01490nas a2200229   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653002000043653002300063653002500086653001900111653001900130653000800149653001100157653001300168653001500181100001700196245006600213300000900279490000700288520096500295       2016                            d10aactive measures10aagent of influence10adeception operations10adisinformation10ahybrid warfare10aKGB10aRussia10aSiloviki10asubversion1 aSteve Abrams00aBeyond Propaganda: Soviet Active Measures in Putin’s Russia  a5-310 v153 a<p>This paper investigates the role of Soviet-style “active measures” as an element of modern Russian “political warfare.” These techniques were commonly used during the Soviet-era, encompassing a broad range of influence activities, including: covert media placement, forgery, agents of influence, “friendship” societies, front organizations, and more. Today, in Putin’s Russia, these active measures are once again in use, updated for digitally interconnected “global information space.” The paper begins with an introduction to active measures, then discusses their role in Soviet foreign policy and the attempts by the American “Active Measures Working Group” to counter them. The paper then describes how the Soviet active measures playbook has been updated for the modern era, using three case studies as examples. The paper concludes with a discussion on strategy, reproducing a number of recommendations from key publications.</p>