In the U.S., the main narrative surrounding Russia has to do with its steps to spread misinformation during the 2016 presidential election and in the lead-up to the 2020 election. However, there are other operations taken by Russia that go unnoticed by the public. These actions show the lengths that Russia will go to in order to further their goals and protect the government from taking accountability.
The Russian government is involved in an operation with PMC Wagner, which is arguably the least sinister of their exploits. PMC Wagner, or Wagner Group, is a private military corporation founded by Dimitry Utkin and owned by Yevgeny Prigozhen. The Wagner Group is used by the Russian government to fight in conflicts around the world, where the government wants plausible deniability.
The Wagner Group has been seen operating in Syria, Libya, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The purpose of these missions is to aid and protect Russian allies, companies and their property. Yet, Russia cannot be held accountable for the actions of the company. While Wagner Group has links to the Russian government, through Utkin and Prigozhen, legally Russia is not liable for any crimes the group commits.
One of the Russian government’s most well-known tactics is spreading misinformation. While much of their efforts in the United States like election tampering have been covert, an overlooked phenomenon is Russia’s use of state-run media.
Russia Today (RT) is the branch of the government-owned media focused on altering western opinions of Russia. In the United States specifically, they do not attempt to promote favorable views of Russia. Instead, the organization spreads fake or exaggerated stories to destroy the credibility of the U.S. government. Even though they are registered as a foreign agent, they are controlled by the Russian government.
They sell themselves as a top news source in the US and appear on television. Their viewership size is unknown, as they have inflated their numbers in the past. Whatever their number of viewers is, in a time where conspiracy theories are spreading, their influence in the United States may grow.
The Russian government also executes operations that sound as if they were pulled from a spy movie, such as assassinating political opponents and those who speak out. In 2019, three Russian journalists were fatally shot in the Central African Republic (CAR) while investigating the actions of the previously mentioned Wagner Group.
While the Russian government blamed rebels or bandits, the journalists’ driver was not killed or injured and nothing from the vehicle was taken. Evidence has shown that the driver was in contact with a CAR affiliate of the Wagner Group the day the journalists were killed. A possible motive for the killing is that the journalists worked for a news site funded by a critic of the Russian government.
In 2018, a journalist investigating the Wagner Group in Syria fell five stories from his balcony and died at the hospital. Earlier this year, three Russian doctors fell from windows after two of them criticized the government’s actions. All four falls were labeled as suicides or accidents without an investigation.
There is nothing stopping Russia from committing these acts in the U.S. or Europe. In 2018, a former KGB agent who worked for British intelligence and his daughter were found poisoned with a nerve agent commonly used by the Soviet Union. While they survived, there have been numerous suspicious deaths of Russians—some of which occurred in the U.S. and Europe.
Russia’s exploits throughout the world are more grievous than simply spreading misinformation in the United States. From this information, it is logical to believe that Russia is involved in schemes far more sinister and damaging to the country than their past actions in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
There is not much the United States or any other country can do. Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and they use their veto power to halt any bill that attempts to set consequences for their actions. Vladimir Putin and his allies have rigged the Russian political system in a way that keeps them in power and stamps out any opposition. Economic sanctions hurt the citizens of Russia more than anything else.
Election tampering is preventable. Measures can be taken to secure our elections and halt Russia the next time they try to disrupt them. But there is no way to stop the use of the Wagner Group and assassination attempts before they occur, as there is no way of knowing when they will be used. With the presence of RT and the reality of our technological age, there is no way to stop the spread of propaganda coming from Russia. These actions show that for Russia, they will cross any line to propel their own agenda.
