His mother, Violetta Kirovna Prigozhina,
11120-677: The United Nations criticized the lack of a precise definition for “terrorism” or “terrorist activity”, or of any requirement for the counter-terrorist regime to explain itself, or of any legal provision for the authorities' obligation to protect human rights in a counter-terrorist operation. The broad definition of extremism in Russian legislation and its use to silence government critics have fostered self-censorship among journalists to prevent harassment. The Federal Law On Guarantees of Equality of Parliamentary Parties in Covering their Activities by
11259-606: The United States during the 2024 United States elections. In Belarus in January 2024, Andrii Derkach , who was associated with NABU Leaks in 2020, gave an interview which was uploaded to social media with false claims about Biden in order to undermine Biden's support for Ukraine. In September 2024, the United States Justice Department asserted that Sergey Kiriyenko had created some 30 internet domains to spread Russian disinformation, including on Elon Musk ’s X which
11398-569: The Wagner Group's activities in Libya . In April 2022, the EU imposed further sanctions on him for his role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The FBI offered a reward of up to $ 250,000 for information leading to Prigozhin's arrest. Prigozhin openly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for corruption and mishandling the war against Ukraine. Eventually, he said the reasons they gave for invading were lies . On 23 June 2023, he launched
11537-599: The Wagner mercenaries who "defended the Syrian people, other people of Arab countries, destitute Africans and Latin Americans, have become the pillars of our motherland". The Wagner Group was founded to support Russian interests in Africa and other parts of the world, allowing the Russian government to have plausible deniability for military operations abroad. The plan was pushed forward by Valery Gerasimov , who took over as Chief of
11676-491: The agency. Some leading newspapers in Russia are tabloids, including Zhizn . The most important business newspapers are Vedomosti and the influential Kommersant . Many newspapers are opposition-leaning, such as the critical Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Novaya Gazeta , which is known for its investigative journalism. The main English-language newspapers were Moscow Times and The St. Petersburg Times . Six of
11815-436: The balance of world power to Russia and her allies . According to the Voice of America , Russia seeks to promote American isolationism, border security concerns and racial tensions within the United States through its disinformation campaigns. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used propaganda and disinformation as " active measures ...against the populations of Western nations". During the administration of Boris Yeltsin ,
11954-503: The beginning of 2000, including four from Novaya Gazeta . It also placed Russia at ninth world-wide for journalists killed with complete impunity. In December 2014, a Russian investigative site published e-mails, leaked by the hackers' group Shaltai Boltai , which indicated close links between Timur Prokopenko [ ru ] , a member of Vladimir Putin's administration, and Russian journalists, some of whom published Kremlin-originated articles under their own names. According to
12093-407: The broadcaster's shares) urged the early dismissal of the radio's board of directors and a change in independent directors". Television is the most popular media in Russia, with 74% of the population watching national television channels routinely and 59% routinely watching regional channels. There are 330 television channels in total. Three channels have a nationwide outreach (over 90% coverage of
12232-419: The course of the 2000s, Prigozhin grew closer to Vladimir Putin. By 2003, he left his business partners and established his own independent restaurants. Notably, one of Prigozhin's companies, Concord Catering , began winning numerous government contracts. He received hundreds of millions in government contracts for feeding school children and government workers. In 2012, he received a contract to supply meals to
12371-409: The disinformation analysis centre Debunk.org , Russia's mass media expenditure in 2022 was estimated to be $ 1.9 billion. The Russian Constitution protects freedom of speech and of the press. Yet restrictive legislation and a politicized judiciary system have made it particularly difficult for independent journalists to work in Russia. Russian laws on the media include the 1991 Law on Mass Media,
12510-461: The events of the Snow Revolution during 2011–2012. Putin announced on 24 April 2014 that numerous laws would be enacted to restrict freedoms of expression on the internet through censorship and were signed into law by Putin on 5 May 2014 with enforcement beginning on 1 August 2014, according to Nossik. Twelve of the thirteen Russian nationals indicted by Robert Mueller for conspiracy meddling in
12649-511: The federal government to counteract the threat." In February 2024, an investigation published by a coalition of journals including VSquare , Delfi , Expressen and Paper Trail Media stated that the Internet Development Institute ( Russian : Институт развития интернета , IRI) was funded the equivalent of about € 220 million from the Russian Federation budget to produce "patriotic mobile games, TV series, and movies". In 2024,
12788-479: The financial sustainability of TV Rain and of other foreign content providers. According to a 2009 report by Reporters Without Borders in 2009, "the current situation of the media in the Russian regions provides grounds for hope as well as for concern". The regional print media has been able to maintain a solid position as an information resource. However, most publishers shy away from politically charged topics in order not to endanger their business. The situation
12927-609: The first President of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union , "disinformation" was discussed in the Russian media and by Russian politicians in relation to the disinformation of the Soviet era, and to differentiate Boris Yeltsin 's new Russia from its Soviet predecessor. It is especially important to introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic , social , and racial conflicts , actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist , racist , and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in
13066-499: The first time publicly that he was banned from recruiting mercenaries among inmates , although information about this appeared as early as February 2023. According to the head of Wagner, the Russian military command took such a step "to compensate for their failures, because of envy". According to Prigozhin, the Russian military department also stopped issuing awards to dead fighters of his PMCs, and did not allow Wagner to use special communications and transport aircraft. Prigozhin accused
13205-435: The first time, as Putin had been chairman of the supervisory board for casinos and gambling since 1991. In 1995, Prigozhin entered the restaurant business. When revenues of his other businesses began to fall, Prigozhin persuaded a director at Contrast, Kirill Ziminov, to open a restaurant with him. They opened Prigozhin's first restaurant: Old Customs House (Russian: Старая Таможня ) in Saint Petersburg. In 1997, they founded
13344-519: The frontline while wearing military fatigues. Wagner began to be perceived as Prigozhin's private army, operating beyond the boundaries of Russian legislation and the country's military hierarchy. Dissatisfaction arose within the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the General Staff , leading to heavy squabbles between Wagner leadership and Russian high command . On 1 October 2022, during Ukraine's Kharkiv counteroffensive , which expelled Russia from most of
13483-422: The gambling business. Spektor and Igor Gorbenko brought Prigozhin on as CEO of Spectrum CJSC (Russian: ЗАО «Спектр»), which founded the first casinos in Saint Petersburg. This trio went on to create many other businesses together throughout the 1990s across various industries, including construction, marketing research, and foreign trade. Novaya Gazeta notes that this may be when Prigozhin met Vladimir Putin for
13622-640: The head of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov of allegedly ordering him to give 10% of the required number of shells. Prigozhin said: "If there is no ammunition, then we will leave the position and ask the question – who is cheating on the motherland after all?". In a video published shortly before the start of the Victory Parade in Moscow , he berated the Russian military command and added: "The happy grandpa thinks he's happy. But what
13761-460: The independent Gazprom -controlled station Echo of Moscow , once known for its political independence. The most popular radio stations are distributed by key nationwide radio holdings: 1. VGTRK (The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company): 2. European Media Group: 3. GPM Radio (Gazprom Media): 4. Russian Media Group: 5. Krutoy Media: 6. Multimedia Holding: 7. Rumedia: Other well-known radio stations: Like
13900-463: The independent Russian news outlet Meduza indicated that this development would undermine Prigozhin's hold over Wagner and jeopardize the group's profitable operations in Africa. Prigozhin unsuccessfully attempted to circumvent the order for Wagner's subordination while intensifying his criticism of the Ministry of Defence. On 23 June 2023, Prigozhin claimed that regular Russian armed forces had launched missile strikes against Wagner forces, killing
14039-406: The interview before Gabbard said, "The reality is that it is highly, highly unlikely that Ukraine will ever become a member of NATO anyway." Additionally, numerous clips of Carlson have appeared on RT , which was formerly known as Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya, that support the Kremlin's objectives. The Russian information war against Ukraine was articulated by the Russian government as part of
14178-517: The legitimacy of the United States electoral system and the elections. Kammenos' positions followed closely with the Kremlin's talking points. Johan Backman supports RISI's interests in Northern Europe. Russia's numerous disinformation attacks including support for white supremacist activities and attacks of Biden's mental fitness were utilized by Donald Trump, senior Trump Administration officials, and his re-election campaign. Brian Murphy , who
14317-584: The machine guns". Prigozhin's media companies launched the #DayShellsToWagners media campaign, which was active that spring. Family members of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu became an object of mockery by Yevgeny Prigozhin. On 20 February 2023, in his address to the Ministry of Defense, Prigozhin said, "I am not poking you in the nose with the fact that you sit down to breakfast, lunch and dinner from gold dishes, and send your daughters, granddaughters and dogs on vacation in Dubai . Not embarrassed by anything. At
14456-575: The maximum quota of foreign ownership in the Russian media by 2017. This will affect independent publications such as Vedomosti and Forbes Russia . According to figures from the National Circulation Service agency, the most popular newspaper is Argumenty i Fakty which has a circulation of 2.9 million. It is followed by Weekly Life (1.9 million), TV Guide (1.2 million) and Perm Region Izvestiya (1 million). However, only about half of all Russian newspapers are registered with
14595-495: The most influential newspapers; however, the national press market still offers its consumers a more diverse range of views than those same consumers can sample on the country's leading television channels. Major Russian newspapers with foreign owners include the Vedomosti and SmartMoney owned by Rupert Murdoch 's News Corp . A number of American editions (such as GQ ) have Russian versions. An October 2014 law limited to 20%
14734-426: The news site Grani.ru , the online magazine Yezhednevny Zhurnal , and Kasparov.ru, the website of the opposition activist Garry Kasparov . In July 2014, the online extremism law was used to prevent a march for Siberian autonomy. The "bloggers' law" no. 97 (May 2014) required any website with over 3,000 daily visits to register with Roskomnadzor as a media outlet, subjecting personal blogs and other websites to
14873-505: The presidential administration on the afternoon of 24 June 2023, including reaching out to Putin himself, who refused to speak with him. Final negotiations were reportedly conducted by Anton Vaino , the chief of staff, Nikolai Patrushev , the secretary of the Security Council, and Boris Gryzlov , the Russian ambassador to Belarus. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko reportedly spoke with Prigozhin upon Putin's request, acting as
15012-487: The proper fulfillment of this Law is performed by the Central Election Committee of Russia with participants of Parliamentary parties, since September 2009. A new law to be implemented at the beginning of 2009 will allow reporters investigating corruption in Russia to be protected. Under new legislation, they will be able to apply for special protection, like court witnesses. In 2014 two new laws extended
15151-609: The protesters discussions on blogs and social networks and perform social media tracking which later led to establishing the Internet Research Agency . Nossik claimed that the Twitter fueled events in 2009 in Moldova known as the Twitter Revolution and the events of Arab Spring , which Igor Sechin blamed Google for masterminding the revolution in Egypt, were not as devastating to Putin as
15290-439: The public and President Vladimir Putin by portraying Ukraine as an aggressive and hostile adversary which, in collaboration with NATO, was plotting an attack on Russian interests. Specifically, he denied that any Ukrainian escalation took place prior to 24 February 2022, which was one of the central points of Russian justification for the war. Prigozhin alleged that Shoigu and the "oligarchic clan" had personal motives for initiating
15429-416: The rebellion. He stated the situation threatened the existence of Russia itself. Furthermore, Putin made an appeal to the Wagner forces who "by deceit or threats" had been "dragged" into participating in the rebellion. In response, Prigozhin said that Russia's president is "mistaken", and Wagner fighters are "patriots, not traitors, we have been fighting for our country and continue to fight". Prigozhin said
15568-505: The region, Prigozhin said about the commanders of the Russian army that "All these bastards ought to be sent to the front barefoot with just a submachine gun". He called members of the Putin-controlled Russian parliament "useless" and said that the "deputies should go to the front", adding that "Those people who have been talking from tribunes for years need to start doing something". The Washington Post reported that Prigozhin
15707-477: The regular Russian army forces of "[running] away" from their positions, while his own Wagner forces were allegedly forbidden from retreating. According to him, any Wagner "withdrawal from the positions would be considered high treason." He also accused the Ministry of Defense of only giving his troops 10% of what was promised, causing high Wagner casualties, and threatened that if he did not receive ammunition, his forces would withdraw from their positions. He said that
15846-691: The same contact phone number with Concord. On 11 December 2019, the company received another 4.1 million rubles for another banquet. In 2012, he moved his family into a Saint Petersburg compound with a basketball court and a helicopter pad. By this point he owned a private jet and a 115-foot (35 m) yacht. Prigozhin was later linked to several aircraft, including two Cessna 182s as well as Embraer Legacy 600 , British Aerospace 125 , and Hawker 800XP jets. The Anti-Corruption Foundation accused Prigozhin of corrupt business practices. In 2017, they estimated his illegal wealth to be worth more than one billion rubles. Alexei Navalny alleged that Prigozhin
15985-559: The same restrictions foreseen for major publications – including a ban on anonymous authorship and obscenities, as well as legal responsibility for users' comments. Under a follow-up law passed in July 2014, social networks are required to store their data in Russia in order for them to be accessible by the authorities. The Congress of Russia's Journalists adopted a Code of Professional Ethics in 1994. Yet, it has mainly remained dead letter, being hardly applied by most media workers. An article of
16124-548: The situation on the Ukrainian frontline was not affected. He also stated that his main goal was to remove Shoigu and Gerasimov from office and reiterated his accusations of corruption against the Ministry of Defence. Despite declaring that the justifications used to launch war against Ukraine were based on falsehoods, Prigozhin still continued to support the war efforts, although calling for waging war more effectively. Prigozhin allegedly made personal efforts to establish contact with
16263-512: The state control over the internet. According to the Federal Law 398 (February 2014), the prosecutor general may bypass the courts and make use of the federal regulator agency Roskomnadzor to directly block websites in order to prevent mass riots, "extremist" activities and illegal assemblies. In the first year of the law, Roskomnadzor blocked over 85 websites, including Aleksey Navalny 's blog on Ekho Moskvy 's website (which removed it) as well as
16402-463: The street during a robbery, with him and accomplices then stealing the woman's earrings and boots. In 1981, he was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment in a high-security penal colony for robbery, theft, fraud, and involving minors in criminal activity. According to Prigozhin, he violated the terms of his solitary confinement "on a regular basis" until he was sent to general population in 1985, where he started to "read intensively" and worked as
16541-436: The summer of 2022, he gained the authority to recruit inmates from Russian prisons into the Wagner Group in exchange for their freedom. Western intelligence estimated that the number of Wagner mercenaries increased from "several thousand" fighters around 2017–2018 to approximately 50,000 fighters by December 2022, with the majority comprising criminal convicts recruited from prisons. On 13 November 2022, Wagner Group released
16680-485: The ten most circulated Russian newspapers are based in Moscow, while the other four are based in other cities and regions. As of 2008 there were three main nationwide radio stations in Russia: Radio Russia (coverage: 96.9% of the population), Radio Mayak (92.4%) and Radio Yunost (51.0%). Most radio stations focused on broadcasting music but they also offered some news and analysis. Especially famous had been
16819-745: The three main channels to debate each other and present their views. According to research conducted by Professor Sarah Oates, most Russians believe that news reporting on the three national television channels is selective and unbalanced, but view this as appropriate. The responders to the study made it clear that they believe the role of state television should be to provide central authority and order in troubled times. Vladimir Putin's close friend Yury Kovalchuk owns shares in several of Russia's most influential TV channels, including Channel One . In December 2021, Alisher Usmanov 's holding company USM said it had sold its stake in Russia's leading internet group VK to state-run insurance company Sogaz , which
16958-494: The urban and 36.2% of the rural population and Russia 2 reaching 51.5% and 15.6%, respectively. Regional television is relatively popular in Russia, and according to a 2005 report by TNS , regional audiences rely mainly on news and analysis provided by regional channels. The English-language satellite channel Russia Today (RT) was launched in 2005. It produces in multiple languages and broadcasts in over 100 countries. A new international multimedia news service called Sputnik
17097-574: The use of nuclear weapons in response to the 2023 Kremlin drone attack , saying that "We look like clowns threatening to use nuclear weapons in response to a child's drone". Although the government provided the Wagner Group with increasingly large resources, Wagner had no legal authority. Prigozhin held no official position and was neither appointed nor elected, meaning that he technically had no authority to answer to. Furthermore, Prigozhin gained international recognition and abandoned his previously secluded personal life. He frequently reported news from
17236-414: The war by the Russian government. In mid-June 2023, the Ministry of Defence ordered Wagner to sign contracts with the military before 1 July. This move would've effectively integrated Wagner as a subordinate unit within the regular command structure, thereby diminishing the influence of Prigozhin. However, Prigozhin declined to sign the agreement, alleging incompetence on the part of Shoigu. Reports from
17375-400: The war. Furthermore, he asserted that the Russian military command intentionally concealed the true number of soldiers killed in Ukraine , with casualties reaching up to 1,000 on certain days. During the early morning of 24 June, Wagner forces crossed into Russia's Rostov Oblast from Luhansk, encountering no apparent opposition. In response, criminal charges were filed against Prigozhin by
17514-462: Was President Trump's national security advisor, had the assessments of Russian interference suppressed. John Cohen, who was under secretary of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security during Barack Obama 's presidency, stated "By blocking information from being released that describes threats facing the nation... undermines the ability of the public and state and local authorities to work with
17653-549: Was Soviet scientist Yefim Ilyich Prigozhin [ ru ] . He settled with Yefim for several years during his childhood in the Ukrainian city of Zhovti Vody , where he worked in an open-pit uranium mine . His stepfather, Samuil Fridmanovich Zharkoi, was a ski instructor and introduced Prigozhin to cross-country skiing . Aspiring to be a professional skier, he graduated from Leningrad Sports Boarding School No. 62 [ ru ] in 1977. However, he abandoned his sports career after an injury. He later worked as
17792-667: Was a hospital nurse . His father, Viktor Yevgenyevich Prigozhin, was a mining engineer who died when Yevgeny was nine. His grandfather, Yevgeny Ilyich Prigozhin, was a captain in the Red Army during World War II , who fought in the Battles of Rzhev and received a medal "For Courage" . Prigozhin sponsored the 2020 war film Rzhev [ ru ] , based on a 1991 novel by Vyacheslav Kondratyev [ ru ] that mentions his grandfather. His father and stepfather are believed to be of Jewish descent . Prigozhin's great-uncle
17931-729: Was a student of filmmaker and theorist Lev Kuleshov , who developed the Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography . Dziga Vertov , whose kino-glaz ('film-eye') theory – that the camera, like the human eye, is best used to explore real life—had a huge impact on the development of documentary film making and cinema realism. The subsequent state policy of socialist realism somewhat limited creativity; however, many Soviet films in this style were artistically successful, including Chapaev , The Cranes Are Flying , and Ballad of
18070-480: Was acting chief of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security from March 2018 until August 2020, said that he was instructed "to cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference in the United States, and instead start reporting on interference activities by China and Iran." Chad Wolf , who was acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said that Robert O'Brien , who
18209-636: Was done to shift the balance of power to Russia and other Second World countries such as China, Iran and North Korea. The Guardian reported Russia was seeking to spread conspiracy theories among the American far right to undermine support for Ukraine. Voice of America reported that Russian disinformation campaigns have focused on promoting American isolationism, tensions between various races as well as border security concerns. The Telegraph reported that Russia and China were promoting pro-Palestinian influencers in order to manipulate British public opinion in favor of Russian and Chinese interests. Following
18348-590: Was formerly known as Twitter. In October 2024, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Musk had been in contact with Kiriyenko and Vladimir Putin which Dmitry Peskov affirmed. Yevgeny Prigozhin Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin (1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch . He led the Wagner Group , a private military company , and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching
18487-517: Was launched in 2014, merging and replacing previous services. TV Rain , the only independent channel, came under increasing pressure in 2014. After a controversy over a historical poll in January, satellite providers started to drop the channel from their packages – reportedly under Kremlin pressure. In March the CEO announced the insolvency of the station, which still continued operating, with critical reporting on corruption and human rights abuses related to
18626-560: Was linked to a company called Moskovsky Shkolnik (Moscow Schoolboy) that had supplied poor-quality food to Moscow schools, which had caused a 2019 dysentery outbreak. Prigozhin was declared the 2022 Corrupt Person of the Year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project . The Wagner Group is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) formed in 2014. It initially supported Russian separatist forces in Ukraine during
18765-511: Was on board was unknown. On 6 July, Lukashenko stated: "As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus." In July 2023, Prigozhin told his fighters to prepare for "a new journey to Africa". Russian media Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising , subscription , and other sales-related revenues. Even though
18904-483: Was one of the few people who dared to tell Putin about the "mistakes" of Russian military commanders in the war in Ukraine. One of the former Wagner fighters, in an interview with the BBC said: "I think it's a conflict between the Defense Ministry and Prigozhin. And it is escalating." Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the conflict between Prigozhin and the Russian Ministry of Defense exists only in
19043-436: Was ranked 148th out of 179 countries, six places below the previous year, mainly due to the return of Vladimir Putin . Freedom House compiles a similar ranking and placed Russia at number 176 out of 197 countries for press freedom for 2013, at the level of Sudan and Ethiopia. The Committee to Protect Journalists states that Russia was the country with the 10th largest number of journalists killed since 1992, 26 of them since
19182-539: Was the founder and long-time manager of the Internet Research Agency , a Russian company running online propaganda and disinformation campaigns . Prigozhin's companies and associates, and formerly Prigozhin himself, are subject to economic sanctions and criminal charges in the United States and the United Kingdom. In October 2020, the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions against Prigozhin for his financing of
19321-490: Was third with a rating of 12.3%. The three national TV channels provide both news and entertainment, while the most popular entertainment-only channels are STS (10.3% rating) and TNT (6.7%). The most popular sports channel is Russia 2 (formerly Sport ; rating 1.8%), while the most popular culture channel is Russia K (formerly Kultura ; rating 2.5%). Russia K and Russia 2 have the third and fourth largest coverage of all Russian TV channels, with Russia K reaching 78.9% of
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