Back in the day, the Soviet Union was known for craftily making use of foreigners who supported the Soviet Union on the basis of ideological considerations. Putin’s Russia has since adopted this practice. In April of this year, Russian media distributed a letter from “the German intelligentsia,” which was signed by 200 Germans, and which dealt with the justification of the Russian annexation of Crimea. Recently a similar letter to Putin appeared, this time from the Netherlands. Again – allegedly from Dutch intelligentsia.
Sijbren de Jong was interviewed by Ukrainian Newspaper ‘Den’ on the authenticity of the letter. The full interview, in Russian, can be read here.