Italian princess, conspiracy theorists and Steven Seagal: meet Russia’s friends overseas
Who are Russia’s friends abroad now? Judging by a recent congress of the International Movement of Russophiles, an event put together by conservative activists and held with great fanfare at a glassenclosed hall at the Pushkin State Museum in Moscow, the answer is political marginals and conspiracy theorists.
Among them were the contentious American actor Steven Seagal, a grandson of Charles de Gaulle, and an Italian princess and scholar known for her Tolkien translations who fears European boys are being encouraged to marry their cows.
“I’m here to promote peace and friendship and I do believe that this conflict has been provoked and caused by Anglo-Saxon interests … I think it’s putting the world into deep danger, and I’m here to fight against that,” said Pierre de Gaulle, the French general’s grandson and a speaker at the conference, in an interview with the Guardian.
The younger de Gaulle has already attracted controversy. Last month, he told a French newspaper, Le Parisien, that the west had “unfortunately let [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy, his oligarchs and neo-Nazi military groups lock themselves into a spiral of war.”
Yves de Gaulle, Pierre’s older brother, told Le Parisien on 24 January his brother’s views “concern nobody other than himself – not me, not our family and even less the general”.
Pierre de Gaulle did not comment on his brother’s remarks and sidestepped a question on whether his family name might be used to legitimise the war in Ukraine as De Gaulle had proudly invoked his grandfather when asked on stage about the conflict.
“My grandfather had a very deep knowledge and intense knowledge about Russian leaders and people as well,” he told the conference. “So he was pretty aware of the interest, and the geographical necessity for Europe and France to ally with Russia.
“More and more people are becoming aware that this conflict was created to break the single bloc of Europe, to the benefit of the Americans,” he said.
It may also prove a lucrative opportunity. As a banker, he added, he was looking to find people of a “different opinion who have a different view for peace”, including those looking for “financial contracts, investment contracts”.
Europeans are in short supply when it comes to Russian propaganda and media outlets looking for foreign support for the war against Ukraine. But this week 90 delegates, including many conspiracy theorists, gathered willing to parrot the Moscow line.
Nikolay Malinov, a former member