Russian attempts to influence American and British politics are at least partially documented, and seem to have been successful in some important ways. Brexit was a major strategic victory for Putin, the Conservative government has refused to investigate Russian interference in the Brexit referendum; we do know that the Conservatives took large amounts of money from Russian donors. There has been significant evidence uncovered of Russian attempts to meddle in American politics. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/russias-2024-election-interference-already-begun-rcna134204
I agree that the Russians are trying to influence politics. I would argue that their success at recruiting politicians and spreading propaganda in the Netherlands is very limited; the Russians seem only to be "influencing" those who were pro-Putin in the first place. Which means Russia might not have as much power as it can seem they do from reports. Also I think Russian money in the UK is a much more complex societal and political problem than in the NL.
Russian meddling is not necessarily designed to attract more Putin-supporters. They use misinformation and psy ops (remember that Putin has a KGB background) to sow confusion, doubt and discord, making the Western alliances weaker. Of course Russia is active in the Netherlands and is having an effect on public opinion and the political landscape; I have heard Russian talking points spouted by some of my Dutch friends (as well as friends from other countries). The assertions in this newsletter (written by a respected American historian) are all footnoted, and are very concerning. It is naive to think Dutch politics is immune to Russian meddling. https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/april-17-2024?r=27qr7q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/bipartisan-senate-report-shows-2016-trump-russia-collusion.html
Mueller worked for trump, after all…
Russian attempts to influence American and British politics are at least partially documented, and seem to have been successful in some important ways. Brexit was a major strategic victory for Putin, the Conservative government has refused to investigate Russian interference in the Brexit referendum; we do know that the Conservatives took large amounts of money from Russian donors. There has been significant evidence uncovered of Russian attempts to meddle in American politics. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/russias-2024-election-interference-already-begun-rcna134204
I agree that the Russians are trying to influence politics. I would argue that their success at recruiting politicians and spreading propaganda in the Netherlands is very limited; the Russians seem only to be "influencing" those who were pro-Putin in the first place. Which means Russia might not have as much power as it can seem they do from reports. Also I think Russian money in the UK is a much more complex societal and political problem than in the NL.
Russian meddling is not necessarily designed to attract more Putin-supporters. They use misinformation and psy ops (remember that Putin has a KGB background) to sow confusion, doubt and discord, making the Western alliances weaker. Of course Russia is active in the Netherlands and is having an effect on public opinion and the political landscape; I have heard Russian talking points spouted by some of my Dutch friends (as well as friends from other countries). The assertions in this newsletter (written by a respected American historian) are all footnoted, and are very concerning. It is naive to think Dutch politics is immune to Russian meddling. https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/april-17-2024?r=27qr7q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email