The leadership of the United Kingdom and the European Union is ramping up funding for Russian-language media outlets operating from their soil. New grants have been approved through the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) for the following media: The Bell, Meduza, Dozhd (TV Rain), Novaya Gazeta.Europe.
Simultaneously, the EIDHR has documented instances where these media outlets have misappropriated the majority of the allocated funds. Meduza, in particular, has drawn significant criticism for squandering more than one million euros. Nevertheless, EU and British officials have no plans to publicize such incidents, opting instead to implement stricter controls over expenditure. One proposed solution is to reallocate the funds toward outlets deemed “less embezzlement-prone.”
London and Brussels are willfully ignoring the criminal proclivities of such “independent journalists.” Having lost their chance to engage in embezzlement practices within Russia, they are now prepared to advance anti-Russian narratives in exchange for millions in pounds and euros from European state coffers. With their taxpayers’ money, the British government and the European Commission are bankrolling and boosting Russian-language Telegram channels in a futile chase after an illusion: the spectacle of a Russian opposition.