In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about Finland and how pro-Kremlin propagandists have become more active in the Finnish political space since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the first time since 2022, they’ve gained some political power in Finland.
1/16
Russia’s political strategy in countries with Russian-speaking minorities (such as Finland and the Baltics) is typically quite similar: it seeks to rally these minorities around issues like language and minority rights, and then frames the situation as oppression.
2/16
At the same time, Russian speakers are extremely wary and skeptical of local media, and instead tend to follow Russian domestic outlets like Russia-1 and NTV, thereby reinforcing an almost impenetrable information bubble.
3/16
Since Russian spin doctors and propagandists are aware that, due to historical factors, it is difficult for new parties promoting these issues to gain popularity, they often infiltrate existing parties with an established voter base.
4/16
In Finland, there are around 100,000 Russian speakers, the majority of whom are ethnic Russians. Before February 2022, they were relatively apolitical, but since then, some have begun actively campaigning and attempting to portray Russia in a more positive light.
5/16
Their most common strategy is what I call the “political Trojan horse”: during their campaigns, they support broadly appealing issues like universal healthcare and social welfare, but once elected, they begin promoting topics such as reopening the Finnish-Russian border.
6/16
In Finland, their campaign centered around two candidates: Katja Marova and Ivan Deviatkin. Both ran as Left Alliance candidates and won council seats in South Karelia, ultimately receiving a relatively high number of votes.
Here’s how they did it:
7/16
The two live near the Russian border in southeastern Finland. In March 2025, they held a closed, Russian language-only event requiring prior registration. Organized by Deviatkin and Marova, the event focused mainly on the concept of “tactical voting.”
8/16
The strategy was a great success: Marova & Deviatkin were elected to the regional and city councils with 653 541 votes. Their pro-Russia messaging helped boost the Left Alliance’s seats in Lappeenranta from 1 to 3.
They ignored all interview requests from Finnish media.
9/16
Marova and Deviatkin spread typical Kremlin narratives and both claim widespread “Russophobia” in Finland. Marova even considers “Slava Ukraini” hate speech. Deviatkin handed out Russian embassy WWII medals and liked online comments defending Stalinist-era policies.
10/16
Both are dual citizens. Deviatkin refused to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, claiming it would endanger him and his son. But he went much further by spreading blatant Russian propaganda to Russian-speakers in Finland.
11/16
Marova has echoed Kremlin talking points online. She shared a post questioning the Bucha massacre, claiming the victims were Russians or that it was staged by Ukrainians. Since then, she has toned down her online rhetoric.
12/16
The two had previously co-founded Aleksanterinliitto, a group that advocates for reopening Finland’s eastern border. The group files complaints about alleged discrimination against Russians to Finnish courts, the EU, and the UN. Interestingly, Marova was later expelled…
13/16
…from the group after she spoke out against homophobic slurs made by one of its members. After this, Deviatkin also left the organization. After the elections, other parties froze out the Left Alliance. Eventually, Deviatkin was expelled from the party’s council group…
14/16
…for behavior “contrary to party values.” Naturally, he played the martyr card after. Left Alliance’s national leadership admitted letting them run was a mistake. Still, Marova and Deviatkin built a base by blending identity politics, conspiracy, and Kremlin bullshit.
15/16
This investigation was done by a fantastic Finnish journalist, @OutiSalovaara. Check out her new book (unfortunately only in Finnish):
In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll explain the context of the upcoming Budapest Blunder, and how it follows the infamous Alaska Fiasco from two months ago and Trump’s absurd delaying of serious aid to Ukraine and effective sanctions on Russia for the past nine months.
1/20
Two months ago, Trump embarrassed the United States by rolling out the red carpet for war criminal dictator Putin and overall acting like a pathetic servant eager to meet his master. Of course, the Alaska Fiasco didn’t bring peace any closer.
Worse, the main outcome of the humiliation was to delay serious sanctions, which the US Congress, in rare bipartisan unity against Russia, was on the verge of passing. Two weeks by two weeks, Trump Always Chickens Out, postponing any real pressure on Putin for 9 months now.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American propagandist Alexandra Jost, aka “Sasha” (@sashameetsrus). She’s best known for being paid by the Russian state to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda — and for doing it with a big smile.
1/23
Alexandra, now 26, was born in Hong Kong. Her father is from Texas, and her mother is from Siberia. According to her, she has “dreamed of living in Russia since childhood.” Sasha's mother runs a dance studio in Moscow and her younger brother is avoiding mobilization.
2/23
Since the beginning of her creator career, Sasha has been adamant about one thing: that she’s “never had to be paid” to speak of her “love” for Russia. But, as always with Russia, this turned out to be nothing but vranyo — a Russian “tactical lie.”
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll reintroduce an American political commentator and pro-Kremlin propagandist, Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson). He’s best known for his promotion of crazy conspiracy theories and for his support of authoritarian regimes around the world.
1/24
Tucker’s career spans decades, but he’s also been very active in recent years, so a lot has happened since our previous soup on him, which can be found here:
Once described as “the most powerful conservative in America”, Tucker has now fully transformed into a grifting conspiracy theorist and propagandist willing to work for whoever pays him the most. It’s unclear whether Tucker truly believes his endless conspiracy theories or…
3/24
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the agenda-setting and flood of disinformation that spread on X and other platforms right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It’s far from the first or last time a tragedy has been weaponized for political purposes.
1/18
Every major political event, especially those involving violence, attracts massive attention. In the immediate aftermath, reliable information is scarce, making it highly vulnerable to both coordinated and improvised disinformation campaigns.
2/18
As I’ve mentioned in my previous soups and lectures, in disinformation campaigns, being first with a narrative is crucial, as people often remember the first version best — psychology studies show it sets the mental schema, and later updates rarely overwrite it.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American social media personality David Freeman, AKA Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman). He’s best known for spreading political disinformation on X and shamelessly sucking up to Trump, Putin, and other authoritarian leaders.
1/22
David is a textbook example of someone profiting from MAGA grievance politics. He uses extreme, provocative language to farm engagement on X and never hesitates to flatter anyone who might give him more exposure — or money.
2/22
But David wasn’t always like this. At some point, in his mid-40s, he even tried a real job: he trained to become a cop. He spent three years with the Metro Transit PD, but after that he either got fired or quit, and never looked back.