March 14, 2022

Subversion Subverted


Subversion Subverted
Putin must now figure out who ruined his perfect plan. Image from the Kremlin's Twitter

Recent reports say that Putin's plan was to infiltrate the Ukrainian military from the rear through subversive activities. At least, that's what Putin thought was going to happen, until over $5 billion were stolen from the campaign.

This past week, the Ukrainian security agency, SBU, uncovered the organizers behind the new proposed "People's Republics" in western Ukraine (echoing those in eastern Ukraine). A large sum in rubles were allocated by the Russian government to these subversive activities from 2014 to the present, all of which was supposed to combine with Russia's all-out propaganda campaigns in Ukraine so that when Russian soldiers arrived in Ukraine they would be met with flowers.

This massive sum was meant to include not only propaganda, but also "agitation activities, agents among nationalist organizations, a network of activists, and so on." Instead, for eight years Putin received disinformation about the likelihood of support from the Ukrainian army, and the information he was given turned out to be the opposite of the truth.

It's a bummer when kleptocracy turns out not to work in your favor.

You Might Also Like

The Toughest Sanction
  • March 07, 2022

The Toughest Sanction

Putin has been stripped of two martial arts honors in response to his invasion of Ukraine.
A Different Kind of Train Schedule
  • December 20, 2021

A Different Kind of Train Schedule

Second-class travelers on Russian trains may soon be required to take turns with their neighbors to use their compartment's table.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955