By Olha Hembik | 2025-10-22

WARSAW -- Pelmeni and propaganda. The Kremlin is spending record sums to lure young foreigners with cooking classes, folk dances and free trips -- all in a bid to win hearts abroad.

In 2025 alone, Moscow has allocated 412 million RUB ($5 million), about 50% more than last year, to programs aimed at shaping the views of foreign youth, according to a September report by the investigative outlet iStories.

The money funds initiatives run by Rossotrudnichestvo, a government agency widely seen as a front for Russian intelligence services. The organization sponsors cultural events, overseas trips and awards designed to cultivate what it calls "pro-Russian" activists.

Officials are not coy about their aims.

"It is important that participants, upon returning home, do not lose contact with Rossotrudnichestvo … and become ambassadors of the Russian world in their own countries," Dmitry Polikanov, the agency's deputy head, has said.

The earmarked budget is the highest in the program's 14-year history, stressing the Kremlin's escalating investment in what analysts describe as a "war for minds."

A war for minds

Russia's New Generation program is one of several soft-power initiatives run by Rossotrudnichestvo. Last year, President Vladimir Putin ordered the program to expand and increased its funding by 384 million RUB ($4.7 million) annually.

This year, 1,600 participants -- activists, journalists, bloggers, entrepreneurs and academics ages 14 to 40 -- are expected to visit Russia on fully paid short-term trips.

Their itineraries include rafting in the Altai Mountains, excursions in Moscow, attending the Eastern Economic Forum, training at state media outlets RT and Sputnik, and meetings with government officials.

The Kremlin aims to cultivate a pool of young foreigners who remain engaged with Russia and loyal to its interests.

iStories reported the government expects some participants to eventually take senior positions in their home countries and "become loyal leaders to the Kremlin abroad."

Polikanov said it was important that participants maintain contact after returning home by visiting Russian cultural centers and joining events, becoming "ambassadors of the Russian world."

Political analyst Mykhailo Basarab said Moscow is scaling up propaganda spending despite a worsening economy and the heavy costs of its war in Ukraine. He argued the Kremlin is cutting other expenses, including for the military campaign, because it sees influence abroad as critical.

"The Kremlin knows that no technologies, modern weapons, ammunition or even money is worth anything when the war for minds is lost," Basarab told Kontur. "So that all these supermodern fighter jets and missiles can fly, air defense systems can shoot things down, tanks can run and machine guns can shoot, there needs to be a motivated soldier and a motivated public."

Agents of influence

Dominik Gąsiorowski, a television writer and expert on countering Russian propaganda, said he began writing about disinformation after personally encountering it and noticing Polish media paid little attention. He framed it as part of Russia's soft-power effort to polish its image abroad.

Gąsiorowski investigated the pro-Russian foundation Wspieram (I Support), which for years organized the Sputnik Russian Film Festival in Warsaw. Funded by the Russian Culture Ministry and the Kremlin-backed Russkiy Mir Foundation, the group promoted Russian culture and cooperated with government entities.

Russian influence, he said, is visible in academic and cultural institutions, especially universities, where Russkiy Mir maintains a presence. He also pointed to factions of the Polish church and political organizations.

Gąsiorowski said pro-Russian politicians can be found in the Confederation party, as well as within Law and Justice. Some former activists from the Polish People's Party also have ties to Russia, often through border groups.

"I see every day how Polish politicians are helpless in the face of Russian disinformation," he told Kontur.

Until recently, a government commission studied how Russia and Belarus affected Poland's internal security and national interests. The body, which investigated the period from 2004 to 2024 and operated under the prime minister, officially ceased work on September 30.

Russian trolls

Basarab said Russia has compensated for limited resources with a "skillful battle for the adversary's mind," while the West has largely stood by. He argued Ukraine should draw lessons from Moscow's influence operations.

Poland has responded to what officials call Russia's hybrid war by shutting down consulates in Poznań and Krakow, which the government said were acting as sabotage centers rather than diplomatic missions.

Still, Mykhailo Strelnikov, founder of the Museum of Victory over Despotism in Poland, said the Kremlin is "winning the information war by a landslide."

"It's not surprising that Russia is doing this professionally. Billions of euros and entire military units are working on this," Strelnikov told Kontur, noting that any news in Poland quickly attracts "thousands of Russian trolls and pro-Russian profiles."

He pointed to September 10, when Russian drones entered Polish airspace and online commentators immediately sought to deflect blame onto Ukraine, the Polish government, the media or the West.