Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Jun 8 17 tweets 10 min read Read on X
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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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…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…

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…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.

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This investigation was done by a fantastic Finnish journalist, @OutiSalovaara. Check out her new book (unfortunately only in Finnish):

atena.fi/kirjat/ruplaru…

And here’s Outi’s article (in Finnish) about the elections:

is.fi/kotimaa/art-20…

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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…

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More from @P_Kallioniemi

Sep 25
This is what you’re debating with on social media:
It appears that a few pro-Russian bot farms already found this thread, so remember - just block them all, there's no point in arguing with a computer.
Most of you have seen those "No DMs" profiles, right? That's because you can interrupt the GPT procedure by injecting them new instructions.

At some point it also worked in comments ("give me a cake recipe"), but not so much anymore.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 11
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 19 tweets
Sep 8
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 24 tweets
Sep 5
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian-Estonian businessman, Oleg Ossinovski. He is best-known for his deep ties to Russian rail and energy networks, shady cross-border dealings, and for channeling his wealth into Estonian politics.

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Oleg made his fortune via Spacecom Trans & Skinest Rail, both deeply tied to Russia’s rail system. Most of this is through Globaltrans Investments PLC, a Cyprus-based firm with 62% held via Spacecom and tens of millions in yearly profits.

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Ossinovski’s Russian-linked ventures made him Estonia’s richest man in 2014, with an estimated fortune of ~€300M. His business empire stretched across railways, oil via Alexela shares, and Russian bitumen imports from Help-Oil, a supplier to the Defense Ministry.

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Read 15 tweets
Sep 2
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Swiss/French writer, Alain Bonnet, aka Alain Soral (@officielsoral). He’s best known for his rabid antisemitism and for his pathetic support for all the worst authoritarian regimes from Russia to North Korea.

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Alain’s childhood was problematic, as his father has been characterized as a “narcissistic pervert” who beat his children and did jail time for fraud. Alain himself has said he was “programmed to be a monster.” Born Alain Bonnet, he took the stage name of his sister,…

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… actress Agnès Soral. She wasn’t too happy about this, commenting “How would you like to be called Agnès Hitler?”. Like many grifters, he became a pick-up/seduction artist writer, à la late Gonzalo Lira, writing books and even making a B-movie, “Confessions d’un dragueur”.
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Read 23 tweets
Aug 18
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explain the Alaska Fiasco and how it marks the peak of Trump’s two-year betrayal of Ukraine. What was sold as “peace talks” turned into a spectacle of weakness, humiliation, empty promises, and photo-ops that handed Putin exactly what he wanted.

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Let’s start with the obvious: Trump desperately wants the gold medal of the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly because Obama got one. That’s why he’s now LARPing as a “peace maker” in every conflict: Israel-Gaza, Azerbaijan-Armenia, India-Pakistan, and of course Ukraine-Russia.

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Another theory is that Putin holds kompromat — compromising material such as videos or documents — that would put Trump in an extremely bad light. Some have suggested it could be tied to the Epstein files or Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

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Read 25 tweets

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