carnegieendowment

02/13/2025

Such complex networks of malign influence are not only present in the former communist bloc. Economic dependencies and pro-Russian business connections in Germany, which is about to hold a federal election, have raised concerns about Berlin’s ability to undercut the Kremlin’s influence over its policy decisions. London’s capture by Russian money and Brexit reveal the vulnerabilities of one of the main NATO powers. Historic anti-Americanism and romanticism toward Russia in the ranks of some of the French cultural and political elite makes France vulnerable beyond the Russian funding of the far-right National Party.

Without powerful tools to counter the in-built vulnerabilities of the open informational environment of liberal democracies, all Russia needs to do to “install” a friendly government in any of these countries and thereby to shift the voting balance in the European Council is to activate this pre-established ecosystem of sympathetic domestic actors. Throw in some extra money and social media strategists able to play the algorithms of non-transparent platforms such as TikTok, Telegram, X, or Meta, and you get the mix needed to shift public opinion in already polarized societies.