Back from the USSR: How Russian Information Warfare Continues the Legacy of Exploiting Racial Tensions

In the 1930s, the Soviet Union promoted the concept of “Southern Autonomous State,” an independent state in the South of the United States. As part of this effort, the Soviet Regime invited influential Black figures like Claude McKay and Lovett Fort-Whiteman to visit Moscow to experience “racial harmony” and convince them to join the communist movement. Albeit short-lived, Soviet influence led to the American Communist Party receiving an increase in African American membership in the 1930s.

While the “Southern Autonomous State” campaign was confined to the 1930s, modern-day Russia has revived aspects of this disinformation playbook by exploiting U.S. racial divisions. Most notably, during the 2016 U.S. election interference campaign, Moscow leveraged Black Lives Matter protests to amplify division in U.S. society, sow discord, and discredit American moral superiority using “whataboutism” rhetoric. By exploiting racial tensions and vulnerabilities in U.S. society, both the Soviet Union and Russia have sought to undermine U.S. democratic values.

Racial Issues in Soviet Propaganda

Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union highlighted racial injustice in the United States, seeking to undermine U.S. moral authority on the global stage, illustrate the prevalence of communism over capitalism, and discredit democratic values. For example, in the “Southern Autonomous State” campaign, Russia used posters and cartoons to advocate for the establishment of a “Southern Autonomous State” to save “innocent young negroes” from the “American bourgeoisie.”

Further, Soviet propaganda tended to use specific incidents of racial injustice and translated them into propaganda in the form of posters, movies, and political statements. Take the Scottsboro Boys case. In 1931, nine Black teenagers, aged 13 to 19, were traveling on a freight train when a racially charged fight broke out. The altercation purportedly began when a young white man inadvertently stepped on the hand of one of the Scottsboro Boys. The boys were initially arrested for minor charges, but police then questioned two White women who accused the Black teenagers of sexual assault. Despite the lack of evidence, the Alabama Circuit Court, primarily based on racial prejudice, found the Scottsboro Boys guilty and sentenced them to death. The American Communist Party and the Soviet Regime capitalized on this incident to portray communism as a racial utopia and a protector of civil rights. In that period, posters and cartoons depicting “Freedom to the Prisoners of Scottsboro” became widespread in the Soviet Union. 

Russia’s Tactics in the 2016 U.S. Elections Interference Campaign

Fast forward to 2020, the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian interference campaigns in the 2016 US elections revealed that social media content published by Russian information operatives working for the Internet Research Agency (IRA) overwhelmingly focused on race.

On Facebook, over 66% of IRA-created advertisements contained race-related terms, specifically targeting African Americans in key metropolitan areas. The IRA-run Facebook page “Blacktivist” achieved 11.2 million user engagements. Five of the top ten IRA-run Instagram accounts centered on African-American issues and audiences. IRA Twitter activities focused on contentious issues with racial undertones, such as the NFL kneeling protests. On YouTube, 96% of IRA content, which included approximately 1,063 videos, addressed racial issues in the United States and police brutality. Even the IRA-affiliated channels on YouTube had names like “Black Matters,” “BlackToLive,” “Cop Block US,” “Don’t Shoot,” and “PoliceState.”

These findings suggest the IRA ran coordinated campaigns across multiple social media platforms, mimicked genuine activism, and engaged millions of users online. The extensive reach and precise racial targeting of IRA campaigns showed Russia’s ability to infiltrate domestic discourse and manipulate public opinion. As one former IRA troll put it: “When there were Black people rioting in the United States, we had to write that U.S. policy on the Black community had failed, Obama’s administration couldn’t cope with the problem, the situation is getting tenser…” Amplification of racial injustice aimed to increase tensions between African Americans and police further, as well as give Russia grounds to deflect American criticism when required. 

Russia’s Strategy: Diversion and Whataboutism

Tactically, Russian information warfare targeting racial issues seeks to amplify already existing divisions and tensions inside the country. Racial tensions persist in the United States, fueled by historical legacies, policy debates, and changing demographics. America’s longstanding struggle with racial inequality and social injustice has offered Russia a receptive audience and ground for exploitation.

While messaging highlights contemporary problems within the United States, the strategic goal is much broader than stirring a pot. By undermining the cohesion of American society, weakening its unity, and eroding confidence in government and media, Russia can distract the United States from expanding its geopolitical interests and reshaping narratives to be more favorable to Moscow.

Beyond covert information operations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has directly highlighted racial injustice in the United States using “whataboutism” rhetoric. Moscow has been publically accused of election interference, poisoning Skripals, and supporting the Syrian government, and in response, Putin’s government has deployed “whataboutism” as a rebuttal mechanism for the “accusations.” Whataboutism is employed to deflect criticism or shift focus from certain issues. Putin uses this rhetoric to devalue democratic governments and affirm that “others” are engaging in the same activities as Russia. Moscow has particularly used this mechanism to exploit racial issues in the United States. 

In 2021, after Biden called Putin a “Killer,” Putin responded with a speech on the American legacy of slavery and the country’s treatment of Native Americans. Putin said that America’s perception of Russia is embedded in domestic problems: “In the history of every people, every state, there are a lot of hard, dramatic and bloody events. But when we evaluate other people or even other governments, we always look in the mirror.”

Same Goal, Different Times

The 2016 Russian interference in the U.S. elections demonstrated Moscow’s interest in exploiting vulnerabilities in American society. By amplifying racial injustice in the United States through the use of trolls and bots, the IRA sought to divide society, undermine democratic values, and discredit American criticism of Russian wrongdoings. The Soviet regime deployed the same tactics to achieve the same goal.

Views expressed are the author’s own and do not represent the views of GSSR, Georgetown University, or any other entity. Image Credit: Santa Clara University Digital Exhibits