Slovak’s experience in counteracting Russian propaganda campaigns
During 2017, there are tendencies to gradually reduce the results of the impact of Russian propaganda and the political environment of the Slovak Republic, which is primarily due to a significant decrease in the country’s energy dependence on the Russian Federation and purposeful activities The “fake” origin of their information materials, as well as carrying out appropriate educational work among the Slovak population. At the same time, Russia continues to actively use individual state and political leaders of Slovakia, as well as some representatives of the Business and Journalistic Circles of the Slovak State to spread anti -European and anti -Ukrainian materials in society and achieve its own geopolitical goals.
Despite the presence in Slovakia, a large number of pro-Russian-minded citizens who see in Russia the “great and powerful country to be reckoned with”, over the last year and a half, the number of propaganda materials of Russian origin has decreased significantly in Slovakia. First of all, this is manifested in the reduction of the number of relevant subjects on Slovak television, reducing the activity of the so -called. “trolls” and “experts” on social networks and even in reducing pro -Russian rhetoric in the statements of individual Slovak politicians who feel the changes that occur in the minds of their own people.
This tendency is mainly related to the effective activity of individual non -governmental institutions that specialize in the revealed propaganda information resources and specific persons supported by Moscow and their influence on the consciousness of the citizens of the Slovak Republic.
At the same time, the Russian Federation continues the direct or indirect use of some representatives of official, business and journalistic circles of Slovakia to defend their own interests and promote the necessary Moscow ideas in the European Union. It is mainly about the beliefs of European leaders in the “destructiveness of continuing the policy of anti -Russian sanctions” and “The importance of restoring economic cooperation between EU countries and Russia.” To date, in addition to the current Prime Minister R. Fitzo and his supporters, the Kremlin also bet on such political forces in the country as “People’s Party-Our Slovakia”, “We are Family” and “Freedom and Justice”, which are in favor of the exit of the Slovak Republic from the European Union and actively promoting the idea of revocation.
At the same time, during 2017 there is a tendency to reduce the pro-Russian rhetoric R. Fitzo and there is an effort of the Prime Minister of Slovakia to maintain a certain balance in relations with the EU and Russia. This behavior of a high -ranking official may be associated with a decrease in demand for Russian propaganda, which has been observed in Slovak society in recent months. In addition, an important aspect is also a significant decrease in the energy dependence of the Slovak Republic on the Russian Federation due to purposeful diversification of the areas of energy supply in recent years. Thus, if in 2009 Slovakia had a single natural gas supplier, which was the Russian “Gazprom”, then in 2017 the Slovak state already has 21 suppliers of the specified energy resource.
Thus, recently there has been a positive tendency in Slovakia to reduce the Russian influence on the consciousness of the country’s population and its official representatives. Among the main tools for achieving this result are the effective and systematic work of influential pro -European non -governmental structures that are purposefully counteracting Russian propaganda, as well as a significant reduction in the energy dependence of the Slovak Republic on the Russian Federation.
Boris Uvarov,
Expert of the Polissya Fund of International and Regional Research
