CAISS Autumn/Winter Series Talk: Disinformation in Estonia by Dr Alex Hardy

PLEASE NOTE THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE OF TIME FOR THIS TALK

December 3rd 12:00pm

For the third talk in our series CAISS are delighted to welcome Dr Alex Hardy, Liverpool University.   This talk examines Russian digital diplomacy prior to 2022 and the full-scale war in Ukraine. It focuses on messaging toward the Baltic states via the influential @mfa_russia account. Frequently described as a ‘tool for disinformation’ (Manor, 2019), analysis of the account’s English-language content reveals several recurring themes concerning the Baltic Countries: debates over Soviet occupation versus liberation from Nazi Germany, accusationsof Nazi collaboration and neo-Nazism, and claims of widespread Russophobia. The talk highlights how this combative style of digital diplomacy, often framed as “neorevanchism,” (Mälksoo, 2015) seeks to influence perceptions, sew discontent among local populations,and alarm Western audiences and how this has its roots in Soviet-era ‘Active Measures’ (Rid, 2020). Understanding the Baltic experience is particularly relevant to the UK, as it offers critical lessons on countering disinformation and protecting democratic resilience in the face of similar hybrid threats. It also considers the reasoning and effectiveness of these approaches in the context of strained Baltic-Russian relations and contested Soviet-era memory, discussing how successful this messaging is, and what lessons can be learned from the Baltic experience.