Russian operatives allegedly masterminded a pro-Russian billboard campaign in Italy. In his investigative article for EuromaidanPress, Dr. Anton Shekhovtsov, the Director of the Centre for Democratic Integrity (Austria), concluded that Russia’s FSB officer Aleksey Stovbun appeared to be the driving force behind this campaign.
Stovbun has long-standing contacts with the Italian pro-Russian networks. On the eve of a Lega Nord-organized referendum in 2016, Stovbun traveled to Veneto to meet pro-Russian figures. The researcher identified links between Stovbun and Italian pro-Kremlin activists whom he met in Italy.
The findings reveal that Aleksey Stovbun, a Russian FSB officer disguised as a journalist for the Russian media outlet “New Kuban,” managed Italian pro-Russian activist Eliseo Bertolasi.
Bertolasi worked as a correspondent for Russian state-controlled media. In 2023, Bertolasi was appointed as the head of the Italian branch of the International Russophile Movement, a network that helps Russia expand its influence abroad.
Palmarino Zoccatelli is the president of the Veneto-Russia Cultural Association, which includes Eliseo Bertolasi and Stefano Valdegamberi, both pro-Russian figures too.
Long-time pro-Russian activist Valdegamberi was associated with the Lega Nord party until 2023. He participated as a so-called international observer in the elections in Russia and Russian-annexed Crimea.
Zoccatelli is an Italian pro-Russian figure and the president of the Veneto-Russia Cultural Association, the Veneto branch of the pro-Kremlin Lombardy-Russia Cultural Association founded by the members of the Italian far-right Lega Nord party of Matteo Salvini.
Like the main organization, Zoccatelli’s branch was founded in 2014 when Russia started its war against Ukraine. Its declared goal was to strengthen cultural and political ties between the Veneto region and Russia.
In 2018, Zoccatelli played the role of a fake “international observer” at the phony elections in the so-called self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DNR”) and, in 2019, even opened a “center of representation” for the “DNR” in Verona.
The pro-Russian billboard campaign involved numerous posters across Italy (starting in northern Italy, a bastion of Matteo Salvini’s far-right Lega party). The Veneto-Russia Cultural Association coordinated it.
An investigation by Massimiliano Coccia disclosed that it was an Italian pro-Putin activist, Domenico Aglioti, a former city councilor of Rome, who coordinated the campaign.
Domenico Aglioti denied having any ties to Russia, but evidence suggests that actual Russian operatives were involved in the billboard campaign.
Coccia questioned whether Aglioti financed the campaign independently or received funding from abroad; Aglioti later claimed that the campaign was crowd-funded.
CNN reported that an Italian group known as “Sovranità Popolare” (Popular Sovereignty) credited the campaign by publishing a lengthy article on its website. The group cited Article 11 of the Italian constitution, emphasizing Italy’s rejection of war as a means of aggression and its commitment to promoting peace and justice among nations.
Despite “Sovranità Popolare” and Domenico Aglioti’s denials of any ties to Russia, evidence suggests that actual Russian operatives were involved in the summer campaign, Dr. Shekhovtsov wrote.
A pro-Russian billboard campaign appeared in Italian cities in September, with the slogan “Russia is not our enemy” and a handshake in the colors of the Italian and Russian flags. Similar posters in France followed, indicating an internationally coordinated pro-Kremlin campaign. This aligns with Putin’s ongoing campaign against Ukraine.
The billboards called for an end to funding “weapons for Ukraine and Israel,” with some, including those seen in Rome, adding the message: “Enough money for weapons for Ukraine and Israel. We want peace, and we reject war”.
“The activities of Stovbun and his associates highlight the intricate methods used by foreign agents to infiltrate and manipulate democratic processes. This underscores the need for heightened awareness and proactive measures by authorities to safeguard national sovereignty and the integrity of democratic institutions against covert foreign influence,” Anton Shekhovtsov emphasized.
This investigation indicates that Russian operatives may be behind the pro-Kremlin campaign aimed at reducing support for Ukraine in Western countries, including Italy. The poster campaign’s scale and presence in several EU countries suggest heavy funding and coordination at the European level, not just in Italy.
The organizers unmistakably include far-right groups, long-standing Kremlin allies, whom Moscow uses as agents of influence and destabilization in Europe, and Russian operatives.
