Investigations Reveal Russian Blogger’s Links to AfD and Catalan Separatists

Spanish authorities have found evidence that Russian influence operations in Europe involve the journalist Edvard Chesnokov, who has ties both to German AfD politicians and Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont’s advisors. Chesnokov appeared in a 2018 photograph with AfD members visiting Russian-occupied Crimea, a trip condemned by German and Ukrainian authorities. Spanish investigators discovered chats showing Puigdemont’s advisors directing him to align closely with the Kremlin's narrative, avoiding sanctions talk and highlighting Chesnokov as a key Moscow-based journalist contact. Further evidence shows Chesnokov interviewed Puigdemont remotely and published extensively on Catalonia’s independence cause, while a Russian businessman with alleged intelligence links supported Puigdemont’s circle financially. The Spanish government’s recent amnesty law for separatists risks halting these investigations, a development criticized by EU officials concerned about Russia’s broad strategy to destabilize the EU through hybrid political subversion.