Kremlin Leaks Show Russian Authorities’ Propaganda Machine for Putin’s March 17 Election

France 24 says the “Kremlin Leaks” show a propaganda machine set up by Russian authorities for the presidential election on March 17, with internal documents obtained by an international consortium of media outlets and published on Monday, February 26.

The outlet reports that the program’s budget is “over €1 billion” and that the entertainment sector—television, cinema, and the internet—takes the “lion’s share” of that envelope.

Atlantico

France 24 adds that the presidential administration wants works emphasizing the “traditional values of the country” and promoting national unity by giving a sense of belonging to the “residents of the new territories” occupied in Ukraine.

The same article quotes Jeff Hawn, a Russia specialist at the London School of Economics, saying the roadmap “recalls the guidelines to be followed by cinema studios in the 1930s.”

France 24 reports that about fifteen organizations and associations received nearly €600 million to produce content aligned with the objectives listed by Russian authorities.

The article says the Institute for Internet Development (IDI) has received since early 2023 more than €400 million to bring the propaganda to life, and it describes the IDI as a fund financing “content aimed at young people.”

Blick

France 24 also details specific series named RDA and “20/22,” including that “20/22” evokes a love story between a young Russian on a “humanitarian mission in Donbass” with a young woman opposed to the “special military operation.”

The outlet quotes Vlad Strukov, professor of cinema at the University of Leeds, saying the IDI is “the archetype 'of these bodies that are alternative to traditional arts funding that the power uses to push its own narrative,'” and it quotes Jeff Hawn on the first-time nature of the system to guarantee re-election.

In a separate thread on Russia’s geopolitical posture, DiarioDigitalRD says Donald Trump urged the NATO to press Denmark to prevent the presence of Russia and China in Greenland, writing “¡OTAN, dile a Dinamarca que los saque de ahí ya!”

“The NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has avoided giving more details this Thursday about the framework for negotiations opened to discuss Greenland's future, but he does indicate that it could include a greater presence of American soldiers on the island”

Cadena SER

The same article says Trump ironized about the ability of Denmark and Greenland to defend the territory, adding “¡Dos equipos de perros no pueden hacer eso! ¡Solo Estados Unidos puede!” and it frames the dispute as a dispute over the Arctic.

Cadena SER reports that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Bloomberg in Davos that “we know that Denmark is fully willing to have more Americans in Greenland,” and that negotiations must continue among Washington, Copenhagen, and Nuuk.

Cadena SER adds that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish public television that Greenland’s sovereignty is non-negotiable and that she has made clear to Rutte that “she does not have the mandate to negotiate on behalf of Denmark or Greenland.”