Strategies, pillars, operations of influence – the specifics of Russian propaganda and disinformation

Abstract

This paper aim to explore that Russian propaganda has a long historical tradition and a rich instrumentarium. The development of the internet and social media has increased the possibilities for distributing propaganda messages. The principal objective of Russian propaganda is to influence the public opinion in cooperation with persons acting as translators, and to distribute contents – in various national languages – in conformity with the Russian policy and ideology. A tangible objective is to change the opinion about the Russian Federation and its policy so that one negative opinion is matched with at least three positive ones.