The active measures orchestra: An examination of Russian influence operations abroad

Additionally, last year’s “Renzi” referendum on Italian constitutional reform was marred by a flood of disinformation. Russian outlets also incorrectly reported that the Liguria region of Italy and  the Catalonia region of Spain recognized Crimea as part of Russia, while Russian representatives cast doubt on the legitimacy of Western democratic initiatives like the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Russian sources even published forged letters in public newspapers to discredit institutions and individuals, as in separate incidents in 2015 involving the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee and Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist. If these incidents are not enough, the EU’s East StratCom Task Force has helpfully compiled a database listing known cases of Russian disinformation.

Beyond disinformation: The other tools Moscow uses in influence operations
While disinformation campaigns often take the headlines, Moscow uses a diverse toolkit of techniques, often involving more direct methods to influence the affairs of other states.

Russian cyber operations, now well known for their role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, have also been used to exert influence to achieve policy objectives in Europe. The 2007 DDoS attack on Estonia brought attention to large-scale attacks but network probing and small-scale hacks sometimes go unnoticed. DNC-style hacks have targeted European political figures and institutions in Germany (2015), Lithuania (2016), Norway (2017), France (2017), and Montenegro (2017). Nongovernment actors have also been targeted: in 2015 France’s TV5Monde was taken off the air, and in 2016 World Anti-Doping Agency data was stolen. Crucially, critical infrastructure remains vulnerable, as evidenced by attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 and 2016.

Moscow has also long understood that money talks. The Kremlin’s financing of France’s far-right National Front best exemplifies its efforts to influence the domestic politics of other nations through direct — or indirect — financial support. However, the Kremlin has also established subtle ties to other political parties, notably with far-right parties like Lega Nord in Italy or Ataka in Bulgaria. Another approach has been to establish connections with individual leaders who have pro-Russian sympathies, such as Hungary’s Bela Kovacs and Poland’s Mateusz Pikorski. Influence also extends beyond formal politics, with the launch of fight clubs linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU) in addition to the state-sponsored mafia networks that have permeated Europe. Most egregiously, Russia’s direction of the recent coup attempt in Montenegro shows Moscow’s willingness to use any means possible to undermine — or even overthrow — a democratically elected government.

These political actions can generate tangible economic benefits for Moscow, which then give rise to networks that influence European politics to Russian advantage. For instance, pipeline projects offer potentially lucrative business deals while simultaneously resulting in greater European energy dependence on Russian exports. While former German chancellor and newly elected Rosneft board member Gerhard Schröder claims that the ongoing Nord Stream 2 project is pure business, Russia’s history of petro-politics suggests geopolitical objectives well beyond profits. Beyond Russia’s use of energy exports to exact concessions from Ukraine, Russia has also pressured Belarus, making the resumption of gas deliveries conditional upon Minsk’s acceptance of Eurasian Economic Union customs policy. Russia’s energy politics do not stop at hydrocarbons — nuclear energy is another instrument of influence. In 2012, through a combination of lobbying, covert political action, and disinformation, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom managed to sabotage a Lithuanian-Japanese deal to build a nuclear power plant in Lithuania. Further, Russia plans to build a nuclear plant in Finland, a country already reliant on Russian gas exports, and to expand existing reactors in Hungary as part of a 30-year secret agreement.

Conclusion
Russian techniques continue to adapt and evolve. Occupied with putting out a seemingly endless set of fires, the West is playing catch-up as Russia continues to implement its strategy of undermining democracies. But with Russia using the same toolkit and exhibiting similar tactical patterns on both sides of the Atlantic, the United States has much to learn from our European partners and allies. We need to develop new mechanisms to share information about threats and effective countermeasures, and work in concert to develop a playbook to defend against, deter, and raise the cost of Moscow’s activities. This needs to include building resilience and shoring up our own vulnerabilities. It also needs to include addressing the toolkit of Russian active measures holistically and breaking out of stovepiped responses to each Russian tactic to devise countermeasures to the range of hybrid threats. We also need to recognize that Russian strategic objectives go well beyond the 2016 presidential election, and that the threat we face is to the foundations of our democracy.

David Salvo is Resident Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy. Andrew Andell is graduate student at Georgetown University. The article, originally posted to the website of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, is published here courtesy of the GMFUS.