Promoting open pro-Russian propaganda in Romania is traditionally difficult due to the general opposition of Romanians to Russian imperialist politics. Particularly, the war in Ukraine has accentuated this, stirring in the minds of the majority of Romanians concerns about a potential invasion.
Tucker Carlson, the television host, conducted a two-hour interview with Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation[1]. This discussion took place in Moscow on February 6, 2024. The central topic of the interview was the justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin presented perspectives related to the history of Russia and Ukraine, while Carlson avoided critical questions and avoided seeking clarifications.
2024 marks the biggest electoral year yet for Romania, with European, local, parliamentary and presidential polls scheduled to take place on the background of significant domestic and global challenges, with the potential to further destabilise and polarise society. The rise of far-right and right-wing populists, correlated with a surge of disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, has reached an otherwise politically overlooked segment of the population – young people. Feeling unrepresented and severed from the political discourse, Romanian youth is at significant risk of radicalisation, being particularly vulnerable to extremist voices that aim to capitalise on their frustrations and disengagement, while leveraging their preferred channels of information and communication with increasing efficiency. Social media and youth susceptibility to online echo chambers and influencers provide pathway for manipulation by malicious actors whose political agenda aligns – more often than not – with the Kremlin’s (anti-EU, anti-NATO, anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia).
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has triggered a seismic shift in the European security landscape, compelling NATO and the European Union to reassess and adapt their strategic priorities. The designation of the Black Sea as an area of key security concern by NATO reflects the urgent need for a comprehensive response to Russia’s unprovoked aggression. While the Southeastern flank is now receiving increased attention, the Black Sea region faces challenges in achieving the same level of intra-NATO and regional security cooperation seen in the Baltic Sea.
GlobalFocus Center (Romania) has partnered with Political Capital (Hungary) European Western Balkans (Serbia) and Reporters’ Foundation (Poland), in a joint effort to check out how Ukraine-related disinformation is reflected and used within the far-right, ultra-nationalist and extremist communities to advance goals consistent with Russian interests.
When
speaking of territorial revisionism, the situation is unique in each country.
This is partly due to the different frontier grievances held by nationalists
and far-right groups but also due to the variable degree of compatibility
between these grievances and Russian interests and propaganda.
Still, nationalist discourse in each country had similarities even before the war started. In every country, nationalists have a dream of Great(er) Serbia / Romania / Poland / Hungary and they feel they have been historically wronged and frustrated in achieving this dream.
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