Germany and Local Enablers of Russian Malign Influence. Anton Shekhovtsov w/ @analizujorg

Hello, my name is Anton Shekhovtsov, and I’m the chair of the Centre for Democratic Integrity in Austria. Today we are launching a new video project in cooperation with the Ukrainian platform “Analizuy”. In these videos, I’ll be talking about European politics in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. In this pilot episode, I discuss Russian malign influence in Germany and argue that we need to pay more attention to its local agents. 00:00 Introduction 00:24 A Reuters investigation on pro-Putin operatives in Germany 01:22 Russian influence agency still active in Berlin despite EU sanctions 02:42 Berlin authorities are sabotaging the EU’s sanctions against Russian agents of influence 04:01 Russian operators of political warfare do not function without help from local actors 04:55 Ibiza Affair in Austria 06:09 It is often politically expensive to dig too deep into corruption allegations 06:56 Proven collusion with the Russians often goes unpunished 07