Tag: Pavel Koshkin

As Americans prepare for another election, Russian troublemakers appear to laboring afresh to divide U.S. voters and discredit democracy, and perhaps even sway the outcome. The first person charged with foreign interference in the 2018 midterms, Elena Khusyaynova, said “my heart filled with pride" at the accusation. Speaking last week on Russian TV after being indicted for a covert social media campaign for both the 2016 and 2018 votes, she added, "It turns out that a simple Russian woman could help citizens of a superpower elect their president.” (Federal News Agency via AP) PARIS – Sweeping accusations that the Kremlin tried to sway the 2016 U.S. election haven't chastened Russian trolls, hackers and spies — and might even have emboldened them. The Kremlin also resents what it considers U.S. interference in the politics of countries once under Moscow's sphere of influence, from Ukraine to the Caucasus. One of its projects, a news site called USAReally, covers tight U.S. congressional races and is closely following the migrant caravan heading north from Latin America. We talk to Americans about America. Every media wants to do that. Malkevich also assails what he calls the myth of American democracy. That's one more way that alleged Russian manipulation of U.S. social media serves the Kremlin's interests: By discrediting Western democracy, that strengthens Putin's argument to his own voters that his authoritarian model of governance is best. The troll factory, meanwhile, has moved to bigger offices in St. Petersburg, just 2.5 kilometers (a mile and a half) across town.

He cautions, however, that “Russia is not responsible for all of America’s problems. Speaking last week on Russian TV after being accused in the United States of a covert social media campaign for both the 2016 and 2018 votes, she added, “It turns out that a simple Russian woman could help citizens of a superpower elect their president.” Pavel Koshkin of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies called accusations of meddling “a gift to Russian propaganda and Russian politicians,” who can use U.S. anti-Russian sentiment “as a tool in stirring anti-Americanism and increasing their approval ratings.” The 2016 U.S. election thrust Russian foreign interference into the spotlight, but it wasn’t an isolated project. The Kremlin also resents what it considers U.S. interference in the politics of countries once under Moscow’s sphere of influence, from Ukraine to the Caucasus. One of its projects, a news site called USAReally, covers tight U.S. congressional races and is closely following the migrant caravan heading north from Latin America. “Yes, we are a Russian site. But is that forbidden?” its chief editor Alexander Malkevich, an avowed Trump fan, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Every media wants to do that. That’s one more way that alleged Russian manipulation of U.S. social media serves the Kremlin’s interests: By discrediting Western democracy, that strengthens Putin’s argument to his own voters that his authoritarian model of governance is best. ” Many of the Russians accused of interference in the 2016 U.S. campaign have moved underground or moved on. He vowed to continue fighting those who “try to drag Russia through the mud” and thanked “those who want to join me in the fight against informational enemies.” The troll factory, meanwhile, has moved to bigger offices in St. Petersburg, just 2.5 kilometers (a mile and a half) across town.