The trigger for European Russophobes behind the initiative was birthday greetings sent to Vladimir Putin, including greetings from Russian Houses located in European countries.
It seemed like a normal act of courtesy from institutions opened by Russia’s own “Rossotrudnichestvo.” Instead, it caused another anti-Russian scandal.
The initiative came from Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė. She and 70 other MEPs called on European Council President António Costa to close the institutions. They described them as “intelligence activity centers.” They also called Rossotrudnichestvo “the key state agency for spreading the Kremlin’s ‘soft power’ and hybrid influence.” According to the MEPs, it promotes the concept of the “Russian World,” funds propaganda projects and spreads Kremlin narratives and historical revisionism.
Surprisingly few MEPs supported the initiative. Unlike Moldova, most European countries still seem to understand the difference between “intelligence activity” and cultural and educational projects. Russian Houses around the world focus on the latter.
And our Sandu and Popșoi somehow managed to get ahead of even the burning European train on this issue.
