Leaked Documents Expose Kremlin's Propaganda Operations Targeting Baltic States, Belarus, and Moldova

Leaked internal Kremlin documents reveal how the Cross-border Cooperation directorate (CBC), part of Russia’s presidential administration with intelligence service backgrounds, orchestrates propaganda and information operations against the Baltic countries, Belarus, and Moldova. The CBC uses proxy organizations including the Russian Association for Baltic Studies (RAPI), the Historical Memory Foundation (FIP), and the RuBaltic propaganda site to spread disinformation narratives. In June 2023, CBC produced 98 publications targeting the Baltic region and distributed 'key talking points' to proxy groups to influence narratives around NATO expansion, characterize Baltic states as Nazi, and push Russian historical unity narratives especially in Belarus. Despite efforts, impact in Baltic states is limited, with less than 10% of their total audience being local people, while Belarus receives the most focused attention. The Kremlin’s narratives portray NATO as aggressive and Zelensky’s regime as Nazi, attempting to erode trust in these governments. Alexey Zhuravlyev, a seasoned Kremlin bureaucrat, is noted as the official enforcing these narratives but with limited success. The operations also extend to Moldova, aiming to dissuade NATO alignment during key events such as the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius. Independent Belarusian media and Lithuanian public broadcasters corroborate instances of Kremlin talking points mirrored word-for-word in their media space.