Date: 23 November 2024, Author: Jacek Plaza

“Rossotrudnichestvo” as a Russian tool of influence in the Czech Republic

Due to Russian combat operations in the east and south of Ukraine, traditional forms of warfare are again of greatest interest in Europe. Meanwhile, the Russian Federation has numerous parallel cognitive activities, focused largely in the cultural sphere.

Photo: The Russian House in Prague

One of the main tools used by Moscow in this field, is the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo)

‘Rossotrudnichestvo’ was established back in 2008 and is the successor of a similar institution that functioned during the time of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, namely the All-Union Society for Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries (ВОКС), founded in 1925 and transformed in 1958 into the Union of Soviet Societies of Friendship and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries (ССОД). Today, Rossotrudnichestvo has representative offices in 71 countries, and although its main activity is focused on the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the institution also operates in the countries of the European Union.

One of its active representations in the central part of the continent is the Russian House in Prague. According to the Agency’s own declarations, its main tasks are to promote the Russian language and culture, support Russians living abroad or cooperate with scientific institutions in partner countries. However, representatives of the institution are accused of propaganda and even intelligence activities. Similar suspicions are also confirmed by the intelligence services of the Czech Republic, which is why some local experts are advising the government to close the Russian House in Prague, which continues to operate without restrictions despite Russian aggression in Ukraine and the ensuing information war. In the Czech Republic, in addition to the Russian House in Prague, the Russkij Mir Foundation and the Coordinating Council of Compatriots in the Czech Republic operate within the framework of Rossotrudnichestva activities. The latter was recognised by the Czech authorities as recently as 2010 as an organisation potentially playing the role of a Russian fifth column in the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, it received financial support from the budget of the city of Brno and the South Moravian Region.

One of the most significant initiatives currently being implemented by Rossotrudnichestvo is the programme ‘Здравствуй, Россия!’, launched in 2014, which is a vehicle for promoting ‘traditional values’ and the notorious Kremlin concept of ‘Russkiy mir’. As part of the project, around 700 young people aged between 14 and 19 visit Russia each year, where they take part in training courses and seminars. A controversial element of the youth trips to the Russian Federation is the so-called ‘patriotic education’. This consists not only of visiting museums and monuments, but also of the participants acquiring historical knowledge in the version deemed appropriate by the Kremlin authorities, as well as ‘traditional values’ passed on to the participants by, among others, clerics. During each trip, the creation of social media coverage is an obligatory part of the programme, so that the Russian propaganda message can reach more young people in Western and Central Europe and encourage them to take part in similar initiatives. Russia is seeking to build a positive image among European youth in this way, especially after it was damaged following the annexation of Crimea and the launch of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The link between the intensification of Rossostrudnichestvo’s activities and the aforementioned events is evident through the record funding for the Agency in 2015 and 2023.

At present, the operation of Russian cultural institutions in the Czech Republic is a subject of discussion in circles associated with the Czech authorities. The process of reducing the Russian presence in the country began under Andrej Babiš’s government, and was intensified after the presumably Russian-inspired explosions at an ammunition depot in Vrbětice, in which two Czech citizens were killed. Ten Russian diplomats were then expelled. It is unclear whether the Russian House in Prague will be included in the policy of removing the Russian element from the republic. The dismantling of Russian institutions in the Czech Republic, which are proteged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, would require appropriate legal solutions and a revision of the agreements still in place between the two countries. A possible scenario is also to subject Rossotrudnichestvo to another package of EU sanctions, which would make it easier for the Czech Republic to rid itself of Russian propaganda messages from its territory and avoid independent legal and diplomatic action in this regard. For the time being, Russian cultural institutions continue to operate on the territory of the Czech Republic and other countries in the region, implementing the Kremlin’s propaganda policy, to which the Russians attach great importance and on which they are not used to sparing resources.

Bibliography:
1. Orginied Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Investigace.cz: Как Кремль продвигает «русский мир» среди западных подростков, 15.10.2024, https://www.occrp.org/ru/novosti/investigacecz-kak-kreml-prodvigaet-russkiy-mirsredi-zapadnyh-podrostkov
2. Россотрудничество, Деятельность, https://rs.gov.ru/activities/
3. A. Dohnalová, Aktuálně.cz, Ruský dům šíří propagandu, zavřete ho, radí vláděexperti. Agenty v něm vidí i BIS, 15.05.2023 https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/ruskydum-v-praze/r~83001c42f00211eda9eeac1f6b220ee8

______________________

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.

Support Us

If content prepared by Warsaw Institute team is useful for you, please support our actions. Donations from private persons are necessary for the continuation of our mission.

Support

All texts published by the Warsaw Institute Foundation may be disseminated on the condition that their origin is credited. Images may not be used without permission.