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Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
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26 Jan, 4 tweets, 2 min read
Don't let the hoopla over first Biden-Putin phone call overshadow the fact that White House is underlining the fact of Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election (not/not 2016) 1/ whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
The Kremlin, relying on a network led by a known Russian intelligence agent named Andrii Derkach, successfully mounted an influence operation to tilt the outcome of the election by spreading false information about @JoeBiden and his family. 2/
That operation (outlined here: home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…) didn't rely on the sexy online and social media tools seen in 2016 but it successfully ensnared Donald Trump, @RudyGiuliani, @DonaldJTrumpJr, and many parts of the pro-GOP media apparatus. 3/
The fact that the Kremlin's efforts in 2020 were notably less successful than 4 years ago in no way diminishes their long-term impact on US-Russian relations. Just because the bank vault was empty when the robber entered the building doesn't lead to a lighter punishment END

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More from @andrewsweiss

Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
25 Jan
How were the #Navalny demonstrations across Russia on Saturday different from past waves of mass protest? @Baunov breaks it down and challenges some of the wishful thinking that is now in circulation.
For example: @Baunov says the protest was less about supporting Navalny personally and more about public anger "about the Kremlin's lawlessness and the usurpation of power of allowing President Vladimir Putin to effectively remain in the job for life"
The make-up of the demonstrations is also important: "the most militant protesters didn’t look like the typical supporters of pro-democracy protests...[they mostly] work in the service sector or office jobs and are [people] dissatisfied with their jobs, salaries, and prospects"
Read 5 tweets
Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
14 Jan
Are we listening enough to average Russians? Nope! Thread on @CarnegieRussia-@levada_ru focus groups on political change, enduring appeal of paternalism, "strong hand," govt control over economy, wealth redistribution 1/ carnegie.ru/2021/01/14/how… @AndrKolesnikov/D.Volkov/A.Levinson
Anger over official corruption was a constant theme. But not necessarily in the way you'd expect -- eg the desire for Chinese-style solutions and "Stalinist methods" among tradition-minded participants. 2/
These folks support Putin's foreign policy, no questions asked. But they want the government to pivot to addressing domestic ills laid bare by the pandemic. 3/
Read 5 tweets
Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
22 Nov 20
1/ Surely a coincidence that Putin is asked at the 22:30 mark of today’s interview whether the US election result is actually legitimate.
2/ “The legitimacy or illegitimacy of the authorities is first of all up to the Americans themselves”
3/ “[The legitimacy] of the election is an extremely important thing because upon that depends the trust of the people on both sides [of political system] toward their leadership.”
Read 6 tweets
Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
9 Nov 20
1/ The Kremlin’s anti-Biden subtweeting continues apace: Russian electoral commission head Pamfilova explains (once again) why US vote-by-mail system is irreparably flawed and rife with fraud...
2/ ... to prove her assertions are grounded in, uh, truthfulness she cites US election expert Greg Butterfield.
3/...it took me a few minutes to figure out she was taking about this fellow: he’s an NY-based far left/sextant activist who contributes to something called Struggle-La Lucha and whose Twitter handle is “[at]redguard1971” google.com/amp/s/www.stru…
Read 5 tweets
Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
26 Oct 20
1/ Well worth watching Putin's comments about Hunter Biden on Russian TV last night. They're very troubling. Contrary to what's been reported, Putin is very much trying to keep the story alive. russian.rt.com/russia/article…
2/ First question: what do you know about Trump's claim at the most recent debate that Hunter Biden had a business relationship with the widow of former Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov? (Baturina is not a nobody: she was long Russia's richest woman.)
3/ Putin theatrically claims he knows nothing (so uninformed, really?). He goes on to imply a relationship is plausible b/c Baturina had all sorts of foreign business partners. Putin could have simply said this story has zero basis (eg buzzfeednews.com/article/christ… @ChristopherJM)
Read 7 tweets
Andrew S. Weiss Profile picture
25 Sep 20
THREAD: The Kremlin’s outlandish handling of Europe’s concerns about the #Navalny assasination attempt and the crisis in Belarus is setting up a rupture similar to what occurred after the Ukraine crisis in 2014. 1/x
During the initial phase of the #coronavirus pandemic, there were hopes in German, French, and UK govt circles that it might be possible to lower the temperature and get Putin to focus on challenges closer to home. That turned out to be wishful thinking. 2/x
In reality, the Kremlin hasn’t budged an inch on its core agenda. In a new paper for Carnegie’s #GlobalRussia project, I explain why the Kremlin’s relations with Europe’s leading powers are essentially stuck on auto-pilot and why that’s increasingly risky for Moscow. 3/x
Read 12 tweets

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