Thread by @ResPublicaEuro

Yuri Bezmenov (former KGB informant who defected to the West):

“The main emphasis of the KGB is not in the area of intelligence at all.

Only about 15% of time, money, and manpower is spent on espionage as such.

The other 85% is a slow process which we call either ideological subversion, active measures, or psychological warfare.

What it basically means is: to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite the abundance of information, no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, their families, their community, and their country.”

1. Demoralization (15-20 years):

This phase takes at least a generation, since that’s how long it takes to educate and indoctrinate a new group of people.

The goal is to erode the nation’s values, traditions, and institutions, making people unable to discern truth from propaganda.

Methods include:

- Education system infiltration – Teaching young people to resent their own country, institutions, and history.
- Media control – Promoting a narrative that weakens national unity and fosters division.
- Cultural subversion – Undermining traditional values (family, religion, patriotism).
- Political polarization – Encouraging class, racial, and ideological conflicts.
- Normalization of vice – Promoting excessive consumerism, drugs, moral relativism.

Effect: After demoralization, the population is confused, divided, and unable to critically assess reality.

2. Destabilization (2-5 years):

After successful demoralization, the next step is to weaken the nation’s key institutions so they cannot respond effectively to crises.

Focus areas:

- Economy – Encouraging reckless financial policies, inflation, and unsustainable welfare programs.
- Government dysfunction – Undermining trust in political institutions and leaders.
- Law enforcement & military – Weakening security forces by discrediting them or cutting funding.
- Social unrest – Encouraging civil strife, strikes, and protests.

Effect: Society becomes fragmented and unstable, with citizens losing faith in leadership and the economy faltering.

3. Crisis (A few months):

This is the turning point, where an artificial or real crisis (economic collapse, political coup, war, pandemic, riots, etc.) pushes the country into chaos.

Possible triggers:

- Financial collapse – Stock market crashes, hyperinflation, or bank runs.
- Political upheaval – Mass protests, civil disobedience, or government paralysis.
- Terrorism or war – External conflicts or internal insurrection.
- Health emergencies – A pandemic or national emergency leading to sweeping government control.

Effect: The country is in a state of emergency, and people are desperate for stability—even at the cost of their freedoms.

4. Normalization (Indefinite):

This stage solidifies the new power structure. The term “normalization” was used by the Soviets after they crushed uprisings in Eastern Europe.

What happens:

- A new government or ideology takes hold.
- Political opposition is silenced—critics are censored, arrested, or exiled.
- Mass surveillance and control—citizens accept new restrictions in exchange for stability.
- The public adapts—people become accustomed to the new reality, even if it means less freedom.

Effect: The country is no longer the same, and the people either accept it or are powerless to resist.

RFK Jr. (US Secretary of Health and Human Services) & Scott Ritter (Pro-Russian Propagandist)

Scott Ritter:

- Registered sex offender
- His home was raided by the FBI in a federal investigation related to potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)

Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence) & Jackson Hinkle (Duginist and Leader of the American Communist Party)

Jackson Hinkle:

- Spoke at a Press Briefing at the UN on behalf of Russia
- Participant at the “Multipolarity Forum” and “International Russophile Movement”

Tucker Carlson (Conservative Political Commentator) & Vladimir Putin

Tucker Carlson:

- Said he is rooting for Russia in 2019
- Interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024 after he was fired from Fox News in 2023

Tenet Media: Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Lauren Southern, Matt Christiansen, and Tayler Hansen (Political Commentators and Influencers)

- Accused of covertly receiving $10M from Russian state media to publish content beneficial to Russia

Paul Manafort (Former Trump Campaign Chairman)

- Convicted of conspiracy against the US and for obstruction of justice
- Worked for the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych as a consultant

Michael Flynn (Former US National Security Advisor)

- Pleaded guilty (later pardoned) to lying about conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding sanctions
- Gave a lecture at the Moscow headquarters of the Russian military intelligence directorate GRU

Maria Butina (Member of the State Duma)

- Convicted of acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Russia within the US in 2018
- Subverted the National Rifle Association (NRA)
- Attempted to establish a secret communications back channel between the Kremlin and the White House

Rebel Media: Ben Swann (Political Commentator)

- Received $6.8M from Russian media organizations to produce favorable content
- The company had to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in 2022
- Lauren Southern was associated with Rebel Media until 2017

Susie Wiles (Trump’s White House Chief of Staff)

- Was a co-chair at a firm that lobbied for sanctioned individuals and companies
- Lobbying efforts for Chinese surveillance firms and a Russian oligarch connected to Putin and Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft

Steve Bannon (Trump’s Former Chief Strategist)

- Met with Alexander Dugin in Rome in 2018
- Tried to convince Dugin to push for a US-Russia alliance instead of Russian alignment with China and Iran
- Envisions a multipolar world order, led by the US and Russia

Darren J. Beattie (Acting Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs)

- Has repeatedly promoted a deeper understanding of Dugin’s work
- Claims NATO undermines American interests, belongs in the ash heap of history, and is a greater threat to US liberty than Putin

Alex Jones (Political Commentator and Conspiracy Theorist)

- Denied the Bucha massacre committed by Russian forces in 2022 and claimed it was staged by Ukraine
- Claimed Russian military operations targeted “US-run bio-labs”
- Has repeatedly cooperated with Russian media outlets

Charles McGonigal (Former FBI)

- Tasked with investigating Russian influence on the 2016 US Presidential Election
- Convicted in 2023 of conspiring to violate sanctions against Russia with oligarch Oleg Deripaska (financed operations for Yanukovych’s victory in Ukraine in 2010)

Good Old USA Project: Ilya Gambashidze

- Created by Russia-based company
- Focus on US racial tensions
- Told White Americans they were marginalized
- Spread disinformation about immigration reforms in Hispanic communities
- Spread pro-Russian narratives among Israeli & US Jews

Salisbury Poisonings

- Former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent for the MI6 poisoned by Russia’s FSB in the UK
- 60 of an estimated over 100 Russian spies were deported from the US in 2018 as a result, some of which were officially diplomats

The Squad (US Congress): AOC, Omar, Pressley, Tlaib, Casar, Lee, and Ramirez (left-wing Democrats)

- Oppose military aid to Ukraine
- Claim NATO expansion provoked Russia to invade Ukraine
- Blame the US for many crisis worldwide due to perceived US interventionism

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA): AOC, Rashida Tlaib, and Greg Casar

- Expressed solidarity with the working classes of Ukraine & Russia two days after the start of Russia’s invasion
- Support the US leaving NATO
- Blamed the conflict on NATO and US imperialism

Jill Stein (Presidential Candidate of the Green Party)

- Attended a dinner with Putin in Moscow and met Lavrov in 2015
- Refused to call Putin a war criminal
- Linked to Russian state media outlet RT
- Investigations revealed Russian-linked entities supported her candidacy

Max Blumenthal (Left-Wing Journalist & Founder of The Grayzone)

- Cooperated with Russian state media (RT & Sputnik)
- Invited to the UN on behalf of Russia
- Promotes pro-Russian narratives via The Grayzone
- Claimed Azov was responsible for the Mariupol theater airstrike

Correction: They are critical of military aid to Ukraine and have voted against it in the past, though not consistently

Internet Research Agency (Fake Grassroots Movements)

- Based in Russia
- Used fake accounts on social media to artificially create political groups and movements
- Examples: Blacktivist (Black Nationalism) & Heart of Texas (Secessionist) both organized physical protests

WikiLeaks

- Has been used by Russia’s GRU to distribute stolen and fabricated documents of Western countries
- Never leaked incriminating Russian government documents but focused on the US and NATO countries
- Defended the poisoning of the ex-GRU agent by Russia

Sandworm (GRU) & Energetic Bear (FSB)

- Targeted US government agencies as well as energy, water, and critical infrastructure through cyberattacks in 2017 and 2018
- Gained access to control systems of several US nuclear plants and were theoretically able to shut them down

Texas Nationalist Movement (Secessionist)

- Attended the Kremlin-sponsored Moscow Secessionist Conference
- Links to the Russian group AGMR whose leader is indicted by the US for influencing US politics on behalf of the FSB
- Influences the Texas GOP with secessionist rhetoric

Yes California (Secessionist)

- Founder resided in Russia for multiple years
- Established an “embassy” in Moscow with the help of the FSB-led AGMR
- Harbored a Russian who is accused by the US of financing the movement and providing strategic assistance on behalf of the FSB

Haz Al-Din (Duginist and Executive Chairman of the American Communist Party)

- Associate of Jackson Hinkle
- Supports a multipolar world order
- Attended the “International Russophile Movement” Congress in Moscow in 2024
- Interviewed Dugin
- Worked with Russian state media (RT)

George Papadopoulos (Former Foreign Policy Advisor for Trump)

- Made false statements to FBI agents regarding contacts with individuals tied to the Russian government in 2016
- Launched the pro-Russian website “Intelligencer” with other former Trump advisors in late 2024

Candace Owens (Political Commentator & BLEXIT co-founder)

- Supported Putin’s claim in March 2022 that Russia created Ukraine
- Said that nothing could make her support Ukraine over an “orthodox Russia”
- Opposes military aid
- Received funds from billionaire Peter Thiel in 2022

Roger Stone (Former Strategist for Trump)

- Had direct links to WikiLeaks and Assange
- Hindered investigations into WikiLeaks and Russian interference in the 2016 election
- Found guilty of obstruction, false statements, and witness tampering in 2019 (later pardoned)

Marco Rubio (Secretary of State)

- Called for a partnership between the US and Russia on issues of common interest and economic cooperation (yesterday)
- Called the unipolar world order an anomaly, stating that the global system is shifting back towards a multipolar structure

Quick reminder: The posts are very short, meaning that group-related ones can be perceived as generalized.

I also made a mistake regarding “The Squad,” which I have since corrected. However, many people haven’t seen my comment, so I’m adding it here as well to avoid confusion.

Donald Trump Jr.

- Met Russian lobbyists promising dirt on Clinton. One of them was a former counterintelligence officer
- Met foreign agent Maria Butina at the NRA*
- Had private talks with WikiLeaks*
- Promoted registered foreign agent Ben Swann*

* see the posts above

Another quick note: Not everyone mentioned in the thread is a foreign agent for Russia. I‘ll mention it explicitly if it is the case.

I included some examples to show how subverted some of these social circles are:

Black Hammer Party (Black Nationalist)

- Funded by Russian national Aleksandr Viktorovich
- Staged a protest against the “censorship” of pro-Russian content in front of Meta HQ
- The group‘s leader was later found guilty of conspiring to act as an agent of the Russian government

PeaceData (Independent Left-Wing News Outlet)

- Hired freelancers to write about domestic issues in the US & UK
- Prioritized articles about corruption, human rights violations, and with anti-war rhetoric
- Exposed by the FBI as being run by the Russian Internet Research Agency

Center for Political Innovation (“MAGA Communism”)

- Founded by Caleb Maupin who worked for Russian state media outlet RT and Iran’s Press TV
- Led a US delegation to the World Youth Festival in Sochi, Russia
- Openly supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine

American Communist Party (ACP)

- Split from the CPUSA
- Co-founded by Haz Al-Din, Jackson Hinkle & others
- Ties with the Russian Communist Party (CPRF), Russian state media & Aleksandr Dugin
- Sent “humanitarian aid” to Donbas together with the CPRF

Cornel West (DSA/Justice for all Party)

- Repeatedly blamed the US & NATO for provoking Russia into a proxy war
- Called for an end of NATO
- Favored territorial concessions by Ukraine to end the war
- Appeared on Russian state media RT multiple times

Which country should I cover in the next thread?

Germany’s federal election will take place in two days and could lead to a significant foreign policy shift regarding Ukraine.

I’ll try to start the thread about Russian subversion there tomorrow. It will be finished by Sunday afternoon.

I made two threads about the AfD already which you can read in the meantime (1/2):

(2/2):

Germany thread (will be updated throughout the day):