Leaked internal papers have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is in fact a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries.
Documents from Pravfond (the Fund for Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad) indicate that the foundation finances propaganda websites and helped pay for the legal defences of convicted arms traffickers and assassins.
The group has spent millions of euros to finance propaganda and legal campaigns. Public data also shows that Pravfond's local partners have received millions in state subsidies from European countries where it operates local branches, raising questions about the use of public funds and national security concerns.
More than 40 Pravfond documents, obtained by the Danish public broadcaster DR from a European intelligence source and shared with a consortium of journalists including the Guardian, show that the organisation has had a number of former intelligence agents as directors of its European operations.
Denne historien er fra June 07, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 07, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Bring it on home Led Zep's first biopic
How were the famously interview-shy rock gods persuaded to take part in a film about their early success with the band telling their own story?
Dead souls
The Nobel laureate bears witness to Korea's traumatic past as one woman's quest is told through haunting, harrowing imagery
Object lesson
An expat couple curate their lives by plants anc Radiohead LPs in this deliciously pessimistic chronicle of Berlin life
Legacy of violence
A seething and erudite-but flawedindictment of the west's role in the creation of Israel and everything that has flowed from it
The right are wrong on climate-why is the UK following their lead?
If you care about the world we are handing on to future generations, the news last Thursday morning was dramatic.
Power pointe
Ballet has always been more than just a job for Carlos Acosta. And as director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, he is trying to make it bigger than ever
Borders can't contain the devastating, destabilising crisis engulfing Sudan
As Sudan approaches its third year of civil war, the dynamics are shifting.
Heroes to villains
With 13 Oscar nominations, Emilia Pérez's cast and crew should have been flying high. Then came a social media scandal and a fearsome backlash
Bukele's rise Strongman who became the darling of the right
Five hours after being shot in the belly, a Haitian accountant sat in a Port-au-Prince emergency room pondering how his homeland might be saved.
Trump is fuelling lethal fantasies of driving people from their land
The shock and awe continues and it only gets more shocking and more awful.
