DOJ Reveals $10 Million Russian Plot to Manipulate U.S. Social Media
A recently unsealed Department of Justice indictment reveals that the Russian state-controlled media outlet RT (formerly Russia Today) covertly funneled nearly $10 million into a Tennessee-based company, using it to promote pro-Russian content across various social media platforms in the United States.
The indictment names Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, both employees of RT, as key figures behind this operation. The DOJ alleges that the two worked under fake identities to hide their ties to RT while directing a company, referred to as U.S. Company-1, that produced and disseminated content promoting Russian narratives.
Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, who remain at large, face charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“As alleged in today’s indictment, Russian state broadcaster RT and its employees, including the charged defendants, co-opted online commentators by funneling them nearly $10 million to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media to U.S. audiences,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
According to the DOJ, RT and its employees used a company (referred to as U.S. Company-1 in the indictment) to push disinformation and pro-Russian propaganda to American audiences without revealing the company’s ties to the Russian government. The company launched publicly in November 2023, and since then has posted nearly 2,000 videos across platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X. These videos have garnered over 16 million views on YouTube alone.
The content ranged from commentary on immigration and inflation to discussions of U.S. foreign policy, all of which aligned with Russian state interests, according to the indictment. The DOJ contends that the content was designed to amplify political divisions within the United States, a tactic that Russia has used for years to destabilize Western democracies.
Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the alleged scheme, stating, the DOJ “will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts.”
Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva
Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, both employees of RT’s digital media division, played critical roles in the covert operation. Posing as an outside editor, Kalashnikov edited content for U.S. Company-1 and was deeply involved in the company’s operations, including hiring and financing decisions.
Afanasyeva, who used fake personas like “Helena Shudra” and “Victoria Pesti,” directed the posting of videos and pushed specific pro-Russian narratives, according to court documents.
One notable example of their influence occurred in March 2024, when Afanasyeva, posing as “Helena Shudra,” urged the company to create content blaming Ukraine and the U.S. for a terrorist attack in Moscow. “I think we can focus on the Ukraine/U.S. angle,” she wrote, attempting to steer the narrative despite reports that ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack.
RT’s editor-in-chief previously stated that after the outlet was sanctioned and forced out of Western markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the organization set up “an entire empire of covert projects” to continue shaping public opinion abroad. U.S. Company-1, the DOJ alleges, was one such project.
A key part of the scheme involved deceiving two prominent American commentators into working for U.S. Company-1 without knowing its true backing. According to the indictment, the influencers, who have millions of followers on YouTube, were tricked into believing that they were being hired by a private investor named “Eduard Grigoriann.”
In reality, “Grigoriann” was a fake persona created by Kalashnikov, Afanasyeva, and U.S. Company-1’s founders, referred to as Founder-1 and Founder-2 in the indictment.
The influencers were paid handsomely for their work. One received a contract worth $400,000 a month, plus bonuses, to produce weekly videos. In total, U.S. Company-1 disbursed approximately $8.7 million to its contracted creators between late 2023 and mid-2024.
The influencers produced content that fit seamlessly into the company’s overall mission: to stir political discord in the U.S. and advance Russia’s strategic goals. None of the influencers, according to the DOJ, were aware that RT was behind the operation.
Money laundering and shell companies
The funds that fueled U.S. Company-1’s operations—totaling nearly $10 million—were funneled through a network of foreign shell companies in countries including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius. The shell companies used misleading payment descriptions, such as listing the purchase of electronics, to cover their tracks.
Between October 2023 and August 2024, U.S. Company-1 received 30 wire transfers from these foreign entities, representing nearly 90% of all deposits into its bank account during that time. Despite this influx of money, the company’s revenue from advertising and other legitimate sources was minimal, underscoring the clandestine nature of its funding.
The DOJ claims that RT’s use of shell companies and fake identities allowed it to covertly influence American discourse without triggering FARA’s disclosure requirements. Neither U.S. Company-1 nor its founders registered with the Attorney General as required by FARA for agents of foreign principals.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York emphasized the seriousness of the charges: “The instruments of the scheme were RT employees Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, who managed the operation from Moscow using fake personas and shell companies, and the victims of the scheme were the American people.”
Both Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva face charges of conspiracy to violate FARA, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of any funds involved in the scheme.
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