Russia has fomented the rise of the far right across central and eastern Europe. Like a virus attacking its host, malign Russian influence seeks out and attacks democracies.
Eroding the foundations of democracies takes years to fully achieve the desired destabilizing and disabling effects, as the western model of democracy becomes more discredited and undermined so the Kremlin’s model rises up.
Russia’s networks of influence are complex, rendering a countries ability to conduct oversight through transparency, accountability and the rule of law extremely vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation.
They deploy tactics of insidious nuturing such as pouring money into the pockets of rising politicians, sucking up to prominent businessmen, ensuring corporations become well positioned in Govt.
These patterns of exchanges are then integrated into the host countries Establishment at the highest levels. They are basically building blocks for a monetised coup.
It is a straight forward and simple plan, the disaster capitalist trope of simultaneous attacks on the stable economy of a country leaves the population divided, disorientated and fatigued.
Russia knows that democracies are by their very nature relying on weak systems of transparancy and accountability across their entire infrastructure so for them it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.
Russia prides itself on traditional, conservative, and nationalist values (rooted in Eastern Orthodox Christianity), the Kremlin supports a core group of European political parties and individuals ostensibly from the far-right of the political spectrum.
The Kremlin’s authoritarianism, its model of illiberal “sovereign democracy” reinforces & serves as a source of inspiration for right wing European leaders who seek to maintain & extend their hold on power by stoking blame and division in order to increase their personal wealth,
by extension their Russian friends investments in influencing & shaping populist policies. All along while secretly swearing fealty to Russian values. The mainstay of this is endemic corruption that can be seen in Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Serbia & UK.
Once business deals are signed, they are impossible to undo, this has the effect of the host country being held hostage by Russia. Energy dependence cements a host countries inability to extricate itself as domestic & Russian companies take the lions share of contracts
& sub contracts, the ‘unvirtuous circle’ is completed. MP’s from pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party legislated to tailor energy laws to circumvent EU law in favour of the South Stream pipeline project while in Hungary a similar push was enacted to open the door for Gazprom,
Hungarian politicians and Prime Minister Orban himself was well placed to avoid cutting ties with Russia for fear of losing the economic (and political) benefit of these lucrative deals and contracts.
I dread to think what lies in store for the UK considering that London is the money laundering capital of the world and that Russia’s meddling and financing of Brexit was aided and abetted by British far right politicians as well as hostile actors from Austria, the US
and Australia, a pincer movement was executed and post Brexit Britain will have a lot to answer for as the Russian scenario plays out in front of the entire world.

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More from @EuropeanPowell

Feb 26
Russian cyber threats grave and present danger to National security
An attempt to hack Org for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, The Hague
Disinformation, Influence - the it 'couldn't happen here crowd' enable Russian fomenting of the far right
EU Ref - HMG did not seek or see
evidence of tampering in results. No provision of post ref Russian interference in EU ref in stark contrast to US 2016 election where within 2 months a report was made. UK Intelligence Community should produce an assessment.
Welcoming Russian oligarchs - 1994 the UK Govt introduced the light and limited touch to regulation on the immense wealth that poured into the UK. Few questions asked about its provenance. The UK's judicial and rule of law was seen as a magnet to the Russians.
Read 7 tweets
Feb 26
UK is run by the Vote Leave regime wallowing in an oligarchs paradise, Patel stopping the Russian Golden visa scheme is too little too late. This is a Govt of the super rich, obscene wealth riddled with abuses of power and innate corruption. UK trust on the world stage
drastically diminished, a monetised coup in place, political influence openly commodified by corporations replete with privately sub contracted donations to ensure that disaster capitalists dictate policy.
The 2000's clearly show the massive influx of Russian money into British politics came with Russian values, a Faustian deal whereby the cultural colonization by oligarchy has totally compromised and handcuffed the UK to Putin.
Read 6 tweets
Feb 24
PM accused his opponents of ‘Russophobia’ for asking about donations to the Conservative Party from individuals linked to Russia, he might as well caress Putin with a natural yoghourt.
bylinetimes.com/2022/02/22/bor…
Johnson was repeatedly hosted by E.Lebedev at his Italian villa. As Byline Times has previously exposed, Italian newspaper reports suggested that Johnson shook off his accompanying police protection officers in order to attend what were described as “X-rated” parties at the villa
Johnson’s new-found commitment to revealing the influence of Russian money in the UK was also missing when he decided to block the publication of a report on Russian interference in the UK.
Read 6 tweets
Feb 23
Economic violence inflicted on the UK during times of crisis is a right wing libertarian tactic as old as the hills. In the 80's Charles Koch used his wealth to foment 'division, argue for limited Govt, lower corporate taxes, cripple public spending and
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
deregulate environmental protections and workers rights. You see the pattern here? The Tories goal post Brexit is for total reform and 'anarcho-totalitarianism', the reshaping of the entire countries economy and culture. Lawbreaking, relentless corruption and endless lies,
a Govt in permanent campaign mode, forever dangling the 'Global Britain carrot' the 'Brexit Opportunities' the 'We're the best at everything in the world' fueled by the demonising of the other that goes hand in hand with Libertarian zealotry; the evil EU, 'the enemy within'
Read 10 tweets
Feb 20
What do people think will happen when disaster capitalist multinationals set up shop in the UK? They will not employ locally, they'll bring their own people in. UK trade will further collapse. This is known as foreign interference, the exact opposite of 'taking back control.'
Rees-Mogg will ensure that deregulation is set in UK law allowing corporations to avoid having to deal with workers rights, bypassing EU safety standards and protectionism. Think about the effects this will have on surrounding communities and towns, they will rot from the
inside out. Already Tory constituencies have 10 times higher the amount of Govt spending than Labour or Lib Dem ones. This is by design, it is paving the way for Charter cities, freeports, deregulated zones, leading to gated communities formed by a desire for economic apartheid.
Read 9 tweets
Feb 18
The right have always conflated Democratic Socialism with totalitarian Communism, history shows how western countries sought to force disaster capitalism on stable economies going so far as to replace an entire culture with off domiciled corporations. Something parallel to this
has been ushered in with populism and Brexit in the UK. The tactics deployed were well learned tropes of right wing propaganda; division, identifying a common enemy and an overwhelming sense of betrayal and victimhood. The 'promises' emblazoned on the Leave bus, billboard posters
and social media platforms all turned out to be empty mirages and dangled carrots that Leavers and Sun readers are now being asked by Jacob Rees-Mogg to email him about as he's struggling to come up with any tangible benefits himself.
Read 11 tweets

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