Thread by @P_Kallioniemi

In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian businessman turned far-right politician and conspiracy theorist, Harry Raudvere. Raudvere is best-known for his neo-Nazi and pro-Kremlin politics, for his lingerie businesses, and for spreading anti-Estonia propaganda.

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Raudvere started building a business empire in the 2000s, and a lot of his wealth comes from wind farms in Ida-Virumaa in Estonia. His family also owns a lingerie business, BonBon Lingerie. As tacky lingerie is popular in Russia, they were very active there before the war.

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Raudvere promotes ideas that strongly resemble Russian propaganda talking points, and has no problem in undermining Estonia’s support for Ukraine. But at the same time, he is strongly aligned with far-right nationalist movements.

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For example, he was one of the guests at a party organized by Finnish neo-Nazi Risto Teinonen to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. As you can see from the photo below, this was definitely a party that a certain South African oligarch would’ve enjoyed.

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At this point, his rhetoric had already shifted from standard conservatism to outright anti-Western narratives. Harry’s main target was Estonia’s foreign policy, particularly its stance toward Russia. One of his main points of criticism were towards…

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…the EU sanctions against Russia, falsely claiming they harm Estonia more than Moscow. These claims mirror Russian state-controlled media narratives, which frame the West as the aggressor while portraying Russia as a misunderstood victim.

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He founded & became a regular guest on Nõmme Raadio, a far-right platform notorious for spreading Kremlin-aligned narratives in Estonia. The station regularly pushes anti-Western conspiracy theories that align with Russian disinformation campaigns.

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Nõmme Raadio’s programs are directed by Margus Lepa, who’s best-known for translating Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf into Estonian. One version of this famous Austrian painter’s biography can also be found on the radio’s web server.

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Even though in the Russian propaganda, the biggest enemy are always the “fascists”, who are compared to Hitler’s Nazis, they don’t seem to have any problem in having actual neo-Nazis in their ranks. It almost seems like the whole system is void of any moral values.

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Aside from his own propaganda megaphone, Raudvere is also a frequent guest on Russian state-owned outlets like Sputnik. He was praised there for comparing the “suffering of Russians” to that of Jews & for warning Estonia against provoking Russia.

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Raudvere has also collaborated with other Estonian vatniks like Aivo Peterson and Oleg Ivanov. Ivanov and Harry even did a podcast with the Finnish master vatnik, Johan Bäckman. Johan recently relocated to Moscow and was given a Russian passport by Putin himself.

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Raudvere has long praised Putin as a hero, and his disinformation about Russia’s wars of conquest dates back years. In 2018, he claimed there was no invasion of Ukraine and called it a “civil war” – a classic Kremlin talking point at that time.

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In March 2022, he was expelled from the Isamaa party for spreading Kremlin propaganda. On Nõmme Raadio, he argued that NATO should not have encircled Russia and claimed that the war in Ukraine demonstrated Putin’s humanity.

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When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine (and after he was sacked from Isamaa), Raudvere founded ERE, a pro-Russian, anti-Western political party. Though still in its formative stage, its ideas – like Estonia leaving the EU – remain wildly unpopular.

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Even though ERE is a relatively small party, Raudvere is a key figure in Russia’s broader strategy to destabilize Estonia. He amplifies Kremlin narratives that undermine Estonia’s security, democracy, and public trust – all under the guise of “nationalism.”

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Back to the lingerie business – FSB collaborator and traitor Viktoria Dressen used to work on the Russian branch of Bonbon. In 2012, Viktoria was found guilty of treason for collecting and passing on information to the FSB with her husband.

Strange coincidence.

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To conclude, BonBon-Harry is a traditional Baltic vatnik – shady businesses, collaborations with alleged FSB collaborators, constant flirtation with political extremists, and active campaigning against his own country.

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Big thanks goes to @Martinlaineolen for helping me brew this soup.

The 2nd edition of “Vatnik Soup — The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” is officially out!

You can order your copy here:

kleart.eu/webshop/p/vatn…