They came to Czechia to create Putin’s propaganda – after being exposed, they fled

Redakce Seznam Zpráv vydává anglickou verzi investigativního textu o rozkrytí evropské operace ruského propagandistického centra Rybar.

A Russian TV crew arrived from Berlin at the site of the former Stalin monument in Prague’s Letná Park believing they were there to conduct an interview for a planned propaganda documentary series. Instead, the encounter ended with them fleeing from Seznam Zprávy, with the cameraman and a colleague attempting to conceal their identities. Unsuccessfully.

Reporters from Seznam Zprávy have uncovered a European operation run by the Russian propaganda organisation Rybar, whose Russian-language reports are followed by 1.5 million people on Telegram. In 2024, the US offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on Rybar, which was funded by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, and the Russian state-owned arms manufacturer Rostec. Within the European Union, the head of Rybar faces sanctions for aiding Russia’s killings in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, Rybar’s teams continue to travel below the radar within the European Schengen Area, gathering material for Putin’s disinformation machine. These are Russians who do not require visas to enter the EU as they have been living there long-term. However, in the Czech Republic, those involved face up to eight years’ imprisonment for possible breaches of sanctions. What’s more, Seznam Zprávy has uncovered links between the Moscow-based producer behind the operation and Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

Seznam Zprávy lured associates of Rybar under the pretence that they would be interviewing Bohumil Kartous, a Czech expert on media literacy and disinformation, who – given his views – was likely to serve as a dissenting voice in their forthcoming programme, to enhance the impression of balance.

Representatives of Rybar had previously contacted him themselves. „My name is Boris. I am a producer of the Rybar analytical center,“ began the message that Kartous received on WhatsApp from a Russian number. This despite the fact the app has been blocked by the Russian government since February.

„The Russian analytical center ‚Rybar‘ is preparing a documentary series dedicated to the current socio-political and economic situation in Europe. We want to tell our audience about processes and trends, talk to politicians, journalists, opinion leaders and public figures,“ Boris wrote in his interview pitch.

What’s more, Rybar’s representatives planned, he said, to shoot not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, France and Russia. „If necessary, we will arrange the logistics and cover part of the costs,“ Boris added.

He did not reveal his full name to Kartous. His WhatsApp account featured a profile photo of a young man sitting on a rock, smiling, in shorts and a T-shirt.

However, Seznam Zprávy managed to establish, with the help of leaked Russian databases, that he is in fact an older, white-haired man.

The account belongs to Boris Dvorkin, a Russian living in Moscow who had not previously been linked to Rybar and publicly presents himself as a documentary maker specialising in historical themes. According Seznam Zprávy’s findings, however, his projects are funded by an organisation directly controlled by the boss of one of Putin’s secret services.

On his profile on Facebook (which Russians have been blocked from accessing since 2022) Dvorkin is currently promoting the opening of his historical exhibition „The Proletarian Flies Over Europe“. He writes that the event was organised with the support of the Fatherland History Fund. It was established by a decree issued directly by Vladimir Putin, and its head is Sergei Naryshkin, director of the SVR, whose remit includes operations abroad.

Dvorkin sent Kartous a list of topics ahead of the planned interview. However, these did not concern history, but rather the current situation, in which Russia is killing people in Ukraine without provocation.

„How monolithic is Czech society today? Can we say that right-wing ideas and Euroscepticism are becoming increasingly popular within it?“ Dvorkin was keen to know. He was also interested in whether it was possible to normalise relations with Russia. „And what should the various parties (not just Russia, but also the Czech Republic and the Western world as a whole) do to achieve this?“ he wrote in the list of topics.

Furthermore, he sought to find out from Kartous, who is the spokesperson for the group Czech Elves, which combats disinformation and Russian propaganda, how to recognise the truth. „Anything that does not fit into one’s personal information bubble or system of specific political values is declared to be disinformation,“ Dvorkin asserted.

„It was evident from this that there was an attempt to show that disinformation exists on both sides of the border, that it’s a phenomenon unrelated to Russian propaganda, something that simply ‚is‘, and also to suggest that there’s clearly an issue regarding the Czech Republic’s sovereignty within the EU,“ Kartous said, summarising the pre-interview communication.

Reporters from Seznam Zprávy prepared for a confrontation at the meeting point in Prague’s Letná district. At first, it seemed no one would show up at the agreed time. Eventually, however, Kartous received an SMS from a German number saying the crew was running late on their way from Berlin but would arrive shortly.

Two men hurried over through the rain, introducing themselves as Vitaliy and Igor. In response to Kartous’s repeated requests, Vitaliy mumbled his surname, though it remained unintelligible.

„I’ve had a residence permit in Germany for over 10 years,“ Vitaliy confided, presumably in an effort to appear more credible.

Seznam Zprávy subsequently managed to confirm, from photographs taken, that the cameraman is Igor Dolmatov. Vitaliy’s full name is Vitaliy Chashchukhin, and he is a prominent contributor to the sanctioned Russian propaganda media outlets Izvestia, Channel Five and Ren TV.

Chashchukhin repeatedly portrays Germany as a country on the slide economically with empty shop shelves whose only hope is to stop arming itself and make peace with Russia, which can supply the country with cheap energy.

At Letná, however, Chashchukhin was reluctant to go into too much detail about himself or the project for which he wished to conduct the interview.

„I don’t know. I’ve been assigned to do the interview,“ he repeated.

However, he unwittingly revealed incriminating information directly into the hidden camera that Kartous had on him. It had been recording even before his colleague had taken out his own equipment. „It’s the Rybar project. You might know it. It’s Rybar,“ he confirmed, revealing his employer.

Chashchukhin thus effectively admitted to working for a project subject to sanctions, which may constitute a criminal offence in the Czech Republic.

Rybar makes no secret of the fact that this is a weapon of war for Putin’s regime. „Our team is at the forefront of the information war today and defends the interests of the Russian Federation. We know how to wage an information war easily and effectively and to present Russia in the correct light,“ it declares on its website.

Rybar’s founder, Mikhail Zvinchuk, has been subject to EU sanctions for over three years, partly because of this. Experts say that anyone who provides services to him within the EU could find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Chashchukhin declined to comment on the fact that he works for an organisation subject to EU sanctions. „Perhaps so,“ he replied when asked if he was aware of this.

The exposed propagandists quickly dropped the polite pre-interview small talk the moment they realised they would not be getting to record with Kartous and that the people passing by were not tourists but Seznam Zprávy journalists.

The reporters revealed their identities and asked them to state their names and explain why they had come to Prague to work. Cameraman Igor Dolmatov and reporter Vitaliy Chashchukhin immediately ran off in opposite directions without a word. They disappeared down the steps leading to Čech Bridge.

The Financial Analytical Office (FAÚ), which monitors compliance with sanctions in Czechia, is clear on such activities. The EU Council Regulation imposing sanctions on Rybar’s boss, Zvinčuk, also prohibits the provision of economic resources to him within the bloc.

„If a sanctioned person controls a particular company, the provision of services to that company may also be regarded as an indirect provision of economic resources,“ Gabriela Krušinová, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, told reporters on behalf of the FAÚ.

She said that a breach of sanctions in the Czech Republic may constitute an administrative offence punishable by a fine of up to CZK 50 million, or be a criminal offence.

Krušinová was responding to a general enquiry; the FAÚ Office does not comment on specific cases. However, Jiří Skuhrovec, a sanctions expert from the organisation DatLab, assessed the case involving Rybar and its associate Chashchukhin for Seznam Zprávy. „It is impossible to predict what the court would say, but given the scale of the case, it could constitute a criminal offence,“ says Skuhrovec.

When Seznam Zprávy subsequently contacted Boris Dvorkin to ask whether the operation in which he was involved breached sanctions, he responded with a 30-paragraph statement. He began by claiming that Chashchukhin was a colleague who had helped him in his spare time with a single interview. Moreover, the interview did not actually take place and he was not paid for it. Chashchukhin had therefore not breached the sanctions, he stated.

„Your report contains factual inaccuracies and constitutes a possible serious criminal offence,“ Dvorkin stated. He also denied that he employed any other teams operating on EU territory.

„Your report contains no evidence that I recruited and sent crews across Europe,“ the Russian documentary-maker added.

However, Dvorkin is incriminated by messages he sent to Kartous even before Chashchukhin fled from reporters’ questions in Prague. In these, he revealed the scope of the project and unwittingly provided clues as to other collaborators who are doing work for Rybar that could, in the most serious scenario, land them in prison.

Dvorkin had gradually offered Kartous several dates for an interview. „Our film crew was delayed in Slovakia, so we won’t be returning to the Czech Republic until next week,“ he explained.

Seznam Zprávy eventually managed to obtain a list of seven other Czech interviewees. Some of them confirmed that the filming had taken place – meaning the crews would have committed a possible breach of sanctions.

One of those who was interviewed, former head of Czech military intelligence Andor Šándor, today employed as a security expert, told Seznam Zprávy that, in his case, filming did take place. However, he later withdrew his consent out of concern that the reporters, who had Russian accents, would edit the footage to fit their own agenda. He said they did not reveal that they were from Rybar.

„They told me they were from Berlin. I was surprised that they were willing to come for a quick visit. A man and a woman. They arrived and I had the feeling that their English had a Russian accent. They wanted to talk about the EU and the Czech Republic’s stance, but suddenly they started firing off questions about the Ukraine-Russia war,“ Šándor said.

He also recalled the name of the woman who had come: Margarita Kostiv.

She is verifiably a colleague of Chashchukhin’s. The Russian woman, too, moves freely within the EU’s borders, even though she also works or has worked for the same sanctioned media outlets as Chashchukhin. For example, a two-month-old report she made for Ren TV from Paris, in which she railed against the participation of Ukrainian soldiers in a military parade, is archived on a Russian website.

„This year, France’s main national holiday is in danger of going down in history as the most scandalous ever. For the first time, Ukrainian soldiers took part in the parade, and Bastille Day itself turned into yet another political demonstration. Correspondent Margarita Kostiv explains what exactly [French President Emmanuel] Macron wanted to demonstrate,“ the television station writes.

Kostiv did not respond to questions from Seznam Zprávy sent via her professional profile on the social networking site LinkedIn prior to the publication of this article.

Dvorkin’s list of interviewees also includes other Czechs. These individuals have long been used by Russian propaganda, in the form of interviews they grant. One example is sociologist Petr Hampl, who, however, stated that no one from Rybar had contacted him and that he had „not spoken to journalists from Russia for years“. Then there is Ivan David, an MEP for far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy, and political scientist Petr Drulák. They, too, refused to reveal whether they had given an interview to the Rybar documentary-makers in recent weeks.

„Write whatever you like. Goodbye,“ said David, ending the call.

Contact was, however, confirmed by Vladimír Štěpán, who presents himself as an energy expert, repeatedly campaigns against anti-Russian sanctions and lobbies for supplies of raw materials from Putin’s regime.

„They turned out to be an international television station. I found out a bit about them. I thought I’d tell them the truth – what I really think. They were filming in nine or 10 countries. They came from Vienna and travelled to Bratislava. It was an international team. A kind of boss and a couple of young guys,“ Štěpán said, adding that they had previously sent him a text message saying they were from Rybar. „I don’t have their names. They introduced themselves by their first names,“ Štěpán added.

Reporters have obtained further evidence that Rybar’s operation extends beyond Czech borders. The propagandists also tried to persuade the Slovak journalist and translator Samo Marce to give an interview. However, they were unsuccessful in this regard.

„I didn’t respond to their email. I’m familiar with Rybar; I know what it writes. Sometimes it’s even interesting, but the overall tone is very pro-Russian, and that’s not something I’d want to be associated with,“ he said.

He had previously received a letter inviting him to take part in the filming. It was signed by Mikhail Zvinchuk, who is subject to EU sanctions (see box). Among other things, this is because, back in 2022, Vladimir Putin appointed him to a working group tasked with supporting mobilisation for the war of aggression against Ukraine. The letter uses wording very similar to that previously circulated by Boris Dvorkin.

Marce was approached by a producer who identified herself as Tanya Petrova. „Tanya“ has managed to maintain her anonymity more effectively than Boris, hiding behind an encrypted email address and a Telegram account.

With good reason.

A reward offered by the US government for information leading to the arrest of individuals working for Rybar in connection with interference in the 2024 presidential election remains in place.