Think tank names Europeans Russia “intended to involve” in anti-NATO psyop

This was reported by the Center for Defense Reforms, which offers a list of experts from NATO and EU countries the think tank says Russia planned to use as part of the Baltic Platform malign operation, Ukrinform reports citing Guildhall.

“It would be a mistake to assume that the Baltic Platform is a unique instrument of influence operations available to Russia’s special services. Despite the fact that this operation was foiled, the Russian Federation employs many types of subversive activities and a wide range of tools to achieve a key strategic goal, which is to weaken NATO,” the report says.

The CDR cites an example of an expert discussion held on February 6, 2023 during the Russian Valdai Club entitled “The Unprecedented Militarization of the Baltic Sea”, attended, among other experts, by Swedish researcher Gregory Simons.

“From the perspective of the strategic goal of weakening NATO, the Baltic Platform, based on the use of exaggerated ‘environmental challenges,’ was again aimed at demilitarization of the Baltic Sea, which will de facto become NATO’s inland sea after Sweden and Finland join the alliance,” the report reads.

According to the CDR, the Russian Federation planned to involve in the Baltic Platform a professor with the University of Southeast Norway Glenn Diesen, the editor of the Russia in Big Politics magazine, known for his collaboration with the Norwegian official Arne Treholt, who has been convicted of espionage. in favor of the USSR. Diesen has repeatedly been involved in activities that bear signs of influence operations run by Russia’s intelligence.

In particular, Glenn Diesen is engaged as an expert with Russian Valdai Club. On March 16, 2023, Diesen published his article “Globalization under the Eurasian Westphalian world order” on the club’s platform, criticizing the Western sanctions imposed on Russia, as well as NATO’s expansion policy.

It is mentioned that Professor Glenn Diesen systematically frequently posts opeds for the Russian propaganda platform Russia Today, justifying Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Another figure whose name appears on the list provided by the CDR is the former President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. It is reported that Grimsson is known for his consistent pro-Russian policies. As president back in 2014, he criticized the sanctions regime, called for offering the Keflavik Naval Air Station to the Russian Armed Forces, and took part in events organized by the Russian Federation, namely, the International Arctic Forum "The Arctic - Territory of Dialogue," organized in 2017 and 2019.

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson was awarded the Order of Courage by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Another member named on the list is Lars Georg Fordal, head of The Norwegian Barents Secretariat, an organization tasked with coordinating international cooperation in the European Arctic. Lars Georg Fordal took part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the international Arctic forum "The Arctic - Theory of Dialogue 2019", organized by Roscongress.

In 2021, Lars Georg Fordal urged the Norwegian government to use the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as the West was imposing sanctions on Russia, he expressed regrets about the shutfown of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat in Russia.

Another person in the focus is Sven Hirdman, a Swedish diplomat, ex-ambassador to Russia. Hirdman, who is also known to have headed the Swedish branch of Transparency International, was awarded an order from Putin for his efforts in “developing relations between the two countries.” From 2004 to 2009, Hirdman was on the Board of MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations).

The CDR reports that Sven Hirdman also repeatedly partook in activities that bear signs of Russian influence operations. In particular, it is about his participation in the international conference “The Nuclear Factor in the New Reality of Relations between the Russian Federation and the West”, organized by MGIMO and in the Expert Dialogue on NATO-Russia Risk Reduction, organized by the European Leadership Network and the Russian Academy of Sciencese’ Institute of Europe and Institute of USA and Canada.

It is noted that in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sven Hirdman takes part in campaigns aimed at freezing the war on Russian terms, campaigns to undermine Sweden's accession to NATO, and those to justify Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The CDR also offers some details about the work of the research director of the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki, the head of the Finnish Peace Defenders organization Markku Kangaspuro, mentioned in the probe by German journalists. The participation of Kangaspuro in Russian influence operations is mentioned in the context of undermining Finland's accession to NATO – Kangaspuro has been critical of the prospects for such membership. Also, he was involved in the campaign against visa restrictions for Russian citizens.

The list also includes the head of the International Barents Secretariat, Markus Karlsen, who is said to be "publicly promoting the need to deepen international cooperation with Russia in the Barents Sea region."

Regarding the individuals involved in the Baltic Platform influence operation, the CDR also points to the chief of IMEMO (E. M. Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Fyodor Voitolovsky.

“As you know, Russia’s E.M. Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO) was involved in implementing this operation. It is noteworthy that even despite international outrage, its chief Fyodor Voitolovsky remains on the board of SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), one of the world's leading think tanks. This is just one of many examples of positions used in Russia’s malign influence operations.

It should be recalled that the German publications WDR, NDR, and Süddeutsche Zeitung released an investigation about Russia's attempt to run an influence operation, relying on Stockholm University and a former high-ranking Swedish diplomat, under the pretext of "saving the ecology" of the Baltic Sea.