Leaked documents: The Kremlin elite wages a systematic info war against Russian people for billion euros

Estonia's most prominent news portal, Delfi, has obtained documents revealing how the Kremlin is ensuring Putin's election victory, building a nationwide propaganda network and internet censorship machine under the guise of an information war, and integrating occupied territories in Ukraine.

The document reveals detailed plans by the Kremlin, including a budget of approximately 110 billion rubles (about 1.1 billion euros) for activities termed "information warfare" against its society and occupied Ukrainian territories. It highlights the allocation of funds for a nationwide propaganda network, internet censorship, and ensuring a favorable mood among the population in annexed regions. Even movie and TV series content and launches are written down in detail.

For example, the document concerns one of Russia's best-known propagandists, Vladimir Solovyov. According to it, Solovyov received €15 million from the Russian state budget in 2023. For this year, the document foresaw a €30 million grant for Solovyov. A note accompanied it: "We are waiting for a meeting between Solovyov and the President." 

Another example is Maria Lvova-Belova, who is the presidential commissioner responsible for children's rights. The International Criminal Tribunal wants her for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Lvova- Belova will receive €420,000 this year, according to documents. The comments column says that the money will be explicitly given 'for the removal of children from the area of the special military operation.' The International Criminal Court, however, considers such actions by Lvova-Belova to be war crimes.

The leak comes from the Russian presidential administration's domestic policy bloc, headed by 61-year-old Sergei Kiriyenko. When he became the youngest prime minister in Russian history in the spring of 1998, he was nicknamed Kinder Surprise for his youth and unpredictability. Now, more than 25 years later, he is called the Viceroy of Donbas because he took over the administration and reconstruction of the occupied territories during the war in Ukraine.