Azov torrent

https://www. rt.com/russia/560260-zelensky-amnesty-international-report/
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has accused Amnesty International of siding with “terrorists” after the organization condemned the Ukrainian military for placing weapons in civilian areas in violation of humanitarian law.
“Today we saw a report by Amnesty International, which unfortunately tries to amnesty the terrorist state and shift responsibility from the aggressor to the victim,” Zelensky said in a video address on Thursday evening.
“If someone makes a report that puts the aggressor and the victim on the same level, this cannot be tolerated,” he said, repeating three times that “Ukraine is a victim,” and adding that “anyone who doubts this is an accomplice of Russia – a terrorist country – and a terrorist themselves and a participant in the killings.”'
The report in question was published earlier on Thursday, and detailed 22 cases of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from schools and five examples of troops using hospitals as bases. Amnesty said that it was “not aware” that Ukraine tried to evacuate civilians before occupying these non-military locations.
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. “Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.”
While Amnesty has also accused Russia of breaking international law in the conduct of its military operation, the report was slated online by supporters of Zelensky’s regime, who accused the international organization of peddling “Russian propaganda.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has also pushed back against the report, accusing Amnesty of “creating a false reality” where everyone “is at fault for something.” Instead, he argued that the organization should focus exclusively on alleged Russian wrongdoing.
Amid a torrent of criticism from pro-Ukrainian social media posters, Callamard stuck by the report. “To those who attack us alleging biases against Ukraine, I say: check our work,” she wrote on Twitter. “We stand by all victims. Impartially.” Callamard also accused “social media mobs and trolls” on both sides of the conflict of spreading “war propaganda, disinformation, [and] misinformation.”
In his speech, Zelensky accused the Russian military of “striking at memorials to Holocaust victims” and “at a prisoner of war camp in Yelenovka.” Zelensky was apparently referring to a strike on a Holocaust memorial in March, which actually hit a TV tower nearby. An Israeli journalist stated that the memorial itself was untouched.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a missile strike on the Yelenovka detention facility housing members of the neo-Nazi Azov regiment last week, and has asked the United Nations and Red Cross to investigate the attack. Donetsk People’s Republic officials claimed the facility was targeted to prevent the prisoners from testifying about alleged Ukrainian war crimes.

In the wake of the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the comparisons to World War II and Adolf Hitler abound. The comparisons are valid though, I believe, misplaced. We are witnessing a war that has a very real risk of spiraling out of control, combined with an intricate web of military alliances and nationalist fervor. In short, we’re not seeing another World War II, but we are instead risking a return to World War I.
NATO was founded on the principal that “an attack on one is an attack on all.” Explicitly anti-Soviet in origin, it was the military alliance that was seen as the bulwark against the combined powers of the USSR and Warsaw Pact. We can dissect the purpose of NATO before the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact at great length, but that would be pointless for now. Since 1991, NATO has been a military alliance in search of an enemy. For a short period in the early 1990s it seemed that Russia might be its friends and allies in spite of its brutal war in Chechnya. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Russia declared itself to be on the Western side in fighting in the War on Terrorism.
The war in Chechnya is a horrifying display of human rights abuses on the highest order, but in the context of the Forever War, it is but one front. The bulk of the fighting in Chechnya ended by 2009. In 2008 Russia invaded Georgia and won in a quick and, by the standards of 2022, low-cost war. This, along with the seizure of the Crimea and the intervention in the Donbass, propelled Russia back into the position of NATO enemy number one by 2015. NATO had been adding nations to the alliance east into Eastern Europe, adding Poland, the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria. The odious Henry Kissinger in the 1990s warned that these actions would cause an increase in tensions with Russia. Russia, in 2015 onwards, saw an entire bloc of explicitly anti-Russian nations form on its borders.
While this bloc formed, Russia watched world affairs. The NATO centerpiece, the USA and their Allies invaded and destroyed Iraq in 2003, a war that has caused the deaths of over one million people in the region. In 2011 NATO (Canada leading the charge) smashed Libya. Ostensibly to protect people from “war crimes,” the alliance bombed the nation into ruins until Ghaddafi was lynched by a mob of rebels. Libya was abandoned by the nations of the world to burn and turn into an open-air slave market. Turkey has been playing realpolitik games in the Middle East too, and in so doing it has ethnically-cleansed the West’s Kurdish allies (doubt it feels that way anymore) from the areas that the Turks had seized in Syria. Furthermore, the Turks sent support and materiel to Azerbaijan during its recent invasion and subsequent ethnic cleansing campaign in Armenia.
The ever-increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine came to a head in 2014 after the overthrow of a corrupt Russian-backed government. This overthrow was very likely funded heavily by NATO nations concerned with a regime change to a Western liberal-aligned government structure. What followed was a wave of anti-Russian sentiment that resulted (no doubt with Russian agitation) in the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics forming, and a civil war breaking out. Russia backed the DRP/LPR and provided weapons, trainers, and other supports. NATO provided the same for the Ukrainian Government, with the stated advantage of being on the side of “International Law.” As I’ve outlined in previous blogs about Russian and China, the notion of International Law is explicitly pro-Western. Many of the treaties that the West upholds as the International Order were made without consultation with or support from either China or Russia. Many of these laws are not inherently unjust, such as the freedom of waterway access, but they are a tool to be used against the opponents of NATO/International Order.
What of the discussion of Nazism, Fascism, and war crimes in Ukraine? There are many war crimes, and nobody making an unbiased reading of the situation in Ukraine would deny their existence, or that the crimes in Donbass did occur during the war there. Racism in Ukraine, especially antisemitism, is well documented and has been present in uncomfortable degrees for some time now. The CAF went so far as to train and provide intelligence to the infamous Azov Battalion, the explicitly Nazi Ukrainian unit. We’ve also seen far right elements popping up among the Ukrainian diaspora, in no small part due to their anti-Russian and anti-communist sentiments. So, the arguments about this being a point of contention is indeed valid, but the part that is missing is that Russia is not ANTIFA.
I stated in my blog on Russia that the current government is far-right, authoritarian and ultranationalist. It is reactionary and views the entire sphere of the former USSR as its rightful territory. The USSR comparisons have been made frequently, because Putin has stated that the breakup of the USSR was the greatest folly in history. This doesn’t make him a Communist at all, but rather a nationalist who saw the USSR as the best voice for that nationalism. During his tenure Putin has actually resurrected many of the myths and historical heroes of the Russian Empire, and the White Movement during the Russian Civil War. Putin has no politics that have any basis of appeal beyond those of the ethnic Russian people, as his movement is inherently ethnonationalist. This stands starkly in contrast to the perception of Putin as another Hitler; fascist policy is universal, and while it contains ultranationalism, it is far more than that.
Thus, at the start of this crisis – the latest part being the 2021/22 escalation of Russian forces in the region – it was estimated that these formations were ready for combat at two weeks notice, as of the November freeze. Many of Russia’s historically successful operations have occurred during winter and this was not surprising. Instead, the forces sat idle for months while tensions slowly rose, the Ukrainian Army prepared, and NATO dumped more and more weapons into Ukraine. As late as end of January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was telling the West that he was confident there would be no invasion, and that the military should prepare for offensive actions in Donbass. During the negotiations between Russian, Ukraine, and the concerned Western Powers it was clear that no meaningful breakthroughs would take place.
So, at the beginning of the war (and please look to earlier writing on this) we see Ukraine, fearful of its more powerful neighbour, with a flawed government, an ongoing frozen Civil War, and with massive supplies of arms pouring in. We have a Russian nation led by a paranoid and corrupt leader facing down NATO expansion everywhere, and now seeing a nation that hates Russia and is fighting Russians, and one that wishes to join NATO’s nuclear-armed alliance. If one looks at NATO from the Russian point of view, the notion that it is an existential threat is not unreasonable. Looking at things from the point of view of Ukraine, its national integrity is a right, as it is a right to be defended. It’s been six days since Vladimir Putin decided to toss away any credibility or sympathy with the Russian argument and ordered the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. This one act was barbaric for obvious reasons, and stupid for many, not the least of which being that NATO is now more of a threat to Russia than it ever has been.
The Invasion (or this phase of the war if you read it as starting in 2014) is six days old, and as such it is a very fluid situation and prone to changes. The rest of what follows can only ever be conjectural and very likely tainted with propaganda. Ukraine has conducted what could be the most effective information operation in history; it’s frankly amazing. The propaganda pouring out of Ukraine (the label of propaganda doesn’t imply it’s either true or false) is galvanizing the world into action against Russians in this struggle. There is no period in most of our collective lifetimes, since perhaps the Gulf War of 1991, that so completely unified the world, and the absolute torrent of excellent press is in no small part to be praised for that.
The Russian military at this early stage of the conflict appears to be displaying shocking incompetence. It was assumed by me, and other far more competent observers, that the Russian military would be able to completely neutralize the Ukrainian Airforce and achieve air superiority above MANPAD range within 24 to 48 hours. This has not been achieved as of this writing. There have been extensive reports of Russian air losses, and indeed there have been many, but anything close to exact figures has been very hard to ascertain. Helicopter losses have been predictably high in this type of battlefield. We’ve seen more paratrooper and heli-mobile operations in the past six days than in many whole wars, but we haven’t seen many successful ones. In short, the VDV (Russian paratroopers) have been taking a beating. The coup de main appears to have been heli-insertion west of Kyiv to seize Hostomol Airport and likely push into Kyiv before the Ukrainian Army mobilized fully. This was counterattacked quickly (as counter airborne doctrine dictates) and it seems that the Russian efforts failed to establish an airhead there.
On land, the Russian invasion has been bloody and inept. Heavy losses in this type of warfare are to be expected, and some pictures and videos of exploding tanks and the like are inevitable. What is not inevitable is the volume of high-value equipment captured or destroyed: heavy surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, light SAMs, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), command posts, entire tank platoons. The entire operation has been marked with lax discipline, with units failing to leave roadways, or doing so and promptly bogging down, units being picked off on highways, logistics convoys driving right into Ukrainian units and being massacred. The units assumed to be elite Spetznaz commandos that seem to have infiltrated into Kyiv and other locations were destroyed or captured very quickly.
The feature of these reports that indicates to me that this isn’t just a case of a local advantage being inflated by Ukraine, is the number of prisoners. The defenders in a mechanized offensive are very unlikely to capture enemy soldiers, and when they do, they would do so in dribs and drabs. Instead, we are seeing significant and immediate captures of Russian soldiers, as early as 12 hours into the invasion. This, combined with the equipment losses, indicates that the Russian Army is dramatically and spectacularly underperforming. Units are blundering around lost, getting ambushed with apparent ease, getting captured, or allegedly wandering around not knowing they had invaded anybody or that they were at war at all. US Intelligence (not a trustworthy source in my opinion) has stated that at least 80% of the Russian forces originally staged for the invasion are now committed to it, and that a large force is pushing toward Kyiv. If this is true, and if Ukrainian Intelligence estimates are to be believed (even allowing a significant margin of error), the Russian military is currently facing a crisis.
The Ukrainian military has been performing, in my opinion, far better than expected. The light anti-tank weapons and (if statistics are to be believed) MANPADs have proven extremely effective in blunting the Russian advance. The Ukrainian Air Force is still alive and still contesting the air above Ukraine. This is itself miraculous when based on the relative strengths involved. The defensive actions in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Konotop, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv are all still ongoing, a testament to the success of the defensive operations. The Russian Army has been trying to encircle several of these towns with varying degrees of success. The Ukrainians have been able successfully to counterattack in several locations, meaning that they are motivated, have sufficient strength to do so, and have sufficiently clear skies to be able to move their units without being destroyed.
The tactics of the Ukrainian Army have been an interesting blend of modern Western doctrines, as seen in the deployment of regular units, and a hybrid style of war based on mass mobilization of their citizens. The former is not surprising, although based on the relative performance of the respective militaries, it seems to have been taken to heart. The levee en mass of the Ukrainian citizens, while justifiable given the existential threat facing them, has been rough. Citizen soldiers in civilian clothes, armbands and pockets stuffed full of Kalashnikov magazines, are common. Molotov cocktail recipes are distributed online to citizens, along with where to throw them for best effects. These tactics are likely going to remain effective and will be brutal on the civil population of Ukraine.
What is the path forward in Ukraine? It is, of course, difficult to say, but based on the poor showing of the Russian military, and the effective Ukrainian defence, it will be exceedingly hard for Russia to win this war with the 200,000 soldiers involved in this invasion. It would likely take that number to seize Kyiv alone, as long as resistance continues and a supply of weapons flows in. Several of the towns I have listed already – Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv – will likely fall as Mariupol has if the campaign continues as it does. Loss rates could get much higher if the Russian Army manages to sort out the apparently crippling logistics issues and adjusts (or rather, starts following) its doctrine.
What are my worries right now? The first one is the lack of offramps. Putin is backed into a corner by his own actions and would be extremely reticent to agree to anything that he cannot claim as a victory. Based on the brave resistance Ukraine is putting up, I can’t see it agreeing to anything that involves territorial concessions outside of the Donbass Region. It’s hard for me to see a mediated ceasefire that doesn’t cause one side to concede defeat, if not in words or actions, and I don’t see either side tolerating this. Therefore, I believe this conflict is going to bog-down into positional warfare, like the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Further to this, as in that war, this war is burning through tanks, armoured vehicles, and precision guided weapons at a disproportionate rate. It is likely that neither side can survive this current loss rate for very long without losing significant combat power, especially in terms of offensive fighting.
The second worry I have is that of NATO involvement. It would be accidental in my opinion: NATO is pretty clear about its lack of desire for direct involvement in the conflict. The increase in NATO forces in Eastern Europe now makes sense given the Russian offensive, but by their presence this escalates the risk of misunderstandings. The NATO supply lines feeding the Ukrainian War are also vulnerable. If Putin becomes convinced that he cannot win without cutting off those supply lines, I worry he will attack them, with the associated escalation risks this would entail. Furthermore, NATO action could take place if sufficient popular opinion supported it. If something terrible took place, like war crimes on a large scale, then this would be possible. This is the World War I analogy rearing its ugly head: the interconnected web of alliances could easily drag half of the world into this.
My third worry is that of escalation due to economic catastrophe. The sanction actions that have been conducted by NATO-aligned nations, as well as many others, have been shockingly effective. The extent of damage to the Russian economy is not clear to me right now, but if it is as bad as it seems, the Russian state could be in an existential crisis. The massive peace protests in Russia are reassuring; it seems many Russians (including many of its soldiers) do not appear to support this war at all, and the economic damage coming to them could well cause mass action against Putin. It’s our best hope, in my opinion for a stable outcome, but it’s risky and would likely involve my first worry.
What’s my last worry? It’s always been nuclear war. The fact there is a nuclear standoff happening concurrently with a hot war, and one that could easily involve escalation, is not comforting. As in all such cases, I don’t believe anyone, very clearly including Vladimir Putin, wishes to start any kind of nuclear exchange. This is our best advantage and safeguard: nobody wants that kind of war. Tactical nuclear warfare is a part of Russian military doctrine, as it is to a lesser extent with the US military, but it is not likely that either side would consider using nuclear weapons in this situation. It is, however, my opinion that today we are at a higher risk of this than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. This isn’t because we want to be, but because of the hot war occurring in Ukraine.
My takeaways? I’m not going to lie to you, this is a scary time. I don’t think the risks are high, though, but like flying in a plane while it’s going through turbulence; the risks heightened. We’re in for some turbulence this week. Thoughts are with the conscripted soldiers of Russia, the brave antiwar citizens of Russia and, most of all, the brave people of Ukraine.
Ian, March 2nd 2022

This post will discuss Russia's use of black/white propaganda.
CyberBerkut
I have been researching the group that edited documents to try and make the popular anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, look like a Soros/CIA puppet. The name of the group is CyberBerkut and it emerged around the annexation of Crimea in March, 2014. It purports to be a pro-Russian Ukrainian hacking group, that supports the Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.
However, it can be stated with high confidence that this group is actually a disinformation front for Russian intelligence. Basically, this isn't the first time CyberBerkut pretended to hack a video/document/audio but in reality, forged some stuff and then pretended to "hack" it from enemies of the Kremlin.
One of the earliest examples of disinformation by CyberBerkut was this video which it claimed it "hacked" from the laptop of one of John McCain's aides when he visited Ukraine as a show of U.S. support (McCain is demonized in Russian media for being a hardliner towards Russia). They claimed the video shows some actors pretending to be Jihadi John and James Foley, his execution being filmed in front of a green screen! But the good folks over at MetaBunk did a frame-by-frame comparison of the real execution video and the so-called "leaked" filming of the set. They found that the actor had different movements compared to the real JJ, along with several other visual mismatches. Here's the full debunking:
https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-cyberberkut-video-supposedly-showing-staged-isis-beheading-of-foley.t6520/
This "secret" video was prominently featured on sites like InfoWars and Global Research.
Now, who would have the time, money, resources, and will power (complete with actors, clothing, cameras, props, etc.,) to put so much effort into creating a fake video to spread the conspiracy theory that America is staging ISIS' videos and is controlling it? Only a state like Russia, of course.
The second example of disinformation by CyberBerkut is a video showing neo-Nazi pro-Ukrainian fighters burning the Dutch flag. Russian propaganda likes to portray Ukraine as a failed state with Nazi/fascist hordes "genociding" ethnic Russian and that the U.S. supports this, much in the way it claims the U.S. supports ISIS in Syria. Anyway, the significance of this video, in which the fighters burned a Dutch flag, is that it was released around the same time a referendum was going to take place in the Netherlands, regarding Ukraine being allowed to sign the EU Association Agreement. This video was thoroughly debunked by the goods folks over at Bellingcat. It proved the video itself was fake and that Russian trolls began a concerted campaign to spread the video on the web. Interestingly, Bellingcat's website was hacked and defaced by CyberBerkut. I wonder why? They've also been implicated in DDoS attacks on NATO, Ukrainian, and German government websites.
Another example is when CyberBerkut pretended to hack documents from Ukraine's SBU. One document was a confidential letter from Vasili Gritsak (SBU's First Deputy Chairman and the head of its Anti-Terrorism Center) to Hennadiy Kuznetsov (SBU Colonel, then head of Special Operations Center A, a unit responsible for special anti-terrorist operations), appearing to show Gritsak directing Kuznetsov to carry out "false flag" attacks in Eastern Ukraine to blame on pro-Russian separatists. The objective of forging these documents and then pretending to hack them from Ukraine's SBU was to make it look like pro-Russian separatists were being unfairly blamed for civilian deaths.
Interestingly, Russia disinformation is obsessed with making anything that puts Russia in a bad light a "false flag." Russian trolls have been caught posting conspiracy theories of MH17 being a CIA/NATO/Ukrainian false flag or that they were aiming for Putin's plane but accidentally hit MH17. A laughable theory, but one that many in Russia accept.
Here are some more examples of blatantly clear Russian disinformation:
Fake Video of ‘American’ Shooting a Quran Traced to Russian Propaganda Agency
Propaganda Watch: Listen to Two Russians Badly Impersonate CIA Spies to Pin MH17 on U.S.
Columbia Chemical hoax tracked to “troll farm” dubbed the Internet Research Agency
Russian disinformation about MH17 debunked.
SU-25, MH17 and the Problems with Keeping a Story Straight
Russian state-sponsored hacking group pretending to be an ISIS cyber group hacked of French TV station TV5Monde offline
Russian disinformation about U.S. moving nukes from Turkey to Romania, in order to undermine trust between U.S. and Turkey and make the Romanian populace protest against the Aegis missile defence system in Deveselu because they falsely think there are nukes there
Russian TV hiring actors in Ukraine: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/03/putin-war-propaganda-exposed-same-pro-russian-actress-used-in-five-different-ukrainian-reports/
Russian troll factory spreading disinformation about murdered opposition activist Boris Nemtsov's death being a CIA false flag to destabilize Russia:

When opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot dead within sight of the Kremlin in March, suspicion immediately fell on those with links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Ms Savchuk said the orders at the Troll Factory were handed down quickly.
"They were just told: 'Nemtsov is killed. Everyone should urgently concentrate on this job. We shall write this and that'," she said.
"On that day they were writing that it was a provocation against the authorities, that he was killed by 'his own people'."

The above tactic of calling everything a "false flag, such as MH17, is a good example of what Russia is trying to achieve: confusion and paralysis in the minds of Westerners so they question anything critical of Russia. Critics of Russia are smeared as being "anti-Russia", "Russophobic", "neocons", "warmongers", etc. Elliot Higgins and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, have been demonized in the Russian media and Russian trolls online.
The unofficial Russian branch of Anonymous (Shaltai Boltai) hacked the "Internet Research Agency" - a well known Russian troll farm - and leaked everything - emails, names, contact information, salaries, lists of troll accounts, assignments, you name it. Torrent link of dump:
http://btdigg.org/search?info_hash=48490890253391c9c7b1592dfded633a62394373&q=dzalba1.rar
EDIT: Just realized the torrent link is dead and that there are actually three parts to the archive. Here are working MEGA mirrors for the 3 files:
https://mega.nz/#!NwZCzLAI!gUlCZkOxV733XXra4RaLTEKxeFXfpu-ztijzxSBLVeA https://mega.nz/#!J8gX2a4B!QueMoHgV4kiYbcDa4SsghwODeO400ZqG-4Uy8q8LT0Q https://mega.nz/#!04IUFCzQ!RIWjE5oCYEsyT67_ztqUg65d_jYX7X-6UahfPTi8Qmg
Please make sure you scan them with an anti-virus, as it's possible Russian intelligence embedded spyware within the archives and re-upped them online to spy on the few people in the world who have an interest in these things. Sounds paranoid, but better to stay safe.
Curiously, their website is blocked in Russia - you can't access it in there.
More info in this must-read document of Russia's use of disinformation with a historical context:

The membership of CyberBerkut is anonymous, but reportedly includes former officers in the Crimean Berkut. That unit was part of Ukraine's Interior Ministry until Crimea's March 2014 annexation, upon which the Crimean Berkut was incorporated into Russia's Interior Ministry. CyberBerkut's "Ukrainian identity" is vigorously asserted, however, as it postures as an internal opposition group.

Cyberattacks and Leaks Though Front Groups
Snowden also blamed the recent NSA cyberweapons leaks on Russia. Snowden's tweets in full (bolded for emphasis by me):
The hack of an NSA malware staging server is not unprecedented, but the publication of the take is. Here's what you need to know: (1/x)
1) NSA traces and targets malware C2 servers in a practice called Counter Computer Network Exploitation, or CCNE. So do our rivals.
2) NSA is often lurking undetected for years on the C2 and ORBs (proxy hops) of state hackers. This is how we follow their operations.
3) This is how we steal their rivals' hacking tools and reverse-engineer them to create "fingerprints" to help us detect them in the future.
4) Here's where it gets interesting: the NSA is not made of magic. Our rivals do the same thing to us -- and occasionally succeed.
5) Knowing this, NSA's hackers (TAO) are told not to leave their hack tools ("binaries") on the server after an op. But people get lazy.
6) What's new? NSA malware staging servers getting hacked by a rival is not new. A rival publicly demonstrating they have done so is.
7) Why did they do it? No one knows, but I suspect this is more diplomacy than intelligence, related to the escalation around the DNC hack.
8) Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates Russian responsibility. Here's why that is significant:
9) This leak is likely a warning that someone can prove US responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware server.
10) That could have significant foreign policy consequences. Particularly if any of those operations targeted US allies.
11) Particularly if any of those operations targeted elections.
12) Accordingly, this may be an effort to influence the calculus of decision-makers wondering how sharply to respond to the DNC hacks.
13) TL;DR: This leak looks like a somebody sending a message that an escalation in the attribution game could get messy fast.
Bonus: When I came forward, NSA would have migrated offensive operations to new servers as a precaution - it's cheap and easy. So? So...
The undetected hacker squatting on this NSA server lost access in June 2013. Rare public data point on the positive results of the leak.
Only a state has the power to leak NSA's weapons left on a server. I agree with Snowden's assessment that it was Russia. His reasoning is that this is a warning to America. Before the FBI publicly announces those behind the DNC leak, Russia is warning the U.S. that they can prove the U.S. hacking into computers too.
What surprises me most is how naive the West has become. We're being bombarded with leaks on an almost weekly basis now. Most people have probably focused on the DNC leaks, but did you know that a group calling itself "DCLeaks" leaked the internal documents of liberal George Soros' Open Society Foundation AND the private emails of the NATO general? Here's a look at their Twitter account (tell me if you notice their emphasis on a certain country):

Hacked NATO general defends plotting to push Obama to escalate tensions with Russia
Breedlove’s war: Emails show ex-NATO general plotting US conflict with Russia
Dangerous Propaganda: Network Close To NATO Military Leader Fueled Ukraine Conflict
Emails show Obama saw US involvement in Russia talks as a 'threat'
'Gen. plotted against Obama on Russia'
Check George Soros's OSF plans to counter Russian policy and traditional values

All they post are tweets relevant to Russia.
ThreatConnect Identifies DCLeaks As Another Russian-backed Influence Outlet
Also, Russia hates NATO and Soros, which are the only topics the leaks from DCLeaks talk about.
What's most interesting is that the Russians lost access to their hacked NSA computer June 2013 directly because of the actions of Snowden. Snowden claims that after he outed the secrets of the NSA, the NSA was forced to change the computers it uses for offensive operations, thus booting out the Russians too.
We now have proof of four leaks in mere weeks, all done by Russia, to influence Americans' opinions on the 2016 election (pro-Trump), to hate NATO, to publicly embarrass the NSA and warn the FBI of the consequences of announcing Russia was behind the DNC leaks, and disinformation about Soros to lure Trump supporters. This is unprecedented in Western history - Cold War active measures are back. They are using fake personas - "Guccifer2.0", "DCLeaks", and now "The Shadow Brokers" - the NSA weapons leakers - to destabilize the U.S.
Assange doesn't care about the truth. He only cares at getting back at Clinton. He's been handed no less than 4 separate leaks in the past few weeks (DNC emails, Soros foundation's intranet documents, NATO general's emails, and NSA cyber weapons). He's a whistleblower with a talented background in programming/hacking just like Snowden. He should be feeling suspicious about the large number of leaks regarding the U.S. But he hasn't publicly mentioned it - he knows it's Russia, but won't admit it. As an interesting aside, Guccifer2.0 claimed on Twitter that he gave Assange the DNC emails. If so, why is Assange spreading conspiracy theories about the dead DNC staffer, Seth Rich? Strange indeed.
Russian Propaganda in the West: Websites and Astroturfers
Russia is relying on naive Westerners to hate NATO and Soros. In other words, useful idiots. These people tend to be Conservative, Christian,, and conspiracy theorists to boot. They tend to be anti-establishment. Basically, much of the Republican base. Putin is popular among Republicans since he is viewed as a strongman and Conservative types are attracted to that. Furthermore, the Conservative media has portrayed Putin as a saviour of Christianity and in comparison to Obama, who they view as a secret Muslim Socialist/Communist from Kenya, he is respected much more by those on the Right. Russian Active Measure takes this into account. As an example, a well known anonymous hoaxer named "Sorcha Faal" - who claims to have access to the GRU/SVFSB - has since 2005 posted various hoax articles all favourable to Russia and pandering to the Right. Such examples include his/her article on "Putin declaring Black Lives Matter (BLM) a terrorist organization," something obviously false and never even confirmed. And yet, those who planted this story knew Republicans hate BLM since they are anti-cop and by extension, anti-authority, anathema to patriotic Rightists. Other examples include frequent commentary on Soros trying to reduce the birth rate and promote inter-ethnic marriage, and of course, the refugee crisis in Europe. The latter crisis is more applicable to Europe and Russian Active Measures has taken that into account. Countless viral news sites have popped up since 2014, all focused on the refugee crisis with anti-migrant commentary written by anonymous authors. These websites are extremely pro-Russian, anti-NATO, and frequently post anti-EU articles, along with conspiracy theories. These websites have popped up all over Europe in various languages. Here is a partial list of them, with analysis by a keen Russian disinformation-watcher, who analyzed the funding, founders, WHOIS, and social media links of these websites:
eadaily.com Analysis - Russian
southfront.org Analysis - Website analyzing Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts with a pro-Russian and anti-NATO/U.S. bent.
xxivek.net Analysis - Russian
geworld.ge Analysis - Greek
aeronet.cz Analysis - Czech Republic
strategic-culture.org Analysis - Created by Strategic Culture Foundation based in Moscow and aligned with the Centre for Research on Globalization in Canada, and with the Communist Party of China's 4th Media operation.
Here's a good article to read: The pro-Russian Disinformation Campaign in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
I see from reddit.com/The_Donald that you people already hate Soros (links often lead to Russian disinformation websites) and think NATO should turn into a protection racket, ignoring basic hegemonic theory and forward deployment strategy of the U.S. near Russia and China.
As an example, take a look at this conspiracy theory (and irrational) self post from /The_Donald:

Is it just me or does it seem kind of funny that whenever there's emails leaked of people in the Clintons circle a shooting or riot comes up to distract people right after the leaks happen

And look at one of the more popular comments:

Every single time. This distraction brought to you by George Soros

Political Control
One extremely far-right party in Hungary, called Jobbik, that is vehemently pro-Russian, was investigated by an independent Hungarian journalist, who wrote an article detailing the long-running recruitment of a Hungarian man, Béla Kovács, by Russia, after he married another KGB agent from Russia whom he met in Japan, when his father worked at the Hungarian embassy there. His new wife exposed him to the fact that he himself had been adopted and his real father was a KGB agent. Kovács then went to Russia and upon returning, had become pro-Russian and wealthy enough to fund a new Hungarian political party, called Jobbik, who he would later represent in the European Parliament. His father, who worked at the Hungarian embassy in Japan (a country thoroughly infiltrated by the Soviets due to its weak intelligence system) during the Cold War, was told by a stationed Hungarian intelligence officer that this woman his son had met was a long-running KGB agent that had previously married not only a Japanese nuclear scientist (presumably for access to nuclear technology) but also an Austrian underworld criminal (presumably for an Austrian passport to enable free travel through the EU's Schengen Zone). Most likely, she recruited Kovács to the KGB by telling him his father was a KGB agent and that he was adopted. The Jobbik party is extremely pro-Russian and borderline neo-Nazi. Russia has been accused of funding and developing it through Kovács. Both Kovács and his wife are under investigation.
Just goes to show how far back Russia has infiltrated European parties.
Read the fascinating investigation: A glorious match made in Russia
Russia is also using Alexander Dugin to cultivates ties with far-right parties in Europe:
Russia and Front National: Following the Money
Russian politicians building an international extreme right alliance
The far right "International Russian Conservative Forum" to take place in Russia
German Die Linke delegation visits right-wing terrorists in Eastern Ukraine
Greek left-wing SYRIZA forms a coalition with the pro-Kremlin far right
Vladimir Zhirinovsky's contacts with the European far right in the Yeltsin era
European far right politicians observe regional elections in Russia
British, French, Dutch, Spanish Hungarian, Slovakian, Serbian, and Czech far-right parties all connected to the Kremlin going back decades.
Here are some articles about Russia's usage of online trolls:
https://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/04/02/analyzing-kremlin-twitter-bots/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/07/13/open-source-information-reveals-pro-kremlin-web-campaign/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/ap02/putin-kremlin-inside-russian-troll-house
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-ex-russian-internet-troll-lyudmila-savchuk-a-1036539.html
http://yle.fi/uutiset/webmaster_claims_pro-russia_trolls_stalk_finlands_biggest_russian_forum/8165524
http://kioski.yle.fi/omat/troll-piece-2-english
http://kioski.yle.fi/omat/this-is-what-pro-russia-internet-propaganda-feels-like
http://frivarld.se/nyheteenglish-summary-russian-psychological-warfare-latvia/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11656043/My-life-as-a-pro-Putin-propagandist-in-Russias-secret-troll-factory.html
http://www.rferl.org/content/how-to-guide-russian-trolling-trolls/26919999.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31962644
Domestic disinformation exists too:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/03/putin-war-propaganda-exposed-same-pro-russian-actress-used-in-five-different-ukrainian-reports/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/04/12/russian-tv-caught-red-handed-same-guy-same-demonstration-but-three-different-people-spy-bystander-heroic-surgeon/
An example of a fake Russian-created Twitter profile is this profile with 36K tweets in 6 months: https://twitter.com/FOXLADY9

Pro Pegida/ Pro Russia/ Anti Migrant Invasions/ Anti Islam/ I'm a Pinot Coloda Girl Love to Walk in the Rain/Enjoy a good Laugh/Clean Fun/Sassy/Outspoken
East Europe
Joined February 2016

Response by the West
This may sound cheesy, but the West doesn't do disinformation. Even during the Cold War, the side known for disinformation (Active Measures) was the Soviet block, not the West. Russia is an authoritarian country. It has no qualms paying thousands of people to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda online.
Europe has set up some sort of media monitoring centre, called "East StratCom Task Force", to counter Russian propaganda, that they created in March of 2015. It's one of the most pathetic and useless things I've even seen. All they do is make a weekly .pdf file of Russia's lies and conspiracy theories Russian trolls try to spread online. They then upload said pdf file to some random corner of the web and call that their "response". Passive but not active.
The U.S. isn't doing anything to debunk the disinformation the Russian trolls are spreading. We need to create a counter-narrative to Russia's claims. Part of this means we have to be on the right side of the truth. Whether you agree or not, the people of Crimea voted to join Russia and earlier polls going back to the 90s indicate they've always supported this. Whenever Obama says "Crimea was annexed", his statements are translated/subtitled to Russian and put on YouTube for the Russians to be outraged at, because in their view, they're being punished for democracy. This benefits Putin and demonizes the West's arguments, so whenever we try and prove Putin is corrupt, the Russian populace assumes we're lying and smearing him. They've been mentally conditioned to ignore criticism of Putin. Putin's approval ratings are the highest in the world. Before the Crimea issue, they were hovering in the 60s, not much higher than where Obama is now. Afterwards, in February 2014, they skyrocketed to the 90s range. We in the West must accept that our rhetoric and message are too harsh for Russians. We should tone down the Crimea rhetoric and instead, focus on other things that irk Russia, like corruption in Putin's party, or pro-Russian rebels in E. Ukraine committing heinous crimes/torture.
For now, read some of this history regarding Soviet Active Measures (relevant to our current situation):
Soviet Active Measures in the "Post-Cold War" Era 1988-1991

This post will discuss Russia's use of black/white propaganda.
CyberBerkut
I have been researching the group that edited documents to try and make the popular anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, look like a Soros/CIA puppet. The name of the group is CyberBerkut and it emerged around the annexation of Crimea in March, 2014. It purports to be a pro-Russian Ukrainian hacking group, that supports the Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.
However, it can be stated with high confidence that this group is actually a disinformation front for Russian intelligence. Basically, this isn't the first time CyberBerkut pretended to hack a video/document/audio but in reality, forged some stuff and then pretended to "hack" it from enemies of the Kremlin.
One of the earliest examples of disinformation by CyberBerkut was this video which it claimed it "hacked" from the laptop of one of John McCain's aides when he visited Ukraine as a show of U.S. support (McCain is demonized in Russian media for being a hardliner towards Russia). They claimed the video shows some actors pretending to be Jihadi John and James Foley, his execution being filmed in front of a green screen! But the good folks over at MetaBunk did a frame-by-frame comparison of the real execution video and the so-called "leaked" filming of the set. They found that the actor had different movements compared to the real JJ, along with several other visual mismatches. Here's the full debunking:
https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-cyberberkut-video-supposedly-showing-staged-isis-beheading-of-foley.t6520/
This "secret" video was prominently featured on sites like InfoWars and Global Research.
Now, who would have the time, money, resources, and will power (complete with actors, clothing, cameras, props, etc.,) to put so much effort into creating a fake video to spread the conspiracy theory that America is staging ISIS' videos and is controlling it? Only a state like Russia, of course.
The second example of disinformation by CyberBerkut is a video showing neo-Nazi pro-Ukrainian fighters burning the Dutch flag. Russian propaganda likes to portray Ukraine as a failed state with Nazi/fascist hordes "genociding" ethnic Russian and that the U.S. supports this, much in the way it claims the U.S. supports ISIS in Syria. Anyway, the significance of this video, in which the fighters burned a Dutch flag, is that it was released around the same time a referendum was going to take place in the Netherlands, regarding Ukraine being allowed to sign the EU Association Agreement. This video was thoroughly debunked by the goods folks over at Bellingcat. It proved the video itself was fake and that Russian trolls began a concerted campaign to spread the video on the web. Interestingly, Bellingcat's website was hacked and defaced by CyberBerkut. I wonder why? They've also been implicated in DDoS attacks on NATO, Ukrainian, and German government websites.
Another example is when CyberBerkut pretended to hack documents from Ukraine's SBU. One document was a confidential letter from Vasili Gritsak (SBU's First Deputy Chairman and the head of its Anti-Terrorism Center) to Hennadiy Kuznetsov (SBU Colonel, then head of Special Operations Center A, a unit responsible for special anti-terrorist operations), appearing to show Gritsak directing Kuznetsov to carry out "false flag" attacks in Eastern Ukraine to blame on pro-Russian separatists. The objective of forging these documents and then pretending to hack them from Ukraine's SBU was to make it look like pro-Russian separatists were being unfairly blamed for civilian deaths.
Interestingly, Russia disinformation is obsessed with making anything that puts Russia in a bad light a "false flag." Russian trolls have been caught posting conspiracy theories of MH17 being a CIA/NATO/Ukrainian false flag or that they were aiming for Putin's plane but accidentally hit MH17. A laughable theory, but one that many in Russia accept.
Here are some more examples of blatantly clear Russian disinformation:
Fake Video of ‘American’ Shooting a Quran Traced to Russian Propaganda Agency
Propaganda Watch: Listen to Two Russians Badly Impersonate CIA Spies to Pin MH17 on U.S.
Columbia Chemical hoax tracked to “troll farm” dubbed the Internet Research Agency
Russian disinformation about MH17 debunked.
SU-25, MH17 and the Problems with Keeping a Story Straight
Russian state-sponsored hacking group pretending to be an ISIS cyber group hacked of French TV station TV5Monde offline
Russian disinformation about U.S. moving nukes from Turkey to Romania, in order to undermine trust between U.S. and Turkey and make the Romanian populace protest against the Aegis missile defence system in Deveselu because they falsely think there are nukes there
Russian TV hiring actors in Ukraine: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/03/putin-war-propaganda-exposed-same-pro-russian-actress-used-in-five-different-ukrainian-reports/
Russian troll factory spreading disinformation about murdered opposition activist Boris Nemtsov's death being a CIA false flag to destabilize Russia:

When opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot dead within sight of the Kremlin in March, suspicion immediately fell on those with links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Ms Savchuk said the orders at the Troll Factory were handed down quickly.
"They were just told: 'Nemtsov is killed. Everyone should urgently concentrate on this job. We shall write this and that'," she said.
"On that day they were writing that it was a provocation against the authorities, that he was killed by 'his own people'."

The above tactic of calling everything a "false flag, such as MH17, is a good example of what Russia is trying to achieve: confusion and paralysis in the minds of Westerners so they question anything critical of Russia. Critics of Russia are smeared as being "anti-Russia", "Russophobic", "neocons", "warmongers", etc. Elliot Higgins and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, have been demonized in the Russian media and Russian trolls online.
The unofficial Russian branch of Anonymous (Shaltai Boltai) hacked the "Internet Research Agency" - a well known Russian troll farm - and leaked everything - emails, names, contact information, salaries, lists of troll accounts, assignments, you name it. Torrent link of dump:
http://btdigg.org/search?info_hash=48490890253391c9c7b1592dfded633a62394373&q=dzalba1.rar
EDIT: Just realized the torrent link is dead and that there are actually three parts to the archive. Here are working MEGA mirrors for the 3 files:
https://mega.nz/#!NwZCzLAI!gUlCZkOxV733XXra4RaLTEKxeFXfpu-ztijzxSBLVeA https://mega.nz/#!J8gX2a4B!QueMoHgV4kiYbcDa4SsghwODeO400ZqG-4Uy8q8LT0Q https://mega.nz/#!04IUFCzQ!RIWjE5oCYEsyT67_ztqUg65d_jYX7X-6UahfPTi8Qmg
Please make sure you scan them with an anti-virus, as it's possible Russian intelligence embedded spyware within the archives and re-upped them online to spy on the few people in the world who have an interest in these things. Sounds paranoid, but better to stay safe.
Curiously, their website is blocked in Russia - you can't access it in there.
More info in this must-read document of Russia's use of disinformation with a historical context:

The membership of CyberBerkut is anonymous, but reportedly includes former officers in the Crimean Berkut. That unit was part of Ukraine's Interior Ministry until Crimea's March 2014 annexation, upon which the Crimean Berkut was incorporated into Russia's Interior Ministry. CyberBerkut's "Ukrainian identity" is vigorously asserted, however, as it postures as an internal opposition group.

Cyberattacks and Leaks Though Front Groups
Snowden also blamed the recent NSA cyberweapons leaks on Russia. Snowden's tweets in full (bolded for emphasis by me):
The hack of an NSA malware staging server is not unprecedented, but the publication of the take is. Here's what you need to know: (1/x)
1) NSA traces and targets malware C2 servers in a practice called Counter Computer Network Exploitation, or CCNE. So do our rivals.
2) NSA is often lurking undetected for years on the C2 and ORBs (proxy hops) of state hackers. This is how we follow their operations.
3) This is how we steal their rivals' hacking tools and reverse-engineer them to create "fingerprints" to help us detect them in the future.
4) Here's where it gets interesting: the NSA is not made of magic. Our rivals do the same thing to us -- and occasionally succeed.
5) Knowing this, NSA's hackers (TAO) are told not to leave their hack tools ("binaries") on the server after an op. But people get lazy.
6) What's new? NSA malware staging servers getting hacked by a rival is not new. A rival publicly demonstrating they have done so is.
7) Why did they do it? No one knows, but I suspect this is more diplomacy than intelligence, related to the escalation around the DNC hack.
8) Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates Russian responsibility. Here's why that is significant:
9) This leak is likely a warning that someone can prove US responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware server.
10) That could have significant foreign policy consequences. Particularly if any of those operations targeted US allies.
11) Particularly if any of those operations targeted elections.
12) Accordingly, this may be an effort to influence the calculus of decision-makers wondering how sharply to respond to the DNC hacks.
13) TL;DR: This leak looks like a somebody sending a message that an escalation in the attribution game could get messy fast.
Bonus: When I came forward, NSA would have migrated offensive operations to new servers as a precaution - it's cheap and easy. So? So...
The undetected hacker squatting on this NSA server lost access in June 2013. Rare public data point on the positive results of the leak.
Only a state has the power to leak NSA's weapons left on a server. I agree with Snowden's assessment that it was Russia. His reasoning is that this is a warning to America. Before the FBI publicly announces those behind the DNC leak, Russia is warning the U.S. that they can prove the U.S. hacking into computers too.
What surprises me most is how naive the West has become. We're being bombarded with leaks on an almost weekly basis now. Most people have probably focused on the DNC leaks, but did you know that a group calling itself "DCLeaks" leaked the internal documents of liberal George Soros' Open Society Foundation AND the private emails of the NATO general? Here's a look at their Twitter account (tell me if you notice their emphasis on a certain country):

Hacked NATO general defends plotting to push Obama to escalate tensions with Russia
Breedlove’s war: Emails show ex-NATO general plotting US conflict with Russia
Dangerous Propaganda: Network Close To NATO Military Leader Fueled Ukraine Conflict
Emails show Obama saw US involvement in Russia talks as a 'threat'
'Gen. plotted against Obama on Russia'
Check George Soros's OSF plans to counter Russian policy and traditional values

All they post are tweets relevant to Russia.
ThreatConnect Identifies DCLeaks As Another Russian-backed Influence Outlet
Also, Russia hates NATO and Soros, which are the only topics the leaks from DCLeaks talk about.
What's most interesting is that the Russians lost access to their hacked NSA computer June 2013 directly because of the actions of Snowden. Snowden claims that after he outed the secrets of the NSA, the NSA was forced to change the computers it uses for offensive operations, thus booting out the Russians too.
We now have proof of four leaks in mere weeks, all done by Russia, to influence Americans' opinions on the 2016 election (pro-Trump), to hate NATO, to publicly embarrass the NSA and warn the FBI of the consequences of announcing Russia was behind the DNC leaks, and disinformation about Soros to lure Trump supporters. This is unprecedented in Western history - Cold War active measures are back. They are using fake personas - "Guccifer2.0", "DCLeaks", and now "The Shadow Brokers" - the NSA weapons leakers - to destabilize the U.S.
Assange doesn't care about the truth. He only cares at getting back at Clinton. He's been handed no less than 4 separate leaks in the past few weeks (DNC emails, Soros foundation's intranet documents, NATO general's emails, and NSA cyber weapons). He's a whistleblower with a talented background in programming/hacking just like Snowden. He should be feeling suspicious about the large number of leaks regarding the U.S. But he hasn't publicly mentioned it - he knows it's Russia, but won't admit it. As an interesting aside, Guccifer2.0 claimed on Twitter that he gave Assange the DNC emails. If so, why is Assange spreading conspiracy theories about the dead DNC staffer, Seth Rich? Strange indeed.
Russian Propaganda in the West: Websites and Astroturfers
Russia is relying on naive Westerners to hate NATO and Soros. In other words, useful idiots. These people tend to be Conservative, Christian,, and conspiracy theorists to boot. They tend to be anti-establishment. Basically, much of the Republican base. Putin is popular among Republicans since he is viewed as a strongman and Conservative types are attracted to that. Furthermore, the Conservative media has portrayed Putin as a saviour of Christianity and in comparison to Obama, who they view as a secret Muslim Socialist/Communist from Kenya, he is respected much more by those on the Right. Russian Active Measure takes this into account. As an example, a well known anonymous hoaxer named "Sorcha Faal" - who claims to have access to the GRU/SVFSB - has since 2005 posted various hoax articles all favourable to Russia and pandering to the Right. Such examples include his/her article on "Putin declaring Black Lives Matter (BLM) a terrorist organization," something obviously false and never even confirmed. And yet, those who planted this story knew Republicans hate BLM since they are anti-cop and by extension, anti-authority, anathema to patriotic Rightists. Other examples include frequent commentary on Soros trying to reduce the birth rate and promote inter-ethnic marriage, and of course, the refugee crisis in Europe. The latter crisis is more applicable to Europe and Russian Active Measures has taken that into account. Countless viral news sites have popped up since 2014, all focused on the refugee crisis with anti-migrant commentary written by anonymous authors. These websites are extremely pro-Russian, anti-NATO, and frequently post anti-EU articles, along with conspiracy theories. These websites have popped up all over Europe in various languages. Here is a partial list of them, with analysis by a keen Russian disinformation-watcher, who analyzed the funding, founders, WHOIS, and social media links of these websites:
eadaily.com Analysis - Russian
southfront.org Analysis - Website analyzing Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts with a pro-Russian and anti-NATO/U.S. bent.
xxivek.net Analysis - Russian
geworld.ge Analysis - Greek
aeronet.cz Analysis - Czech Republic
strategic-culture.org Analysis - Created by Strategic Culture Foundation based in Moscow and aligned with the Centre for Research on Globalization in Canada, and with the Communist Party of China's 4th Media operation.
Here's a good article to read: The pro-Russian Disinformation Campaign in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
I see from reddit.com/The_Donald that you people already hate Soros (links often lead to Russian disinformation websites) and think NATO should turn into a protection racket, ignoring basic hegemonic theory and forward deployment strategy of the U.S. near Russia and China.
As an example, take a look at this conspiracy theory (and irrational) self post from /The_Donald:

Is it just me or does it seem kind of funny that whenever there's emails leaked of people in the Clintons circle a shooting or riot comes up to distract people right after the leaks happen

And look at one of the more popular comments:

Every single time. This distraction brought to you by George Soros

Political Control
One extremely far-right party in Hungary, called Jobbik, that is vehemently pro-Russian, was investigated by an independent Hungarian journalist, who wrote an article detailing the long-running recruitment of a Hungarian man, Béla Kovács, by Russia, after he married another KGB agent from Russia whom he met in Japan, when his father worked at the Hungarian embassy there. His new wife exposed him to the fact that he himself had been adopted and his real father was a KGB agent. Kovács then went to Russia and upon returning, had become pro-Russian and wealthy enough to fund a new Hungarian political party, called Jobbik, who he would later represent in the European Parliament. His father, who worked at the Hungarian embassy in Japan (a country thoroughly infiltrated by the Soviets due to its weak intelligence system) during the Cold War, was told by a stationed Hungarian intelligence officer that this woman his son had met was a long-running KGB agent that had previously married not only a Japanese nuclear scientist (presumably for access to nuclear technology) but also an Austrian underworld criminal (presumably for an Austrian passport to enable free travel through the EU's Schengen Zone). Most likely, she recruited Kovács to the KGB by telling him his father was a KGB agent and that he was adopted. The Jobbik party is extremely pro-Russian and borderline neo-Nazi. Russia has been accused of funding and developing it through Kovács. Both Kovács and his wife are under investigation.
Just goes to show how far back Russia has infiltrated European parties.
Read the fascinating investigation: A glorious match made in Russia
Russia is also using Alexander Dugin to cultivates ties with far-right parties in Europe:
Russia and Front National: Following the Money
Russian politicians building an international extreme right alliance
The far right "International Russian Conservative Forum" to take place in Russia
German Die Linke delegation visits right-wing terrorists in Eastern Ukraine
Greek left-wing SYRIZA forms a coalition with the pro-Kremlin far right
Vladimir Zhirinovsky's contacts with the European far right in the Yeltsin era
European far right politicians observe regional elections in Russia
British, French, Dutch, Spanish Hungarian, Slovakian, Serbian, and Czech far-right parties all connected to the Kremlin going back decades.
Here are some articles about Russia's usage of online trolls:
https://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/04/02/analyzing-kremlin-twitter-bots/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/07/13/open-source-information-reveals-pro-kremlin-web-campaign/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/ap02/putin-kremlin-inside-russian-troll-house
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-ex-russian-internet-troll-lyudmila-savchuk-a-1036539.html
http://yle.fi/uutiset/webmaster_claims_pro-russia_trolls_stalk_finlands_biggest_russian_forum/8165524
http://kioski.yle.fi/omat/troll-piece-2-english
http://kioski.yle.fi/omat/this-is-what-pro-russia-internet-propaganda-feels-like
http://frivarld.se/nyheteenglish-summary-russian-psychological-warfare-latvia/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11656043/My-life-as-a-pro-Putin-propagandist-in-Russias-secret-troll-factory.html
http://www.rferl.org/content/how-to-guide-russian-trolling-trolls/26919999.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31962644
Domestic disinformation exists too:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/03/putin-war-propaganda-exposed-same-pro-russian-actress-used-in-five-different-ukrainian-reports/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/04/12/russian-tv-caught-red-handed-same-guy-same-demonstration-but-three-different-people-spy-bystander-heroic-surgeon/
An example of a fake Russian-created Twitter profile is this profile with 36K tweets in 6 months: https://twitter.com/FOXLADY9

Pro Pegida/ Pro Russia/ Anti Migrant Invasions/ Anti Islam/ I'm a Pinot Coloda Girl Love to Walk in the Rain/Enjoy a good Laugh/Clean Fun/Sassy/Outspoken
East Europe
Joined February 2016

Response by the West
This may sound cheesy, but the West doesn't do disinformation. Even during the Cold War, the side known for disinformation (Active Measures) was the Soviet block, not the West. Russia is an authoritarian country. It has no qualms paying thousands of people to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda online.
Europe has set up some sort of media monitoring centre, called "East StratCom Task Force", to counter Russian propaganda, that they created in March of 2015. It's one of the most pathetic and useless things I've even seen. All they do is make a weekly .pdf file of Russia's lies and conspiracy theories Russian trolls try to spread online. They then upload said pdf file to some random corner of the web and call that their "response". Passive but not active.
The U.S. isn't doing anything to debunk the disinformation the Russian trolls are spreading. We need to create a counter-narrative to Russia's claims. Part of this means we have to be on the right side of the truth. Whether you agree or not, the people of Crimea voted to join Russia and earlier polls going back to the 90s indicate they've always supported this. Whenever Obama says "Crimea was annexed", his statements are translated/subtitled to Russian and put on YouTube for the Russians to be outraged at, because in their view, they're being punished for democracy. This benefits Putin and demonizes the West's arguments, so whenever we try and prove Putin is corrupt, the Russian populace assumes we're lying and smearing him. They've been mentally conditioned to ignore criticism of Putin. Putin's approval ratings are the highest in the world. Before the Crimea issue, they were hovering in the 60s, not much higher than where Obama is now. Afterwards, in February 2014, they skyrocketed to the 90s range. We in the West must accept that our rhetoric and message are too harsh for Russians. We should tone down the Crimea rhetoric and instead, focus on other things that irk Russia, like corruption in Putin's party, or pro-Russian rebels in E. Ukraine committing heinous crimes/torture.
For now, read some of this history regarding Soviet Active Measures (relevant to our current situation):
Soviet Active Measures in the "Post-Cold War" Era 1988-1991