Russian Influence Inc.: From Political Technology to Political Warfare

Western security agencies increasingly buy intelligence from private firms, accessing OSINT, satellite data, cyber reports, financial and transport records, and risk analyses without enlarging bureaucracies. States integrate this, though private security and cyber firms may act directly.

Russia has adopted similar approaches to its political warfare since 2014. Originally, Russia’s political warfare against the West has combined top-down and bottom-up approaches. The first relied on state media, energy leverage, influence-buying, and intelligence-driven narratives to shape opinion abroad. The second emerged from independent actors launching grassroots media projects, outreach to Western networks, or economic initiatives they hoped the Kremlin would reward. Later, new hybrid models of influence appeared, blending state support with private ventures.

The lecture will discuss the evolution of Russian political warfare, and examine how Russian influence operations in the West today increasingly appear as collaborations between state agencies and private consultancy firms, focusing on the latter’s role in crafting and disseminating disinformation to manipulate public opinion, particularly in Europe, with the aim of sowing division and promoting pro-Russian narratives.

This event will be chaired by Prof. Andrew Wilson, UCL SSEES.