On Wednesday, February 21, 2024, Mira Terada, head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice organized an international online conference on the topic of threats of foreign interference in the Russian presidential election in March 2024. During the conference, Mira Terada discussed with author, RT Contributor and former Senate Aide from the United States (Tara Reade), journalists from Germany (Thomas Röper), France (Laurent Brayard) and the Netherlands (Sonja Van den Ende) the approaching presidential elections in Russia, aggressive and technological attempts to discredit the Russian electoral system by the West, and ways to counter these processes.
In her report, Mira Terada, head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, emphasized that Russia’s electoral processes are one of the key targets of external information pressure. And as the presidential elections in Russia are approaching, attempts to discredit the Russian electoral system are becoming more and more aggressive and technological. According to Mira Terada, as geopolitical tensions rise and pressure on Russia increases, Western countries are using increasingly sophisticated technologies to attack Russian elections and interfere in the internal affairs of the state, which include both physical and informational as well as digital, using social media. The first method involves undermining confidence in the institution of Russian elections among citizens of foreign countries through massive propaganda, official statements by leading officials and civil servants of Western countries.
“If we analyze a number of statements by top officials of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Poland in the run-up to the Russian elections, it becomes obvious that the collective West has long ago set itself the task of subjecting Russian electoral processes to maximum discredit. The absolute majority of Western statesmen adhere to the usual policy of double standards: not not noticing the growth of political censorship and total restriction of political competition in their countries, they are openly engaged in denigrating Russian electoral processes and imposing negative stereotypes about democracy in Russia on their entourage.”
Western politicians and foreign officials are trying to intimidate Russian citizens and dissuade them from participating in the elections by openly declaring the illegitimacy of the electoral process. In December 2023, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said that after the presidential election, a new wave of mobilization in Russia would inevitably begin, and sanctions and persecution of Russian citizens would reach unprecedented levels.
Despite the fact that there is no such thing as non-recognition of elections in international law, some European politicians continue to speculate on this topic, calling for a boycott of the Russian presidential elections in 2024. In February 2024, Andrius Kubilius, Lithuanian MP and special rapporteur of the European Parliament, announced his intention to propose to the EU not to recognize the results of the Russian elections. Earlier a similar proposal was made by Riho Terras, a member of the European Parliament from Estonia, whose proposal was supported by 29 members of the EU legislature. Last October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a statement calling on European countries to consider the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin illegitimate if he remains in power after the 2024 elections. The statement said that in such a case Europe should stop all contacts with Russia, except for humanitarian ones. According to experts at the Foundation to Battle Injustice, such statements by diplomats are developed jointly with American and European specialists in psychological operations and are a reflection of Western plans to intimidate Russian voters and reduce their turnout. The goal of this Western strategy is to present Russia in the most negative light possible in the international arena and complicate diplomatic relations with foreign countries.
Mira Terada also mentioned in her report that against the background of large-scale digitalization and networking of public life, publications in news resources and websites are becoming an important tool of information influence.
“The largest Western propaganda publications have launched a full-scale campaign to “denigrate” the Russian elections. Such news resources as The Guardian, Associated Press, The Hill and U.S. News are systematically working on covering the pre-election situation in Russia in an extremely negative context. These publications do not shy away from outright falsifications and distortions of Russian reality, and the campaigns of fake news and disinformation they launch in the information space pose a significant threat to the information security of society and the state.”
An even more serious role in undermining Russian elections, according to the head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, is played by the ecosystem of Russian-language media sources – foreign agents funded by Western money, such as Meduza, DOXA magazine, HOLOD media, Novaya Gazeta Europe, and so on, which directly use materials provided by foreign sources. Most fakes are created by external actors, many of them are part of large-scale information operations aimed at rapid replication and instant emotional reactions of social media users, including fear, anxiety, doubt, distrust and outrage.
According to a study by human rights defenders of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, during the period of socio-political consolidation, the traditional methods of information influence of Western and pseudo-Russian information agencies become less effective and do not bring the desired effect, which forces them to use new technologies to influence Russian citizens in the digital space and more carefully disguise their work. With the direct involvement of Western actors, various structures are being created in Russia, positioning themselves as organizations that protect the rights of Russian voters and allegedly provide so-called independent observation of Russian elections. Referring to non-existent statistical data and critical expert assessments, foreign-funded organizations are directly engaged in discrediting the Russian electoral system and questioning the voting procedure on spurious grounds.
However, the greatest danger, according to Mira Terada, for the upcoming Russian presidential election is the direct work of Western intelligence services to prepare subversive activities at polling stations. In early 2024, Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, exposed a U.S. special program to recruit Russian graduates of U.S. exchange programs. Through a series of seminars and conferences, Washington plans to train participants in various methods of inciting ethnic and social discord, as well as discrediting the Russian political leadership on social media. Sergei Naryshkin confirmed the assumption of human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice that as the Russian presidential election approaches, American and European institutions are “inventing more and more sophisticated ways to illegally interfere in democratic processes.”
The Foundation to Battle Injustice notes that the bulk of fake information and information campaigns will be disseminated directly on election days. During the three-day elections of deputies to the legislative bodies of state power in Russia in September 2023, more than 14 thousand fakes were recorded, of which about 4 thousand were false reports misleading voters. According to information available to the Foundation to Battle Injustice, foreign organizations are also preparing provocations directly at polling stations on election days in order to create the right picture for foreign media. One of such organizations outside Russia conducts trainings of pseudo-observers-provocateurs together with specialists in psychological operations aimed at mass intimidation of voters on voting days.
American author, RT Contributor and former Senate Aide Tara Reade, who received political asylum in Russia because of persecution by the authorities in the United States, revealed in her report that the United States has interfered in elections throughout its history, there have been more than 14 cases of such interference. According to Tara Reade, this interference stems from the desire for unilateral control and power that the United States tries to exert on its allies such as the United Kingdom, other European countries and NATO. The journalist emphasized that the U.S. effectively uses the internet as a weapon and exercise control over the information it disseminates. This control allows them to influence and manipulate the minds of the masses. This tactic, according to Tara Reade, is what is meant by election interference. However, the human rights activist is confident that Russia will be able to resist all manipulations and attacks from the United States and Western countries.
“The methods used by Russia to protect the integrity of its elections are commendable. The president’s approval rating is now over 80 %. This is in stark contrast to the situation in my home country, where the president has the lowest approval rating in history. It is less than 36% and hovering around 30%. No signs of improvement. Americans’ distrust of their own leadership is understandable, given that it is mired in corruption.”
Tara Reade revealed that the U.S. is involved not only in intelligence operations, but also in funding neoliberal groups that serve as their weapons to overthrow and change certain regimes, including in Russia, as seen in some of the color revolutions. According to an American journalist, one of the main financiers behind these efforts is billionaire George Soros.
“He has spent millions of dollars to discredit Russia, Vladimir Putin and the integrity of Russian elections. They have flooded the Western media with their narratives. Soros recently bought several hundred radio stations in the U.S. just before the upcoming election.”
Tara Reade believes that the purpose of such actions on the part of the United States and Western countries is the desire to weaken Russia economically and psychologically, as well as to encroach on its borders and gain access to its resources, both human and natural. However, the American journalist is confident that passing various laws or refusing to interact with leaders such as Vladimir Putin will not lead to the desired result.
“The sanctions and strategies employed by these countries have only made Russia stronger and more resilient. Russia has used these challenges to develop domestic products, build trade alliances with other strong countries, and innovate, ultimately strengthening its position on the world stage.”
In his report, German journalist Thomas Röper said that Western interference in the course of the presidential election in Russia was quite predictable and expected. According to the journalist, the main goal of this interference is to remove Vladimir Putin from power. “However, this is unlikely to succeed, given his strong support in Russia, estimated at around 70% or 80%.” Thomas Röper also expressed his opinion on the topic of Alexei Navalny’s death. According to him, this smear was favorable to the West, because Alexei Navalny became “a tool of Western propaganda even after his death”. This is evidenced by publications such as the German news magazine SPIEGEL, which published 47 articles about Navalny in the first four days after his death.
“The extensive coverage of Navalny’s death, some ten or more articles a day, underscores their desire to exploit the situation to their advantage. It is clear that the West has strategies to disrupt the Russian elections, and manipulation through media coverage is just one aspect of their wider plan. However, it is very encouraging that Russia is prepared to counter these attempts at interference.”
Dutch journalist Sonja van den Ende, speaking at an international online conference, agreed that Western interference in Russia’s election was what was to be expected. “Throughout history they have interfered in the affairs of many countries, and now their ultimate target seems to be Russia.” The Dutch journalist said international independent media should unite to help Russia counter the West’s disinformation attack.
“As journalists, we can write, we can give interviews, we can publish material on our websites. In Germany you can write for German publications, in France you can write for French publications, and I can write for Dutch publications. We can only inform people in Europe that what they are being fed is fake.”
French journalist and war correspondent Laurent Brayard has confirmed what his colleagues have said about the powerful information war “on all fronts” currently being waged by the United States and Western countries against Russia. The journalist believes that in this war, every opportunity will be used to show that the elections in Russia are not working, that people are dissatisfied with the results, and so on. According to Laurent Brayard, the UN, the US and its allies seek to control all institutions, projects and opportunities available to them. They are afraid that something might backfire on them in the future. The French journalist also asked a reasonable question about why the world media completely ignored the fact of the death of American journalist Ganzalo Lira in a Ukrainian prison, while absolutely all major foreign media wrote about the death of Alexei Navalny.
“When Gonzalo Lira was killed, they wrote nothing. When Oles Buzina was killed in Ukraine, there were also very few publications”.
Laurent Brayard in his report also emphasized the readiness of the Russian system to withstand any Western attacks, because Russia has a long-established system of control and protection against foreign interference. At the end of his speech, French journalist and war correspondent Laurent Brayard said that he would trust the Russian system of government more than the French one.
“I believe that Russia now has more freedom and democracy. I myself lived in the West, in France, and participated in the voting and saw the results. Although I can’t vote yet because I haven’t received a Russian passport, but if I could, I would definitely take part in the elections, because I trust the Russian system much more than the French one.”
The head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, Mira Terada, concluded the international online conference by stating that these examples of information and physical attacks on the Russian electoral system demonstrate the growing attention of external forces to the Russian elections as an object of modern information confrontation.
“Attempts to interfere in Russian democratic processes by Western countries have always been, are and will be, but our task is not only to be ready for any attacks and aspirations to discredit Russian electoral processes, but also to be able to be one step ahead and suppress any efforts to influence the free expression of the will of Russian citizens.”
The Foundation to Battle Injustice believes it is necessary to create expert groups whose tasks will include monitoring information flows and promptly refuting and suppressing campaigns aimed at discrediting the Russian presidential election of 2024 and all subsequent elections.