What is it to be a journalist today… To reflect the truth objectively, to be an opponent of power, to be a pillar and defender of society. Maybe… Or to defend a cause you believe in, or to defend a policy that is close to you, or simply to “serve“, having access to writing, speaking, proclaiming and defending a thesis, sometimes even politically justified by a party, system, regime or simply a way of behaving, but not under pressure from the West.
Today, war has different dimensions. Purely military, of course, are the most visible, because there is shooting and killing, people die to gain territory, to defend a cause, etc. But hybrid warfare is increasingly entering journalism. It is a term that appeared in the late 20th century in the USA to denote a non-standard military strategy that incorporates combat operations, sabotage and cyberwarfare. Traditionally, hybrid warfare is reduced to information warfare, but not only. Hybrid warfare is not officially declared and is not waged (at least not recognized) by regulated players (states), and the special services of states use unconventional means - infiltration into the information environment of other states, inciting panic, financing deliberately created political entities in order to change the foreign policy line of the targeted opponents, and the war is not "won", or at least not in the traditional sense of the word. The partial application of such so-called Hybrid tactics are not a new phenomenon. Their mass application has increased since the end of the Cold War, when in most cases the conduct of an aggressive traditional conventional war leads to unwanted distractions and consequences for the attacking state or coalition (as with the formed “coalition of the willing“).
About KGB journalism
A few years ago, the Russian opposition media “Echo of Moscow“ conducted a large-scale study on who, how and where influences information in order to create “journalistic cells“. The study also included opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who later developed his own analysis on the topic. Thus, the name of Yevgeny Umerenkov comes to the fore - even though he is cited as the creator of a network. It is a network of "journalists and political scientists" supporting Russia's policy, which is directly related to the influence that can be exercised not only in the Baltic states, but also in other countries, and for each country a "special" strategy has been prepared, similar to a "special military operation".
Evgeny Umerenkov (in the small photo)
It all starts with his work as an employee of the First Main Directorate of the KGB. Of course, it is about communism, espionage, etc. His career as an "intelligence officer" continues in the Foreign Intelligence Service (the successor to the KGB). A few years ago, several websites from the Baltic countries conducted a large-scale journalistic investigation to prove the work and presence of Russian intelligence in their countries. And there Umerenkov's name appears - listed as the head. Under his pressure, a network of people, including journalists, was established, who developed not only journalistic, but also purely intelligence activities. The network even went as far as recruiting public figures. The goal was to impose precisely defined Russian interests in the region.
Who is Umerenkov
He graduated with a degree in "Journalism" from the famous Leningrad State University. Given the name, today it has been updated to St. Petersburg State University. His work began at the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda", where he remained for more than 20 years. He became head of the international relations department in the publication, but his interests were not only in journalism. After graduating from journalism, he enrolled in the Academy of Foreign Intelligence (then the KGB). Thus, Umerenkov became a journalist - an intelligence officer or an intelligence officer - a journalist. It all depends on the task he has to write (perform). He mostly acted as a personnel officer, but under the guise of a journalist. He worked in Mexico City, and then in New York. After finishing his studies in the USA, he was appointed to the administration of Vladimir Putin in the sector of "interregional and cultural relations with foreign countries". For his good work he was repeatedly awarded - by Dmitry Medvedev, and by Vladimir Putin.
Scale
When it comes to media, it is also about public activity, because information must reach the masses. Organization “Association of Independent Journalists for Peace" (Assoziation Journalisten im Kampf um den Frieden (AJKF) was created 10 years ago. A group of journalists, political scientists, photographers, etc. from countries in Europe, America, Africa unite to “help“. It is financed through donations, and its work concerns the development of educational projects, increasing the professionalism of media workers, providing reliable information, etc. Like any foundation, the “Association of Independent Journalists for Peace” applies for projects. This is how a serious system of grants is implemented, which serves to support authors working on controversial and sensitive issues of modern society.
An active member of this organization is Boyan Stanislavski - with Bulgarian and Polish citizenship. According to the study by “Echo of Moscow”, which he mentioned at the beginning, other things come to the fore for AJKF. Yes, it has a good public image, the foundation is fighting in support for independent journalism, but is it only that… The investigation of “Echo of Moscow“ delves deeper to reveal that the organization is “a product“ on various media projects in Poland, Bulgaria and other EU countries. He works in various media outlets in Poland. He is currently the editor-in-chief and manager of a company, as well as deputy editor-in-chief of the left-wing Polish website „strajk.eu", which he runs together with Maciej Wisniewski, who is the editor-in-chief of the website. Wisniewski is known as a public figure and journalist, but with pro-Russian views. Wisniewski lived in Russia, had a Russian wife, but is about to get divorced. Maciej Wisniewski holds a degree from the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw, and then obtained a doctorate from Moscow State University.
AJKF and the Grant System
Among the more significant projects of AJKF is „Material Evidence" (an international humanitarian project), implemented through photo exhibitions, dedicated to the history of modern armed conflicts. As an active member of the organization, Stanislavski is among the main participants in the annual conference of the Association, held in February 2017 at the “Westminster” hotel in Paris. Despite the well-established public image of the organization, which claims to be fully committed to the development and support of independent journalism worldwide, there are fundamentally different motives and goals behind its creation and existence. According to the investigations of “Echo of Moscow” the organization is the “brainchild” of people remaining in the shadows. And it is part of a significantly larger plan, implementing various ideas, among which, however, the development and support of independent journalism is not present.
It turns out that behind the facade of objective journalism, a group of individuals specially selected by Russian intelligence are organized. Of course, with the aim of achieving certain interests of the Russian Federation. When it comes to journalism, it is also about pushing pro-Russian propaganda and outright disinformation in order to influence public perceptions and opinion.
Is Boyan Stanislavski guided in his public appearances by his own perception and inner feeling for contemporary political processes in Europe and the world, or does he pursue other goals… As a young and ambitious man, Boyan shows an aspiration and activity to be a recognizable figure in the public space, both in the Polish and Bulgarian media space. To this end, in addition to Wisniewski, with whom, as we learned, they have a long history together, Boyan develops media projects with other public figures from Poland and Bulgaria, sharing his ideas, values and understanding of the world in which they live.
Bojan spends most of his life in Poland, where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in "Political Science and Governance" from the University of Warsaw in Poland. While still a student, he began to engage in public coverage and analysis of the ongoing processes in the left-wing political space, and over the years he has continued to purposefully build a public image of a public figure. In his public activities, he does not hide his sentiment for communism. He builds his image as an analyst who critically monitors the processes of the West. In his materials, he does not spare his criticism of the politics of Western societies. He works on the development of various projects in Poland, Bulgaria and other EU countries, which have one main leitmotif, namely revealing inequality in society, getting to the root of social injustice in today's world, as well as analyzing current and pressing problems on the agenda of society. And this can be considered a completely normal activity of a young public figure, enthusiastically wanting to join the fight against the injustices of life. Including by giving voice, even to those who cannot fight for their own protection.
But isn't this just a seeming facade behind which…