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13/3/2015 Cranks, Trolls, and Useful Idiots
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/12/crankstrollsandusefulidiotspolandczechrepublicslovakiarussiaukraine/ 1/14
Cranks, Trolls, and Useful IdiotsRussia's information warriors set their sights on Central Europe.
MARCH 12, 2015BY DALIBOR ROHAC
Following the Feb. 27 murder of liberal Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, a number of Central
European websites were quick to provide an explanation. “Whoever gains control of the Russian
opposition will be on the receiving end of all the finances and subsidies given to the Russian opposition by
the West,” wrote an anonymous author on the Czech site Aeronet. Several other
sites published translations of a text blaming the murder on a Western conspiracy aiming to discredit
Vladimir Putin. The article was written by the Russian commentator and politician Nikolai Starikov, a
vocal Putin supporter.
Most of the websites that published Starikov’s writings in Czech and Slovak have existed for less than a
year. Throughout the conflict in eastern Ukraine, these sites have systematically regurgitated Russian
propaganda, spreading lies, half-truths, and conspiracy theories, often directly translated from Russian
sources. In an effort to understand who runs these sites and why — and potentially to uncover financial
connections to the Russian government — several Central European journalists and civil society activists
recently decided to investigate them in greater detail.
The Czech weekly Respekt published a feature article about the mysterious “news” site Aeronet (also
known as AENews). Started in 2001 by aviation fans, the domain has changed ownership several times.
Since the summer of 2014 it has regularly published articles accusing the new Ukrainian government of
fascism and claiming that American and British mercenaries were fighting in eastern Ukraine. It
also accused unspecified proponents of a conspiratorial New World Order of exploiting the spread to Ebola
to their own nefarious ends.
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The company that owns Aeronet’s domain is incorporated in the Netherlands. According to Ondrej
Kundra, author of the Respekt investigation, nobody from the company was at its address when he visited,
nor did anyone in the building know anything about it. “The same situation is repeated in Bratislava,
where the website’s IP address was registered,” he wrote. “Nobody is here; there is no office nor
employees. Neither is it possible to reach anyone on either of the two phone numbers — one U.K.- and one
U.S.-based — that are listed on the website.”
The editor of Aeronet signs his articles “Chief of the Carousel” or simply “VK” (an abbreviation of the
Czech version of his pseudonym). A handful of contributors to the site do write under their real names,
such as a certain Petr Cvalin, a member of the Czech Communist Party who was attracted to the website
because of its “alternative views.” There is no direct evidence linking the Aeronet site to Russia, and its
anonymous editor calls the site “a start-up project” funded by its own contributors, readers, and
sympathizers. He does say that he sometimes travels to Moscow for business, adding that he has “friends
in Russia.” This is unsurprising — the politics of the site’s content, the secrecy surrounding it, and its
relatively professional appearance suggest that it is run by an individual or organization whose motives
are closely aligned with those of the Kremlin.
In Slovakia, activist Juraj Smatana keeps an updated list of Czech and Slovak websites that churn out
Russian propaganda. Like Aeronet, these sites are typically anonymous and difficult to connect to real
individuals or organizations. Many of them, such as Hlavne Spravy (“Headline News”) and Svobodne
Noviny (“The Free Newspaper”), have the appearance of ordinary news sites, mixing real stories with
fabrications and wild conspiracy theories. Several of them reported, for instance, that the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) discovered bodies with missing internal organs in eastern
Ukrainian mass graves. The stories claimed that this had been confirmed by OSCE observers, and that
evidence suggested that Ukrainian security forces were running illegal organ transplant centers in the
region. The story turned out to be an outright lie: Neither the OSCE nor its observers have ever made any
such announcements.
These sites don’t always peddle views that are clearly pro-Russian. Sometimes, as Smatana noted in a
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recent interview, their goal is simply to muddy the waters, to confuse, to ensure that “people don’t trust
anyone.” In Central European countries, this flurry of misinformation has profoundly affected the
dynamic of public debates and placed Russia’s critics on the defensive, forcing them to waste time
debunking baseless claims.
In November of last year, for example, Aeronet published a fabricated story claiming that a public protest
against Czech President Milos Zeman had been organized by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, as part of an
effort to instigate a Ukraine-like “Maidan” revolution. This story was quickly reposted by other, more
reputable websites, prompting a number of foreign ministries to ask the Czech government whether it was
true. The same sites also disseminated an alleged plan by the Russian central bank to back the ruble with
gold in order to displace the U.S. dollar as the world’s dominant reserve currency. Despite its outlandish
nature, the story went viral — even prompting a reporter from Czech public radio to treat it as a credible
account.
Besides the “news” websites, there are a handful of anonymous or semi-anonymous think tanks and
foundations (such as the Institute for Slavic Strategic Studies) and a number of public figures who run
their own sites spreading Russian propaganda. Perhaps the most prominent is former Slovak Prime
Minister Jan Carnogursky, a former Catholic dissident and current member of the Valdai Club, a group
that is periodically invited to meet with Putin and other senior Russian officials. Carnogursky’s Slovak-
Russian Society recently published a list of “the worst Russophobes in Slovakia.”
Another is Sergei Chelemendik, a Slovak publisher of Russian descent and a former member of parliament
for (somewhat ironically) the xenophobic Slovak National Party, whose own website has been long
churning out Russian propaganda. Petr Hajek, longtime political advisor to former Czech President Vaclav
Klaus, is the editor of Protiproud (“Countercurrent”), and also enjoys a public following. Unlike the pro-
Kremlin “news” sites, Protiproud, a self-styled “counterrevolutionary magazine” that recently launched
its Russian edition, does not hide the names of its contributors. Its content, including the flamboyant
graphics and over-the-top headlines, appears even more fantastic than the seemingly serious content
published by the fake “news” sites. It is replete with conspiracy theories about Bilderberg and the New
World Order, stories claiming that the Ebola virus is a product of the global pharmaceutical industry, and
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Hajek’s own diatribes against gays, alongside a steady stream of Russian propaganda. Asked by a
journalist about Russian connections, Hajek decried the “witch hunt” against him and denied receiving “a
penny” from Russia.
Opposition to same-sex marriage and other culturally conservative views commonly feature on most of
these sites, which depict Russia as a bulwark against Western decadence. To be sure, the combination of
pro-Russian views and social conservatism does not work everywhere. “In Poland, which is much bigger
[than Slovakia or the Czech Republic], there is only a handful of such websites,” said Smatana. “And those
that do promote an anti-gay agenda tend to do so from a traditional or Catholic perspective. They
definitely don’t combine it with pro-Russian propaganda.”
Given Poland’s historic experience, such brazen pro-Kremlin sloganeering is unlikely to get much traction
there. Instead, Putin’s regime seems to be using subtler means, such as supporting the country’s
environmental movement, which has succeeded in bringing a temporary halt to plans for exploiting the
country’s large reserves of unconventional gas. The reason: If Poland developed its own energy resources,
it would be less dependent on imports from Russia.
The speed with which Russian propaganda is taking root in Slovakia and the Czech Republic shows that
civil society in the small countries of Central Europe faces a formidable enemy. Recently Slovaks were
jolted by reports that several of their compatriots have turned up fighting with the separatist “Donetsk
People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine — a story that, until recently, would have been unimaginable in a
nation that sees itself as rather detached from the drama of world events. What precisely motivated the
Slovak fighters to leave for Ukraine — and whether Russian propaganda in Slovakia may have played a
role — remains unclear. But their example may herald bigger trouble to come.
Photo credit: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
Ukraine’s Rotten FrontForget Russia -- if the new government wants to save the country, it needs to drum
corruption out of its ranks.
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corruption out of its ranks.
MARCH 12, 2015BY COLIN CLEARY
Ukrainian leaders, it has been said, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Though it’s still
unclear whether the new government can break this pattern, the opportunity before it now is nothing less
than to undo the system of institutionalized corruption that has held Ukraine down since independence,
and made it vulnerable to aggression and dismemberment. Despite the enormous strains imposed by the
conflict in the east, there is reason to hope that this year Ukraine can begin the shift from failing state to
one where the rule of law prevails. If it can change the corruption equation, Ukraine may be able — at long
last — to have a political system that mirrors its European neighbors.
There is popular support to run corruption out of the government. Revulsion at the corruption and
impunity of Viktor Yanukovych’s regime, even more than pro-EU sentiment, became the rallying cry of
Maidan protesters as the movement expanded in late 2013. Indeed, the Maidan only became a mass
movement after police beat the few hundred original, mostly student, protesters who had gathered to
oppose Yanukovych’s abrupt decision not to sign the EU Association Agreement. One year after
Yanukovych’s departure, the demand for institutional change remains, to a large degree, unrealized.
Nothing would help cement national unity or spur resilience against the aggression in Donbass more than
success in the fight against institutionalized corruption.
Systemic corruption in Ukraine predated the Yanukovych kleptocracy, and has lived on after its demise.
Ukraine ranked 142nd out of 175 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index
in 2014 — six places below Russia — and the worst in Europe. Yanukovych and his cohort shamelessly
plundered the state budget, stealing billions — perhaps tens of billions — in a few short years. Insider
deals on state procurement contracts were a favored method. But the habit of using public office for
private gain is nothing new, and extends far into the civil service. In a 2011 Transparency International
survey, Ukrainians identified the judiciary as their most corrupt institution, followed closely by the police
and parliament. The combination of labyrinthine regulations and low pay for the civil service and law
enforcement perpetuates widespread bribery.
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If it is true that a fish rots from the head, then the only way to successfully combat corruption is to secure a
firm commitment from the top leadership. Without such buy-in, anti-corruption efforts amount to little
more than a kabuki dance. Yanukovych, after all, formally headed Ukrainian government anti-corruption
efforts during his rule. This time, the buy-in from the leadership appears to be for real. Both President
Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk have repeatedly pledged their commitment to
anti-corruption efforts, and stated that the push would come following the election of a reformist
parliament. That parliament is now in place. They have also stressed that the conflict in Donbass is no
excuse for postponing reform.
One sign that Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk might be the real deal is their selection of non-Ukrainian experts
to serve in key ministries. American Natalie Jaresko is minister of finance; the minister of the economy is
a Lithuanian and the minister of health is Georgian. This unprecedented step sent the signal that these
portfolios were reserved for independent technocrats untainted by the entrenched patronage networks.
While the Orange Revolution failed in governance, it did succeed in removing constraints on civic
activism and press freedom. Yanukovych’s attempts to reverse these gains faltered. As a result, Ukraine
today has a wealth of civic organizations, human rights groups, independent journalists, and other
activists. Many of these individuals played important roles in the Maidan movement and can be counted
on to hold the government’s feet to the fire on anti-corruption efforts.
Last spring, civil society organizations helped frame the reform agenda through a “Reanimation Package
of Reforms,” which involved hundreds of independent experts who developed a comprehensive platform
and lobbied the parliament (Rada) for the passage of reform bills. Some of the leaders of that effort are now
themselves in the Rada. They are among a cadre of about 30 young Maidan activists elected in October
from various parties who have united around a reformist, pro-EU agenda. The presence of such activists in
the Rada represents a major change for that body. Civil society, previously at odds with the governing
class, is now embedded in it.
In short, a window for reform is open this year. Failure to seize this opportunity could have dire
consequences for Ukrainian statehood.
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Still, old habits will be hard to break. Oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, appointed governor of Dnipropetrovsk,
earned praise for his decisive actions to prevent pro-Russian agitators from gaining ground in his oblast
and is on the rise. But he is widely suspected of using strong-arm tactics in his business practices over
many years — no one’s idea of a reformer. Similarly, many of those who have gotten rich in the civil
service and judiciary by trading on their positions remain in place.
Weeding out corruption means overhauling institutions both large and small. Perhaps no institution is
more in need of reform than Naftogaz, the state gas monopoly, for decades a wellspring of corruption.
The budgetary subsidies for energy — much of them for Naftogaz — amounted to a stunning 7 to 9 percent
of GDP in 2014, several times Ukraine’s defense budget. Economist Anders Aslund has observed that rent-
seeking in the Ukrainian gas sector has been the main source of enrichment of oligarchs over the past two
decades. With state prices fixed at $30 per thousand cubic meters of gas, connected individuals could buy
at that rate and then sell to the market at over 10 times the price.
While presiding over huge losses, the former heads of Naftogaz nonetheless conspicuously enriched
themselves under Yanukovych, as widely circulated images of their opulent riverfront palaces reminiscent
of Yanukovych’s infamous Mezhyhirya residence testified.
If the goal of Ukrainian energy policy was to keep Ukraine hooked on expensive Russian gas, discourage
domestic production, enrich oligarchs, and encourage wasteful consumption, then it succeeded
spectacularly. The cure for such distortions has long been known: Remove massive subsidies for gas
consumers and end price controls on domestically produced gas.
Market pricing should be phased in, with social payments for the neediest consumers as compensation.
With the right price signals, Ukraine, currently the most inefficient energy user in Europe, could cut
energy consumption per unit of GDP by half, as Poland did. This, along with increased domestic
production, could end the need for any gas imports from Russia.
Implementing these reforms requires more than buy-in from the Ukrainian leadership — it needs to be
spurred by rigorous conditionality from the donor community. The Feb. 12 announcement by the IMF of
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an agreement on a $17.5 billion Extended Fund Facility stressed the importance of Ukraine’s commitment
to reach market levels in gas pricing by April 2017. On March 2, the Rada approved raising home heating
and cooking gas prices by about three times, effective April 1 — a dramatic jump.
The IMF also underlined the importance of maintaining a safety net of targeted payments to the poorest
consumers to compensate. The minister of the economy, Lithuanian-born Aivaras Abromavicius, has
pledged to offset the rise in home gas prices with direct assistance to low-income consumers amounting to
2 percent of GDP.
With many Ukrainians suffering from the consequences of economic contraction, a vigorous public
information campaign to explain the reforms to the public must be a priority to avert a backlash. In the
past, Ukrainian leaders have agreed to initial IMF demands for price increases, only to back off on
subsequent increases out of fear of the public reaction. While moving toward market pricing, Ukraine
must also lower the high tax rates faced by independent operators in domestic energy production if it
wants an increase in domestic supply.
The failing state Yanukovych left behind has necessitated the launching of a wide range of additional anti-
corruption efforts, many of them involving fundamental change. In December, Yatsenyuk announced
plans to reduce the number of regulatory agencies from 56 to 28, to be followed by additional reductions.
The goal, he stated, is to “abolish the Soviet-time state standards” that burden businesses with an onerous
system of permits and inspections and open up massive opportunities for bribery. Economy Minister
Abromavicius defined the objective as “maximally deregulat[ing] all processes in the economy to enable …
business to breathe.”
Another reform is the pending establishment of an Anti-Corruption Bureau with investigatory powers and
a mandate to keep an eye on senior public officials. Such officials are now required to make full
declarations of income, with the bureau on the lookout for lifestyles at variance with declared earnings.
Civil service reform will be a longer-term effort. In December, Yatsenyuk declared that the number of state
officials would be cut by 10 percent in 2015, and committed the government to “reducing the quantity [of
the civil service] and increasing efficiency and wages.” In addition, a “lustration” law came into force in
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the civil service] and increasing efficiency and wages.” In addition, a “lustration” law came into force in
October to vet public servants for past corruption and illegal acts. The law responds to societal outrage
over widespread corruption in the judiciary, prosecutor general’s office, and other agencies, during and
before the Yanukovych period. However, the Venice Commission has criticized the law for being too
broad, and only minimal implementation has taken place to date.
Over the longer term, the harmonization of Ukrainian governmental systems to EU norms and structures
via the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement will be
transformative for Ukraine. The Association Agreement is, in essence, a detailed blueprint for reform and
transparency across all sectors and institutions. Large-scale EU mentoring and technical support will be
crucial to helping the Ukrainian government accomplish this historic task.
It is said that nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of one’s hanging. Only by getting its act together
on governance can Ukraine hope to gain the strength it needs to overcome the challenge Russia is posing
to its statehood. Viktor Yushchenko frittered away his opportunity to reform the crony capitalist system
he inherited after the Orange Revolution. His failure paved the way for Yanukovych to install a system of
unbridled kleptocracy. Ukraine may not be able to survive another governance failure.
The conflict in the east diverts attention from reform. But the sacrifice of so many thousands of lives also
makes it imperative for the leadership to make good on the anti-corruption demands voiced at the
Maidan. Major Western financial and technical assistance — and monitoring — is needed to support the
reform effort. With its back against the wall, Ukraine nonetheless has the chance this year to demonstrate
that it can move decisively to replace kleptocracy with rule of law. Success in this historic effort would not
only shore up the imperiled Ukrainian state, but also reverberate throughout the post-Soviet realm.
Correction, March 12, 2015: Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index analyzed 175
countries, not 172 countries, as an earlier version of this article mistakenly said.
Suhaimi Abdullah / Stringer
How to Make the Sustainable Development
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How to Make the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals WorkIt’s simple: Prioritize women and families.
MARCH 12, 2015BY , MELINDA GATES GRAÇA MACHEL
The two of us met for the first time more than a decade ago, in 2003, in the small rural village of Momemo,
an hour’s drive and a world away from the urban bustle of Maputo, Mozambique’s capital and largest city.
We were there to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of malaria on the lives of villagers in areas
particularly hard hit by the disease.
But as we sat outdoors talking with a small group of villagers, the conversation covered a range of issues
about the health and well-being of women and children in the village. How early did women marry here?
How many children did they have? How many children had they lost to illness? Could they work and care
for children severely sick with malaria?
Although the two of us came to that conversation with very different life experiences, we were drawn
together by a common mission: enabling a healthier and more productive life for women and children in
the poorest countries. Now we’re coming together again — this time to carry the voices of women like
those we met in Momemo to a different conversation, one that will affect women everywhere for a
generation to come.
As you read this, world leaders are engaged in discussions about a new global development plan that will
succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) when they expire at the end of 2015.
Of all the important actions the United Nations has taken over the years, the MDGs have been among the
most important and successful. The MDGs have provided a framework that has laid out in clear and
succinct terms the kind of world we want, with priorities, hard targets, and deadlines to improve the lives
of the world’s poorest people.
Guided by this framework, a broad coalition of developing countries, donor governments, development
partner institutions, the private sector, and civil society have made good progress on tackling big
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challenges: extreme poverty, child and maternal mortality, infectious diseases, and gender equity in
education.
But significant challenges remain. In 2013, 17,000 children under age 5 died every day, many from
preventable causes. Nearly 300,000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth. And 162 million young
children suffer from chronic undernutrition.
The MDGs showed that enormous progress is possible. With the next global development framework —
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will guide human development investments through
2030 — we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to go the last few miles and accelerate progress where
it has fallen short.
As a recent report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted, “Millions of people, especially women
and children, have been left behind in the wake of unfinished work of the Millennium Development
Goals.” For the SDGs to succeed and ensure that no one is left behind, we believe world leaders must keep
the focus on ambitious but achievable targets centered on the health and well-being of women and
children.
At a minimum, we believe we must finish the work of the MDGs by setting and meeting concrete targets
for child, newborn, and maternal health by 2030.
Cut child deaths by two-thirds
One of the great successes of the MDGs is a dramatic reduction in child mortality. Every year, over more
than four decades, child mortality rates have fallen. In 1990, 10 percent of children globally died before
age 5. Today, that figure is down to 5 percent. This is tremendous progress, but the numbers are not going
down fast enough. As the families we met in Momemo know all too well, survival is still a fight for tens of
millions of children in developing countries. In 2013, 6.3 million children died before their fifth birthday
— many from preventable causes.
If our previous successes in driving down child mortality have proved anything, it is that each and every
one of us can do more, and we can do better. As a global community, we know what works. Vaccines that
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safeguard children against deadly diseases play a large role. So, too, do cost-effective solutions like
insecticide-treated mosquito nets that protect children from malaria, oral rehydration solutions that
prevent children with diarrhea from dying of dehydration, and better nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a
child’s life. Each of these is a solid, cost-effective investment in the future of our children and the
development of human capital.
Our challenge over the next 15 years is to ensure that these and other high-impact interventions reach the
children whose lives depend on them. Based on past progress, we believe it is possible to reduce under-5
child mortality in every country — to no more than 2.5 percent by 2030. It will not be easy or cheap to
reach children in the poorest and hardest-to-reach communities. But giving every child a real chance at a
healthy life is the foundation for social and economic progress globally.
Reduce newborn deaths by two-thirds
While the world has made impressive progress overall in reducing child mortality, sadly, progress on
newborn health has lagged. Each year, nearly 3 million newborns die within their first month of life, most
of them of preventable causes.
The vast majority of these deaths could be averted with cost-effective solutions that can be used anywhere,
even in the world’s poorest places. By increasing the use of just a few proven interventions — like the right
resuscitation techniques to help babies struggling to breathe, immediate breastfeeding to provide
newborns with essential nutrition and protective antibodies, and skin-to-skin contact between a mother
and newborn to regulate the baby’s temperature, heart rate, and breathing — we can save hundreds of
thousands of newborn lives each year.
In 2014, the World Health Assembly endorsed a global effort — the Every Newborn Action Plan — to
accelerate progress in newborn health. In recent months, countries with some of the highest rates of
newborn deaths — India, Nigeria, and Ethiopia — have announced ambitious efforts to reduce newborn
mortality. These efforts have just begun, but building on this momentum, we are optimistic the global
newborn mortality rate can be brought down to 1.2 percent by 2030.
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Cut maternal mortality by two-thirds or more
It is impossible to separate the health of a child from the health of the mother. Healthier women have
healthier babies. Healthier babies grow into healthier children. Healthier children lead to healthier
societies.
Among women and adolescents of childbearing age, pregnancy and childbirth remain the leading causes
of death and disability. Reducing child and early marriage and making modern contraceptives more
accessible are some of the ways to tackle this. When women have access to family-planning resources and
can plan and space the births of their children, health outcomes improve for both women and their
children. In fact, if the world extended contraceptive access to only a quarter of the women with an unmet
need, it could save the lives of 25,000 women and 250,000 newborns each year. There is also clear
evidence that when complications occur during labor and delivery, the presence of a trained health
worker — a doctor, nurse, or midwife — can make the difference between life and death. Reaching rural
women is critical: While, overall, rates for women getting such assistance have gone up, rural women’s
access to health workers during childbirth has barely budged in two decades.
We believe it is possible to bring the maternal mortality rate down to less than 1 percent by 2030, which
would be a two-thirds reduction globally from current rates, and even more than that in sub-Saharan
Africa, which has the highest mortality rates currently.
Moving beyond surviving to thriving
Improving health outcomes for women and children in developing countries is the foundation of a better
life for people living in poverty there. Yet, health is only one aspect of a full, productive life. Ensuring that
women and children thrive requires that we recognize other factors such as education, nutrition,
sanitation, and economic empowerment of women — and their interplay with health.
Consider, for example, that a child born to a mother who can read is twice as likely to live past age 5. And
girls who are educated and complete at least secondary education have more decision-making power and
economic opportunity. In turn, women who are able to make decisions about their family budgets tend to
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prioritize things like heath care, nutritious food, and education — the building blocks of a healthy and
productive society. So investing in education — especially for adolescent girls who are often most at risk of
dropping out of school and marrying early — can have ripple effects throughout a community.
Reflecting on the progress we have seen over the last 15 years, we are optimistic about the future. In fact,
we believe that if the world is deliberate about putting women and children at the center of the
development agenda, we will see the lives of millions of people improve faster in the next 15 years than at
any other time in history. As world leaders deliberate about the next global development agenda, we see
an unprecedented opportunity to making the next 15 years a turning point for the families of Momemo
and families everywhere.
Photo credit: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
