Expert: KGB group with Putin spread false rumors about Estonia
A group of Russian KGB officers, including Vladimir Putin, spread conspiracy theories about the sinking of Estonia.
This is to hide alleged Russian interference, claims Stephen Davis, who worked as a consultant for the new documentary about Estonia.
- It was a successful fake news operation, several of these people are still close to Putin today, he says.
The rumors surrounding the Estonia disaster are partly the result of a successful Russian disinformation campaign. A deliberate dissemination of conspiracy theories about the sinking.
It claims the experienced digging journalist Stephen Davis who was a consultant for the acclaimed Estonia documentary "Estonia - the find that changes everything" and is also a consultant for an upcoming BBC series on intelligence services.
"Ways to hide the truth"
- Anyone who spreads many conspiracy theories can make everyone appear as a conspiracy theorist. Also legitimate journalists and researchers. It's a way to hide the truth, says Stephen Davis, who recently published the book " Truthteller" (truth teller) about fake news.
- Former KGB men, among them Vladimir Putin, spread such theories about Estonia. Many of these people still hold key positions around Putin today and continue with these methods on a larger scale, he says.
Stephen Davis has worked as a reporter for leading British newspapers such as the Sunday Times and the Independent and as a television producer for American CBS 60 Minutes. Today he teaches journalism at a university in New Zealand.
Carried weapons
- The intelligence services in the United Kingdom, Estonia and Sweden collaborated to smuggle out military secrets from Russia. It was possible to get as many weapons and electronics as possible in the first years of the 1990s, says Stephen Davis.
- After the collapse of the Soviet Union, old KGB officers sold secrets to the West. It was open to everyone. But other former KGB members, such as the young Vladimir Putin, saw with disgust how their colleagues betrayed the motherland, he says and explains that this is the background to the military transport in Estonia.
The Swedish defense has confirmed two such transports in the weeks before the sinking in September 1994. Vitten has stated that military vehicles were also on board the night Estonia sank.
The picture of the general state of dissolution in Russia and the unlimited sale of weapons and military secrets is confirmed by Russian experts.
Russian warnings
Stephen Davis says that Russia at least twice warned Estonia and the British intelligence service MI6 to continue military transport in Estonia. But that the warnings were ignored.
The group of disgruntled former KGB officers aimed to stop the free flow of Russian military secrets to the West, according to Davis. They threatened and even murdered people they believed had too close contacts with the West. And they wanted to stop the transport of military equipment in Estonia.
- We may never know exactly what happened to Estonia. Several intelligence sources tell me that Russia wanted to send a warning, they did not want to sink the ship but force it to return to the port of departure, says Stephen Davis, referring to sources in British MI6.
"Combination" of causes
- The hole revealed in the new documentary is characteristic of a mine explosion. In combination with severe weather and poorly maintained bow visor, it may have led to the sinking. A new investigation needs to investigate all this, he says.
After the sinking, the group of former KGB men began spreading conspiracy theories that would explain the incident. It was said that there was drug smuggling on board and that the ship's captain was involved. It was linked to terrorists in Chechnya, to various powers in the Middle East, to organized crime in Estonia.
- Within 48 hours, at least four different conspiracy theories were in circulation. All came from Russia. All explanations pointed to other than Russia, says Stephen Davis.
- They were successful and continue to this day. Putin is a master of these methods and he is surrounded by other experts. It is a regime consisting of people who create conspiracy theories, he says.
Traditional method
Leading Swedish Russia experts can not confirm the information about Putin's alleged involvement. But they confirm that disinformation is a traditional practice in the political warfare of Russia and the Soviet Union.
- It is quite clear that many with a background in the KGB and security service were very dissatisfied after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were trained in disinformation, that was their mentality. Many in Putin's circle from that time are still around him today, says Associate Professor Martin Kragh, head of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Foreign Policy Institute.
- Even though Estonia was an accident, there were revengeists who may have wanted to use it to spread disinformation. They would have twisted and turned it to their own advantage. It was a traditional method within the KGB, he says.
"Everything but nuclear weapons for sale"
Joakim von Braun, a specialist in Russia and intelligence issues, is also in the same line. He says that "everything but nuclear weapons and weapons" could be bought in Russia in the early 1990s - and that many in the security services and the defense were upset that former colleagues were engaged in such sales.
- It sounds likely that such groups spread misinformation about Estonia. Much of the point of fake news is that people in the West should lose confidence in their leaders and institutions, to divide nations. So they may have been interested in spreading rumors without themselves being involved in the sinking, he says.
Dissatisfied KGB members
Jan Leijonhielm, former head of Russian studies at the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI):
- It is no secret that the Russian security service disliked the fact that materials and equipment came to the West. Old KGB members had different groups that expressed dismay and dissatisfaction. If any of them were involved in Estonia, they would have made every effort to spread myths as much as they could.
Ann-Louise Eksborg was Director General of the Accident Investigation Board Norway during the last six months of the Estonia Inquiry's work. She thinks it's good that the new documentary examines a hole you have not been able to see before.
"Super professionals investigated Estonia"
- There were a lot of conspiracy theories, but we in the Accident Investigation Board did not let ourselves be disturbed by such. It was super professionals who investigated Estonia. Ship officers with long experience, shipbuilders, behavioral scientists, lawyers, she says.
Henrik Evertsson, the director behind the documentary "Estonia - the finding that changes everything" , says that journalism is the best way to counter conspiracy theories and misinformation.
- There are many conspiracy theories about Estonia. It can be difficult to know what is true and false. Good journalism is the only medicine against rumors and speculation, he says.
Lähde:
https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/expert ... m-estonia/ 
