The Russian connectionRussian government’s fission know-how hard at work in Europe
The objective of Russia’s broad, systematic disinformation and cyberattacks campaign against Western democracies is ambitious. Moscow has made fragmenting Europe into one of its primary strategic objectives. Dividing European populations from within and turning them against one another via targeted influence operations is a central component of this overarching strategic objective.
In May 2016, prominent Russia expert Mark Galeotti warned that “the [Russian] Foreign Intelligence Service and FSB are now especially active in Europe, and the organizations they support include … separatists from Spain to Scotland.” Fast-forward to September of this year: a sophisticated mix of “Kremlin-run outlets, pro-Kremlin or aligned outlets, and outlets and individuals whose comments are useful for the Kremlin” have been the catalyst to an outbreak of separatist activism in Catalonia and plunged Spain in an unprecedented constitutional crisis. In Scotland, a Brexit vote possibly tainted by Russian interference has made another independence referendum possible, with prominent Russian outlets well-positioned to fan the flames of division there.
The Kremlin already meddled in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, notably by spreading dubious claims in favor of the pro-independence campaign on social media. Even after Scotland voted to remain in the U.K., Moscow retained its sights on the independence movement there. Now, with an anti-Brexit party in power in Edinburgh, Moscow has stepped up its involvement in the region to capitalize on latent discontent toward the central government. In particular, the establishment of a Kremlin-sponsored Sputnik studio in the Scottish capital prompted concern and warnings from authorities in London. And in a stranger than fiction nod to the Cold War, Pravda, the outlet formerly run by the Soviet Communist party, set up a branch in Edinburgh a year ago.
