An investigation by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung identifies connections between two Russian-born sisters producing German-language lifestyle content and Russian state broadcaster RT. The findings raise questions about how Kremlin-aligned media networks use social media personalities to influence audiences in Europe.
Two sisters presenting themselves as independent lifestyle influencers have been promoting an idealised image of Russia to German-speaking audiences while maintaining connections to Russian state media, according to an investigation published by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) on November 10, 2026.
The investigation, authored by journalists Yulia Akhmedova and Yelizaveta Landenberger, identifies the women as Elizaveta Ostapchuk, publicly known as Liza Graf, and her older sister Margarita Bityutskikh, who uses the name Margo Zvereva.
According to the journalists, their online activities form part of a wider ecosystem of Russian state-linked media figures, influencers and organisations promoting favourable narratives about Russia to international audiences.
The F.A.Z. investigation highlights the increasingly important role of apparently apolitical lifestyle content in distributing political messages without the explicit branding of state media.
From lifestyle blogging to political messaging
Liza Graf, a German citizen born in Moscow and raised in Germany, presents herself as a woman who left Germany to discover a better life in Russia.
According to Akhmedova and Landenberger, her social media accounts emphasise inexpensive fuel, favourable taxation, attractive restaurants, modern cities and the perceived advantages of everyday life in Russia.
Her Instagram profile had approximately 99,100 followers at the time of the investigation.
Under the slogan “The Real Russian Lifestyle”, Graf publishes German-language videos about her experiences in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia.
Her content frequently contrasts life in Russia with conditions in Germany, presenting Russia as a more attractive destination for Europeans dissatisfied with their home countries.
The journalists report that Graf’s sister, Margarita Bityutskikh, has a considerably more established background in Russian state media.
Bityutskikh has worked for RT, formerly Russia Today, for years, including at its former Berlin operation and later in Moscow.
According to F.A.Z., she has produced politically charged content, including reports from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where she presented the Russian military takeover as a liberation.
The sisters now appear together in the German-language podcast Schwesterherz, discussing personal experiences, beauty, dating, travel and life in Russia.
The investigation describes how politically significant narratives are inserted into these otherwise familiar lifestyle discussions.
For example, the podcast portrays Russian-occupied Crimea as an attractive travel destination while avoiding substantial discussion of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Financial connections to RT
One of the investigation’s central findings concerns the financial relationship between individuals involved in the sisters’ media activities and the Russian state-funded broadcaster RT.
According to Akhmedova and Landenberger, leaked financial records reviewed by F.A.Z. indicate that Margarita Bityutskikh received substantial payments from TV-Novosti, the Russian state-owned media organisation operating RT.
The journalists report that Bityutskikh received slightly more than 2.6 million rubles, approximately €26,000, in July 2023.
They also identify regular monthly payments approaching 500,000 rubles, approximately €5,000, through mid-2025, alongside unusually large payments in November 2023 and January 2025.
The figures are significant because they suggest that Bityutskikh’s professional relationship with Russian state media extended into the period when she was participating in social media projects presented to audiences as independent content.
The investigation also identifies Valeria Kondrashkina, known online as Lera or Valeria Bekker, as a producer involved in Graf’s blog and the Schwesterherz podcast.
According to the leaked records described by F.A.Z., Kondrashkina worked for RT’s German-language department and received monthly compensation exceeding 100,000 rubles during 2024 and 2025.
A previous investigation by the German newspaper Die Zeit, cited by F.A.Z., had also quoted an anonymous former RT employee describing Graf’s presence in the broadcaster’s newsroom and her involvement in voicing German-language material.
However, the F.A.Z. article does not establish a direct payment from RT to Graf herself for operating her personal blog or podcast.
This distinction is relevant when assessing the precise nature of her financial relationship with the broadcaster.
A network extending beyond RT
The investigation places Graf and Bityutskikh within a broader network of international influencers promoting favourable depictions of Russia.
Among those discussed is Maria Butina, a former Russian intelligence-linked operative convicted in the United States for acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
After returning to Russia, Butina became a member of the State Duma and worked with RT.
According to F.A.Z., she subsequently participated in initiatives aimed at attracting foreigners to Russia, including programmes associated with the Russian government’s promotion of traditional values.
The newspaper reports that Graf participated in a 2025 trip to Russia’s Ivanovo region accompanied by Butina.
Other influencers connected to this wider ecosystem include Peruvian blogger Grecia Llanos Quispe, known as Kristal Grecia, and American influencer Alexandra Jost, who operates the Sasha Meets Russia project.
Akhmedova and Landenberger also describe connections to the Russian public-relations agency Bezgranichnye, or Limitless, which they report receives Russian government funding.
Its director, Maria Dudko, was placed under EU sanctions in June 2026, according to the investigation.
The journalists additionally identify Austrian entrepreneur Martin Held and his Moya Rossiya project as participants in an ecosystem promoting Russian travel, relocation and media content.
These relationships vary in nature, ranging from documented employment and financial ties to shared events, content distribution and organisational affiliations. They do not necessarily establish that every individual operates under the same instructions or financial arrangements.
How Russian propaganda reaches European audiences
The investigation raises questions about the effectiveness of EU restrictions imposed on Russian state broadcasting following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Although RT’s distribution has been restricted within the European Union, its narratives can still reach German-language audiences through alternative websites, social media channels and personalities who do not publicly identify themselves as RT employees.
The F.A.Z. journalists cite Julia Smirnova, a senior researcher at the Berlin-based Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), who describes the use of lifestyle content as a means of reaching younger audiences who may be less interested in conventional political reporting.
Smirnova’s assessment, as reported by F.A.Z., is that presenting ordinary life in Russia without discussing censorship, repression or the invasion of Ukraine can contribute to normalising the Russian government’s policies.
The significance of this approach lies in its presentation.
Rather than openly broadcasting political commentary under the RT brand, the content reaches audiences through personal stories, travel experiences and seemingly spontaneous conversations.
Such formats may make the political dimension of the messaging less immediately apparent.
Responses to the investigation
F.A.Z. reports that Elizaveta Ostapchuk, Valeria Kondrashkina and the influencer known as Sofja Eliseeva did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
Margarita Bityutskikh did respond but declined to answer the substance of the journalists’ questions.
The newspaper reproduced a sarcastic reply in which she questioned whether journalists would disclose personal details about their salaries and private lives.
Her response did not address the reported financial records or clarify the relationship between the sisters’ projects and RT.
The role of apparently independent influencers
The F.A.Z. investigation illustrates how the presentation of political narratives has evolved beyond traditional state broadcasting.
Its strongest documentary findings concern identified RT employees, reported payment records and professional connections between the broadcaster and individuals involved in producing lifestyle content.
The relationships described by Akhmedova and Landenberger suggest an infrastructure in which state-linked media professionals and apparently independent influencers operate within overlapping networks.
The format itself is central to the strategy identified by the journalists.
Personal stories about migration, financial comfort and travel can convey a favourable image of Russia without requiring explicit endorsement of Moscow’s military or foreign policies.
By excluding politically sensitive subjects, such content may influence perceptions through selective presentation rather than through direct falsehoods.
The investigation provides a detailed account of how German-language lifestyle influencers are connected to Russian state media and broader Kremlin-aligned promotional networks.
Its central finding is not simply that social media personalities present Russia favourably, but that some of the individuals producing or supporting this content have documented employment and financial relationships with RT.
The report highlights a challenge for European efforts to restrict Russian state propaganda: messages associated with sanctioned broadcasters can circulate through social media formats that appear independent of those organisations.
The case demonstrates why financial transparency, ownership disclosure and scrutiny of content-production networks remain relevant to understanding foreign influence operations in European information spaces.
