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.
1/14
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.
2/14
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.
3/14
When the sanctions hit in 2022, Oleg “left” the Russian market — on paper. In reality, he transferred his Russian rail businesses to his sister Veronika Osinovskaya. Her company SIA Vero Trade kept importing train parts from Russia with at least 31 shipments in 2023.
4/14
Russian customs data shows Ossinovski-linked firms carried out 151 shipments from Russia in 2023, moving bearings, brake systems, seals and electrical components. These flows were routed through company entities registered in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Georgia.
5/14
His former company, now Vero Logistics (run by a close relative), hauled €777M worth of iron and iron ore from Russia into the EU in 2022–23 — much of it from Russian oligarch Usmanov’s Metalloinvest. This proves that his Russia trade stayed massive even after sanctions.
6/14
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Latvia are demanding a 4-year prison sentence and a 3-year ban on public tenders for Oleg Ossinovski over alleged bribery linked to locomotive sales. They’ve also called to confiscate half a million euros seized during his & his associate’s arrest.
7/14
Oleg has since passed the torch to his son, Jevgeni. In 2011, he donated €30k to the Social Democratic Party for his son’s first Parliament run. After local elections, another €50k followed, helping launch a career that led to ministerial posts and Tallinn’s mayoralty.
8/14
Jevgeni presents himself as a “bridge” between Estonia’s Russian speakers and the mainstream. His policies on integration and voting rights sound inclusive — but his campaign seed money came from Russian-linked business wealth.
9/14
Jevgeni has strongly argued against stripping local election rights from Russian citizens and “gray passport” holders in Estonia. According to him, most are loyal residents, and punishing them collectively would weaken security and undermine democratic principles.
10/14
“Gray passports” are aliens passports issued in Estonia to stateless residents, mostly Soviet-era settlers and their descendants. Given Estonia’s history of occupation under the USSR, suspicion toward gray passport holders and Russia apologists is hardly surprising.
11/14
I fail to see the logic in his statement, but Russian state media love people like him: they frame such figures as proof that Russian-linked elites can thrive in NATO states. They’re props for so-called ‘positive’ propaganda: ‘Russian heritage is no barrier in the Baltics.’
12/14
Ossinovski’s strategy has been seen across the Baltics since the 2000s:
– Build wealth via Russian state-linked industry;
– Channel it into politics through family ties;
– Rebrand as a “bridge-builder”;
– Let Kremlin media claim it proves the West’s fears are unfounded.
13/14
In Oleg’s case, we see the full package of Russian influence: shady deals, corruption, dirty Kremlin money, sanctions evasion by handing assets to relatives, and using funds to influence local politics.
A textbook case of oligarchy at work in Europe.
14/14
The 2nd edition of “Vatnik Soup — The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” is officially out!
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.
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.
1/22
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,…
2/22
… 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”.
3/22
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.
1/24
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.
2/24
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.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about engagement farming: a cynical social media tactic to rack up likes, shares, and comments. From rage farming to AI-powered outrage factories, engagement farming is reshaping online discourse and turning division into profit.
1/23
Engagement farming is a social media tactic aimed at getting maximum likes, shares, and comments, with truth being optional. It thrives on provocative texts, images, or videos designed to spark strong reactions, boost reach, and turn online outrage into clicks and cash.
2/23
One subset of engagement farming is rage farming: a tactic built to provoke strong negative emotions through outrageous or inflammatory claims. By triggering anger or moral outrage, these posts often generate 100s or even 1,000s of heated comments, amplifying their reach.