Member of the Public Council under the Defense Ministry
Information warfare has become Russia's third world war. In August 2008 (in the first five days of fighting in the Caucasus), Russia lost the information war. There are other such examples. Israel won a victory in Lebanon over Hezbollah (in military terms), but an information war as a whole has lost, because the information was only "a resident", and sufficient mechanisms to influence world public opinion was not. The same is true in our case. Russia's population adopted the August war as just and fair, the Russians supported their government, but the country and the army came under massive fire from the world media.
But long before the war began it was clear that Georgia is actively preparing world public opinion to the fact that Russia - a potential aggressor. The issue was also discussion of the fall of Russia's "missiles with the assistance of international experts, and scandal brought down a Georgian unmanned aircraft and the arrest of Russia's arms from the peacekeepers, and much more.
During the war, Saakashvili said in his speeches, never tired of repeating that it was Russia's aggression against the peaceful Georgian people and explained what was happening in the Caucasus. World news agencies did not miss a chance to show the destruction in the Georgian town of Gori and the Russian guns. Visual line drawn necessary manner, and well-written texts allows you to create in the minds of Americans "correct" image. And the president of Georgia, without repeating it - Russia's aggression not only against the Georgian people, but against the United States, NATO, the EU ...
Today, Western media again extend coverage to "Russia's aggression" against a small defenseless Georgia ". The newly updated image of Russia as a hegemon and the invader. Russia's actions are compared to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, Russia's current government policy is treated as a "Stalinist" and "Hitler"1.
During the five-day coverage of the war the media in the West allowed direct forgery, do not resort to forgery. Any attempt to describe events from the perspective of Russia and South Ossetia were stopped. Suffice it to recall the sensational interview two osetinok on channel Fox, where they are simply not allowed to speak, as soon as it became clear that they will be grateful to Russia for their salvation.2 The world looked at the conflict eyes Tbilisi.
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U.S. have enough political clout to make their own version of events in the prevailing public opinion and point of view of international organizations3. CNN en called "Information miracle XX century", which is the degree of influence on an audience is unparalleled in the world mass media. The company also holds a leading position to reach the audience. This American and international satellite channel is the world's first clock began to broadcast news in almost real time. CNN en showed a picture of Russia TV channel Russia Today with a demonstration of burning Tskhinvali after the Georgian artillery fire, Grad and bombing aircraft, and the announcer CNN en explained that show the city of Gori, destroyed Russia's army.4 Then he explained that the error occurred, but the shots of the burning city was repeated for hours, but about the "mistake" and said in passing, more on the subject did not return.
Information operations against Russia are conducted in full accordance with the concept of information warfare of the third generation, based on a so-called "effects-based operations". The essence of this technique is available explained to Putin, saying that Western experts can skillfully give black into white, and white - for the black.
In the area of cyber-attacks, the Georgian side also attacked first. August 8, together with the shelling of Tskhinvali, hacking cyber attacks has undergone a substantial part of the South Ossetian sites. Later, were attacked and at Russia's media, in particular television channel Russia Today. Response steps did not take long: been hacked site of President Saakashvili, the Georgian Parliament, government, the Foreign Ministry. Site of President Saakashvili has undergone DDos-attack with 500 IP-addresses simultaneously. After blocking the addresses of the attack renewed with other IP. The meaning of attacks - a shutdown of Georgian sites, because when DDos-attack many computers send requests to the server, making its response, the site starts working very slowly or completely disabled. Specialists Tulip Sistems block these addresses, but after a few minutes the formation of new 500 attacks since other addresses. On elimination of the consequences of every hacker attack takes about two hours5.
During the first day of the war, Russia could transmit their television feature on the Georgian channels, but by mid-day Georgia stopped broadcasting from Russia. Publications storon both in the public media were markedly opposite meaning. Georgia has managed to achieve full neopredelennosti information about their losses during the war. At the Georgian side is widely distributed inflated figures Russian losses. By the end of the week, according to the Tbilisi-based media, "shot down Russian planes" were more than 20. It was not passed any videos and documents.
At a rally on August 14 Saakashvili said the phrase that entered Georgia in 1200 Russian tanks. So many they simply could not have been - according to the CFE flank limits, summarized in the Leningrad and North Caucasus military districts may be no more than 1300 tanks, but Russia and a number are never chosen. However, this information aggression reached its goal, at least in the population of Georgia. If at the beginning of 2007, only one in four Georgians supported the war, then by July 2008, according to the polls for more than 80% of Georgians supported the actions of President Saakashvili to "pacification" of South Ossetia by military force. West played up to Georgian media, who day in and day were told their citizens that their army, "battle-hardened in Iraq" has "a full, rich experience", while President Saakashvili "has the leadership talent. Georgian and Western media deliberately distorted the intelligence data about their "incapacity Russia's army" and "weakness of paramilitary criminal organizations of South Ossetia."
Currently, under the guise of media coverage Georgian-Ossetian war is very far from her questions. For example, signed a contract to deploy missile defense elements in Poland and sharply criticized Russia's initiative for the Baltic Fleet re-armament of nuclear weapons. At the signing of the ABM treaty with Poland, the Americans did not even have to resort to the thesis that the "Iranian threat" - so "good" for the U.S. in terms of information was the foreign policy context of the war in the Caucasus.
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Available today Russia has information structures are insufficient. Office of the President of Russia for Interregional and Cultural Relations nor on the number of personnel, either in terms of its authority can not perform all the necessary work to provide information and counter information warfare. Russia's Security Council was to this war is not ready. For information war is not adapted nor the Foreign Ministry, nor accountable to it China Radio International. Press Center Ministry of Defense of Russia in the information war in August 2008 solved their "important challenges", for example, asked the foreign journalists to help Russia to break the information blockade. Almost none of these structures are not able to perform a full range of tasks to information, disinformation, disruption of information networks, protecting their networks, supply the necessary information blocks in leading news agencies, etc.
It seems to us up to the war in the Caucasus, the decision of the President of Russia should be created special organizational and managerial and analytical frameworks to deal with information aggression. Information necessary to create troops, which would include public and military media. Objective Information troops - the creation of such an information space, which makes international reality meets Russia's interests. Information troops should have three main objectives - strategic analysis, informational influence, informational confrontation - and to work simultaneously on the external and internal audiences. Staff Information troops should be composed of diplomats, experts, journalists, writers, journalists, translators, cameramen, staff communications, web designers, hackers, etc.
To solve the first problem requires: a strategic analysis of network management (joining the network and the ability to suppress them) counterintelligence; event figures: Software operational camouflage, ensuring their own security forces and resources, ensuring information security.
To solve the second problem is required: crisis centers, state media holding liaison with television and news agencies, including state-run media - the Voice of Russia "," Mayak ", TEC" MIR, RPR-Planet », Russia Today,« RUSSIA Al Yaum ; the structure of public relations, and educational institutions for training specialists in the field of applied journalism, military press, radio and television journalists.
To solve the third problem requires: center definition of critical information infrastructures of the enemy; their physical destruction, electronic warfare, psychological operations, counter-propaganda system, network operations (preparation of hackers).
Information warfare - the reality of geopolitics. So far, this factor is greatly underestimated Russia's political elite, as in the past - the elite of the Soviet Union. This underestimation - the root of so many problems of modern Russia.
