INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF STRUGGLING WITH THE POLITICAL VIOLENCE BY MEANS OF INFORMATION WARFARE

Abstract

The goal of the work is to study the international experience of democratic countries in countering threats in the information and digital space, which involves repelling cyber-attacks and information operations, as well as counteroffensive actions in order to preserve Western democratic values, institutions and systems.
The article examines the international experience of resisting political violence in the information space, which confirms the existence of a common enemy of the democratic world, the Russian Federation, in the information struggle. It has been demonstrated that the Russian approach to information warfare is a global strategy that includes both cyber attacks and information operations against the majority of democratic actors in the world (Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Georgia, Moldova, USA, France, Sweden, etc. ). Russian information warfare campaigns have influenced and continue to discredit democratic institutions. They promote extremism and discontent, supporting anti-democratic leaders in an attempt to shake the influence of the West.
It was found that Russian information strategies coincide in many countries and can serve different goals. However, it was found that there are three common goals among them. There are restoration of Russian dominance in the post-Soviet/imperial sphere of influence, reducing the influence of Western democratic values, institutions and systems in order to create a polycentric world model and the expansion of Russia’s political, economic and military hegemony throughout the world. Attention is focused on the fact that the Russian media machine uses a wide range of misinformation tools, « Trolls from Olgino», which leads to confusion and calls into question the very concept of truth.