Secret documents of the Kremlin – ​​”Kremlin Leaks” – disclosed to the Estonian website Delfi, reveal the allocation by the administration of Vladimir Putin of a budget worth one billion euros for the ideological control of the population of Russia and the annexed Ukrainian territories in order to re-elect him on March 17 through unprecedented propaganda, reports Le Pont, ciat de News.ro.

“Kremlin Leaks,” published Monday by the Delfi website and an international press consortium, present a detailed picture of the propaganda and censorship network created by the Kremlin to influence every citizen of Russia and residents of the annexed territories of Ukraine. .

These secret documents – the latest from December 2023 – show investments aimed at expanding the Kremlin’s grip on the population.

In total, more than 1.1 billion euros were allocated for presidential elections, information warfare, and surveillance and integration of the “new Russian regions” — territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine.

“These documents are important for two reasons. First of all, because they confirm exactly how (the Kremlin is trying to) reshape the entire ideology of the Russian state. Second, they show how it is implemented on a microeconomic level,” says Vsquare analyst Mark Galeotti, who participated in the disclosure of these documents.

631 MILLION EUROS ALLOCATED FOR “INFORMATION WARFARE”

In the Russian budget, a part of 631 million euros has been allocated for what the Putin administration itself calls “information war”.

Thus, the documents show that the propagandist TV and radio presenter Volodymyr Solovyov, known for his brutal insults against the West, received approximately 15 million euros in 2023. In 2024, the Russian authorities promise him a double amount.

“Kremlin Origins” also details the important place in this “information war” before the presidential election of movies, series and TV shows.

Some 15 organizations received nearly 600 million euros to create content suitable for “state propaganda and ensuring good public sentiment.”

Among them is the Internet Development Institute (IDI), which has received almost 400 million euros since the beginning of 2023 to translate this propaganda into images.

PATRIOTIC AND PROPAGANDA FILMS

With the presidential election in mind, IDI has prepared a “creative campaign content” document that features films and plays that “will create an emotional context conducive to the presidential election.”

It is about the broadcast during the elections of the movie “Callsign: Passenger”, which tells the story of a young artist who leaves a quiet life and joins the army.

The Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014, features in “The Garde-Marines,” which, according to the synopsis, recalls the 18th-century alliance between Crimea and Russia, “a sacred union that Europe” is trying to break.

Also advertised is a 12-episode series about the Cold War-era German Democratic Republic, centered on a Soviet spy who creates a “positive image of a national security agent.” This story is reminiscent of Putin, a former Soviet spy in Germany.

Some projects are directly related to the invasion of Ukraine two years ago, for example, the series “Fathers of Donbas”. It is presented as a “multi-part documentary film about people and events taking place on the southern borders of Russia, in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Rostov regions,” reports the Latvian publication Meduza.

CONTROL OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

In addition to this propaganda in the world of entertainment, the Putin administration is trying to influence employees of organizations under the Ministry of Education and Science.

According to “Kremlin Leaks”, the ministry has drawn up lists that distinguish employees and opinion leaders – trained and trained by the Russian authorities – in order to “increase their level of socio-political literacy.”

Other documents provide for the organization of contests “to stimulate student and faculty participation in elections” or an “open dialogue” club where opinion leaders and other invited “experts” can meet with students and faculty.

“Kremlin leaks” reveal Russia’s goals in the occupied Ukrainian territories to ensure the loyalty of the local population and thus support for Putin on March 17.

For example, under the cover of the legislative framework, the United Russia party received 2.4 million euros from the government in December 2023 to finance “new regions”. The largest amount of this money, 730,000 euros, is intended for Donetsk.

“They need a structure to integrate the occupied territories, and the most available structure is United Russia,” notes Vsquare’s Martin Krag.

CENSORSHIP IN THE UNITED UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES

The information war waged by the Russian authorities is not limited to the dissemination of its own messages. This includes internet censorship.

According to “Kremlin Leaks”, the system of blocking the Internet is financed by the government both in connection with the presidential elections and for the purpose of controlling information in the occupied territories.

This system, whose Russian abbreviation is ASB, received ten million euros in 2023 to finance numerous equipment designed to “stop the spread of prohibited information, block prohibited content in new territories, ensure the functioning of the Russian segment of the Internet, stop threats.” and attacks from the outside.”

Other alleged NGOs received funds for monitoring Ukrainian youth.

In this way, the body will monitor more than 52 million profiles in social networks of residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine, and 1.6 million of them, which the Russian authorities consider dangerous, are constantly monitored.

“Kremlin Leaks” also refers to projects that the Putin administration plans to create to identify so-called “forbidden” content on social media, as well as to support some pro-Russian comments on the Donetsk Telegram channel.

Some documents detail a project to allocate 13 million euros over the next three years to the Russian secret service Readovka. Half of this money will enable the launch of a new press network in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

This publication of documents appeared shortly after the exposure of the Russian tool for manipulating public opinion in Europe – the Kombat portal.

According to the French authorities, in 2022, almost 200 Russian sites on the Internet were used to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine. No specific limited partner has yet been appointed to be responsible for this intervention operation. (News.ro)