Fabricated news stories. Fake NGOs. Cut outs. Front groups. Useful idiots. Staged demonstrations. And manufactured scandals.
Welcome to the wonderful world of активные мероприятия, or "active measures."
The use of subterfuge, deception, diversion, and deceit to divide and confuse Western societies has long been part of the Kremlin's international playbook.
In recent years, Vladimir Putin's Kremlin has revived and escalated this tactic -- and updated it for the digital age. The infamous Lisa case in Germany and the recent hack of the Democratic National Committee's servers in the United States are just the most recent examples.
On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, we look closely at Russia's active measures and their effectiveness -- or ineffectiveness.
Joining me are co-host Mark Galeotti, a senior policy fellow at the Czech Institute of International Relations in Prague, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, and author of the blog In Moscow's Shadows; and veteran Kremlin-watcher Donald Jensen, a former U.S. State Department official and currently a fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations in the Nitze School of International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Enjoy...
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Power Vertical Podcast: Lies, Spies, Head Games
Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes.