Project "PZ". America has decided to put an end to Putin's "confusion", putting a reliable barrier to the "pernicious influence of the Kremlin". USAID's stand in the way of the Kremlin propaganda, sowing distrust of Western institutions. In its turn, The EU creates its own tools to deal with the "Russian threat". Write about it in the media overseas.
Reagan It is not going to die
USAID Director Mark Greene spoke about counteracting "malign influence of the Kremlin". His speech is reproduced in full on the website of the US Agency for International Development.
More President Reagan prophetically warned, He recalled Mark Green, that freedom and democracy can not be guaranteed. According to Reagan, "Democracy - it is not a fragile flower", but "it is necessary to develop". therefore, opinion on the Green, relax once.
days, which foresaw, Reagan, has come, We further note speaker. And "the regime in Moscow" - not the only authoritarian regime, who "aggressively seeking new ideological sphere of influence beyond its borders". At the same time the Kremlin's efforts in Europe and Eurasia "relentless": Moscow working as a bee, "Undermining the economic liberalization, reversing the democratic development and weakening the sovereignty of individual states ". Like the "cunning predator", it "uses a variety of tactics and tools".
Mr. Green points, Kremlin annually allocates almost 300 million to fund «Russia Today» and «Sputnik International». On these platforms the Kremlin "propaganda leads, giving neighbors unflattering characteristics "and even pointing to them as" instigators ".
There are more social networks. And there are "thousands Kremlin paid teams" pushing "content, designed to sow confusion, distrust and cynicism towards democratic Western institutions ".
"Authoritarian disinformation" - only part of the approach of Moscow, says Green. Moscow uses and "economic manipulation levers, especially in the energy sector ". The Kremlin uses the "historical relationship of their neighbors on Russian oil and gas", indicates agency director. When "accumulate debts for energy resources", Kremlin "uses imbalance".
According to USAID Director, Kremlin policy "aimed at the democratic system and political sovereignty of the states". Moscow "cultivated pro-Kremlin political party, and provides financial support either to the antidemocratic election candidates, or (it happens more often) simply, to add uncertainty and confusion in the public arena ".
According to further Mr. Green, USAID just committed to helping democracy and institutions, which "may be victims of the Kremlin's aggression". And now established the basis for this assistance, entitled "Countering malign influence of the Kremlin" (Countering Malign Kremlin Influence, CMKI).
Program CMKI «respond to the challenges of authoritarian, increasing economic and democratic stability of the target countries and working to mitigate the effects of the aggression of the Kremlin's soft power to a number of institutions ".
Here are the three pillars concept.
First: economy. USAID is ready to help the partners to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources. The agency also offers to "solve the problem of corruption" and help some states to create "an effective legislative and regulatory framework, conducive to growth ".
second kit. USAID is ready "to support the independence of regulatory bodies and to strengthen the cybersecurity of regional energy companies", as well as help "partners in their efforts to diversify exports, compete more effectively in foreign markets and to meet the requirements of international markets and standards ". An example of such work has already.
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"This job, - I explained Greene, - is in full swing in such places, as Ukraine ... "
USAID something to do in Moldova: there "increases the transparency and stability of the economy, strengthening the country's governing bodies, there is a struggle against financial crimes and money laundering system ". Trade flows are reoriented Moldova to the West. For more than 70 percent of Moldova's exports goes to the EU, but only 16 percent - in Russian.
in short, there is a "clear signs, that this approach can work ".
The third kit. In CMKI based on agency support for capacity-building of local media "to provide reliable and independent news and information services". While authoritarianism uses its disinformation as a weapon, USAID «supports an extensive program of media literacy in target countries".
What does it mean? "We aim to help citizens to recognize misinformation and to see her like this, for what it is ", - I explained Mark Green. For example, the agency is now working "with hundreds of Georgian volunteers on the Internet". Besides, with the support of the agency "eleven independent and credible media partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia "broaden its audience, eliminating the "misinformation".
Green quoted, said to him, 2015 year, "Russian writer democrat and activist" Vladimir Kara-Murza. The eyes of the "burning brightly": he talked about democracy and freedom in their homeland.
"Never disappoints in the Russian people. Never disappoints in the Russian people ".
Mark Greene promises to not give up on Russian. "We are on their side, as always, - he said, - and we will be with the people of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, the Baltic States and other countries ". "We join our friends in the struggle against authoritarian aggression ..." - he added. That's what "Confronting the pernicious influence of the Kremlin", he concluded.
Russian Foreign Ministry has commented on the new USAID initiative. According to Russian diplomats, Green performance is "a voice from the past". The very name of the program suggests, that USAID activities are not aimed at creating a cooperative atmosphere, as an instrument of ideological struggle. "The content of the document, pert in the form of a frightening, that Russia allegedly trying to undermine democracy everywhere, suggestive as to the adequacy of its authors ", - said in comments the Department of Information and Press the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The term "opposition" clumsily disguised aggressive offensive approach. Concept frankly aims at the imposition of Russophobia in the world, especially in our neighboring states. For the desire to sow fear of our country, intimidation imaginary "Russian intervention" is clearly apparent desire to subject them to the influence of the United States, set up against Russia, including for, to force Europe to buy an expensive American liquefied natural gas.
but, note, it is not the whole story. This is what is particularly interesting: the American democratic press somehow hurry to announce, that the European Union creates its own tools to deal with the Kremlin, but they are not completely efficacious. more precisely, It is not efficacious.
In Europe, we learned to build Potemkin village
In a long article by Matt Aputstso in the "New York Times" describes the "Potemkin village". Not only Russian, and European. Brussels.
European Union, if it is compared with the US, turned out to be tougher to counter - witness addressed to the social networks demands to find new ways to deal with misinformation, the author of the material. true, demanding to change the settings, EU bureaucracy went on a dangerous road and was at the intersection of freedom of speech, advocacy and national policy.
Nevertheless, The European Union is committed to provide their own attempts to counteract the "Russian disinformation" as successful and even outstanding. According to European officials, they are not just helping "protect the elections" and stop the "Russian propaganda".
Is it really? find experts, that such attempts are not only outstanding, but resemble a "Potemkin village".
"The reality is very different", - notes, for example, I. Kalenski, previously served as EU misinformation leading analyst. According to this expert, Europe's internal politics has turned into something to counter the slow system, that it is unable to respond effectively to the "Russian threat".
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According to another expert, I. Yandı, Executive Director of "European values" (Czech Republic), which also specializes in "Russian disinformation", European initiative to combat misinformation in general are "Potemkin village", and no one takes this initiative seriously.
However, Gentlemen, the main fighter, that is to say European officials, sitting in a high chair and responsible for the system to combat with misinformation, underscore, that the EU successfully develops new territory: new "alert system" is an important source of information for officials across the EU.
What is this "alert system"? A computer network, where countries can add their data. It is a private and established in early 2019 of the year. According to Johannes Barke, Representative of the European Commission, "Such operations are not carried out anywhere else in the world".
Operate such a program may be as follows:. Recently, some officials have removed all references to support, which Moscow has a far-right and ultra-left political groups. Mentions replaced warnings of "malicious sources".
fun, but even among the supporters of Moscow propaganda killing ways are found ... Critics of the program! they find, Brussels' masks the problem ". After Brussels contradicts himself: in the June report 2019 g. states, that the EU managed to keep the Russian propaganda, and suddenly immediately reported, what in 2019 the number of cases doubled the Russian disinformation ...! Such logic is ridiculed.
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Looks like, without American help and American money European "initiative" of the Kremlin jamming will remain at "Potemkin village", construction technology which successfully mastered the bureaucrats of the European Union.
Pity, Mr. Green is not voiced USAID budget for the new concept, and say, how many "greens" Washington is ready to give the opposition of "malign influence of the Kremlin". It would be interesting to know, how much it valued abroad the strength of the Kremlin propaganda.
Oleg Chuvakin
