The “Hidden Hand” of External Enemies

THE USE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES BY PUTIN’S REGIME

PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 192

June 2012

Serghei Golunov

Volgograd State University

Deploying and seeking to capitalize on conspiracy theories is fairly common among

political actors worldwide. Explaining some events as the result of an internal or

external opponent’s sinister plans can empower theorists and disempower adversaries.

With their actions, conspiracy theorists can mobilize supporters, reduce their own

responsibility for failures, create scapegoats , sharpen popular negative sentiments, and

provide easy explanations for social problems (particularly at times of crisis).

Furthermore, such theories can serve as a means of entertainment, thereby raising their

popularity and extending their reach.

Various conspiracy theories play an important role in contemporary Russian

politics. The substance of such theories focuses on the threatening plans of “foreign

enemies,” among which the United States and its allies take pride of place. In the Yeltsin

era, the authorities rarely resorted to conspiracy theories. However, President Vladimir

Putin’s regime has increasingly employed them in order to sideline the opposition.

This memo examines the use of conspiracy theories by supporters of Putin’s

regime by exploring the following issues. First, it examines the nature of conspiracy

theories in Russia before Putin came to power. It then looks at two major outbreaks of

government-inspired anti-opposition conspiracy theorizing: after the color revolutions

of the mid-2000s and during the Russian election campaigns of 2011-12. Finally, it

analyzes the means by which opposition members have responded to conspiracies

directed against them.

The Legacy of the 1990s

In the Soviet period, conspiracy theories were a substantial part of official ideology—

that the USSR was surrounded by malicious enemies. During the Cold War, the main

The Hidden Hand of External Enemies