Russian influence on the processes in scandinavian countries

The Scandinavian countries have long been a priority for Russians in terms of emigration, obtaining a residence permit and establishing long-lasting diasporas. At the same time, the formation of the Russian diaspora in these countries began rather late (except for Finland, which was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire and sheltered many Russian emigrants after the Russian Revolution (1917), especially among the intellectuals). The remaining states of the region, namely Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, stayed outside of Russians and other ex-USSR residents’ interests until the early 1990s. Extensive infrastructure, a high living standard and social benefits prompted fortune-seekers from the former USSR to turn their attention to Scandinavia in the 1990s, although migrants faced competition from Poles and citizens of the Baltic countries.

Recently, events in the countries located in Northern Europe and the Scandinavian Peninsula have been brought up to date due to several activities in which the Russian Federation has a direct interest. These include:

• the regrouping of forces in Europe after Brexit;

• Russia’s implementation of projects aimed at the development of the Arctic and development of Arctic sea routes;

• the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction works;

• confrontation about NATO’s attempts on expanding and strengthening in the region;

• the problem of sanctions imposed by European states against the Russian Federation;

• competition in important economic sectors (e.g., energy).

The following institutions are the main centres for the development of policy toward the states of Northern Europe in Russia.

The Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation

The  “Northern European” direction is under the personal control of the Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Yuri Ushakov, who was previously the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Denmark. It is Ushakov who develops recommendations regarding the political line of communication with the states of the region.

In the abovementioned countries, the posts within the embassy also include people who were once proposed by Yuri Ushakov (who is still considered in Russia as the “shadow minister of foreign affairs”).

Also, significant interest in Northern Europe, in particular, in Norway, is shown by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Sergey Kiriyenko, who informally keeps his influence in the Rosatom corporation. This corporation has developed and is implementing the Directive for the Development of the Northern Sea Route, which Kiriyenko also takes part in promoting.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Scandinavian topics are directly under the jurisdiction of First Deputy Minister Vladimir Titov, who at one time was the Russian Minister-Counselor in Sweden.

Issues related to the Nordic countries are supervised by the Second European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which has been headed by Sergey Belyaev since October 19, 2018. His negative is that he is a subject matter expert who dealt exclusively with issues of Russian-Finnish relations for a long time and was a minister-counsellor in Finland during 2005-2010 and 2014-2018.

Pavel Kuznetsov took his post as the Ambassador in Finland in August 2017. He is an experienced envoy who started his career back in the days of the USSR. In particular, he worked in Finland during 1980-1985 and 1991-1996, and for some time he headed the Second European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is fluent in Finnish. Counsellor-envoy Leonid Anisimov and the first secretary of the embassy Yevgeny Teplov are very enthusiastic about their actions.

In Sweden, the Embassy is headed by Viktor Tatarintsev since 2014, who previously served as Ambassador to Iceland and headed the Second European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 2010-2014.

Since November 2016 Teimuraz Ramishvili performs his duties in Norway (in 2007 – 2012 he served as Ambassador to Denmark). Ramishvili considers himself a member of Ushakov’s team and his student. It is worth mentioning the Ambassador-Counselor of the Embassy Andrei Kolesnikov as an iconic character in the Russian Embassy in Norway, who play an important role in promoting Russia’s interests in the country. So does the military attache Colonel Alexander Kosarev. 

In Denmark, the head of the Embassy is Vladimir Barbin (appointed in December 2018), also a member of Ushakov’s team. Previously, he was the Minister-Counsellor of the Russian Federation in Sweden, later he served as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Cooperation in the Arctic of the Russian Foreign Ministry. An important role in the Embassy is played by Military Attache Vladimir Matveev, Minister-Counselor Anna Knyazeva and Advisor for Bilateral Cooperation Alexei Naumov.

The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

In the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), the situation linked to Northern Europe is under the competence of the First (European Union), the Fifth (operational intelligence), the Seventh (NATO countries) and the Twelve-Bis (information warfare and information technology) Directorates.

According to reports, in 2017 the GRU increased the request for preparing specialists in the Norwegian and Danish languages ​who studies in the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation​ by three units annually.

The Foreign Intelligence Service

In addition to semi-legal residents, this institution operates through an extensive network of emigrants, diplomats and business representatives. According to public data, Norway is the primary interest in this area. Some projects of the FIS are being developed under the mask of environmental programs. These, for example, include the Expert Center of the Project Office for the Development of the Arctic (PODA), working as a structural unit of the Environmental Fund of the Siberian Federal University (the chairman of the PODA centre is Boris Tarasov, and the executive director is Alexander Stotsky, who previously had a relationship with the activities of the Russian residency in Ukraine).

The Center for Environmental Consulting and Monitoring “Pomor” (Murmansk) also works closely with the FIS. Timofey Surovtsev, the head of the Center, does not hide the fact that his main task is to resist the negative coverage of environmental problems in Russia in the Norwegian media, as well as to establish relations with Norwegian environmentalists (an attempt of holding joint camps in the north of Norway was made in 2018).

The Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church traditionally has an extensive network of representatives in almost all European states. The Department for External Church Relations in the Russian Orthodox Church is headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Sevryuk) of Volokolamsk. Having inherited this post from Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), Anthony continues the approach of strict discipline, weekly reports from the clergy on the mood of the congregation and the main tendencies in the social life of the host countries. Since July 2022, serious changes have been made in the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church, including the renewal of primates of foreign churches and parishes.

The jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church in Finland consists of 7 churches, connected in a deanery as part of the Patriarchal parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In Norway, the representative office of the Russian Orthodox Church is headed by Archimandrite Kliment (Hukhtamäki), rector of the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in the city of Oslo. Vladyka Kliment is 52 years-old ethnic Finn, who was born in a Lutheran family and at a mature age crossed over to Orthodoxy. He is fluent in Russian, English, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Greek. According to reports, the leadership of the Foreign Relations Department of the Russian Orthodox Church has a particularly worshipful attitude towards Clement.

The Primate of the Orthodox community of the city of Trondheim, Father Alexander (Volokhan) and the head of the Orthodox community in the city of Bergen, Father Dmitry (Ostashin) are in his compliance.

There is no full-fledged primate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden since 2004. The representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in Finland Viktor (Lyutik) has been appointed as the temporary acting dean of the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden. Archpriest Vitaly (Babushkin), the rector of the St. Sergius parish in the capital of Sweden, deals with the affairs of the church directly in Stockholm. The action plan of the ROC includes the establishment of a Scandinavian exarchate with a centre in Stockholm.

At the same time, several parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia operate in Sweden, which is not under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since the 2000s, the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Copenhagen, Archpriest Sergiy Plekhov, regularly visited the Serbian parish of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Malmö, where he performed church services in Church Slavonic. This resulted in the formation of a local community, which in 2017 began implementing the procedure of state registration of the parish in honour of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God. In 2018, Priest Ilya Shemyakin, a graduate of the Jordanville Seminary, was ordained for the parish.

In Denmark, the Russian Orthodox Church has a minor presence. In addition to the church of St. Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen (rector – Father Sergei (Bondarev)), there are churches in Aarhus and Hobro, as well as a convent near Odense.

Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Business associations and chambers of commerce and industry are one of the most effective tools for lobbying Russian interests in Europe.

The Norwegian-Russian Chamber of Commerce (Executive Director – Jarle Forbord) unites about 140 Norwegian and Russian companies. Among its founders are Telenor, StatOil, Orcla Fuds, Acer Querner Contracting, Exportfinance, A-Pressen, the Norwegian Industrial Development Corporation, the State Fund for Industrial and Regional Development, the Norwegian Bank, and a number of Russian companies.

The Russian-Swedish Business Council is headed by Hans Westberg, President of the Ericsson Concern, Martin Lundstedt, President of the Volvo Group, and Vladimir Dmitriev, Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. An important point: despite the sanctions against Russia were supported by the Swedish government, not a single Swedish company left the Russian market. The St. Petersburg Economic Forum, which took place in June 2019 was attended by the heads of several Swedish companies – ABB, AstraZeneca, Boule Diagnostics AB, East Capital, EF, Ericsson, Ferronordic Machines AB, Ingka Group (IKEA), Investor AB, Oriflame, Scania AB, SKF, Stena AB, Volvo Group and others.

Non-governmental organisations

Non-governmental organisations play an equally important role in promoting Russian interests in the Scandinavian countries. Among them, there are those directly or indirectly funded by the state, and those grown locally and financed by the diaspora, representatives of local businesses or by other types of donations and contributions.

Among the largest organisations operating in the Scandinavian countries, attention should be pointed to the Worldwide Compatriots Coordination Council (chaired by Mikhail Drozdov). The council was established in 2001. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Second Congress of the Council in 2002. According to unofficial data, the structure is completely controlled by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and Yevgeny Primakov personally was an initiator of its creation.

In Sweden, the Compatriots Coordination Council is headed by Lyudmila Siegel. She also heads the Union of Russian Societies in Sweden, an organisation that is part of the Forum of Ethnic Organisations in Sweden. Also, Lyudmila Siegel is the head of the Russian-Swedish Cultural-Ecological Society “Ladya”, which organizes exhibitions, concerts, and tours of choirs from Russia. She coordinates joint projects with Russian societies in Uppsala and Gothenburg and the Mälardalsrådet Regional Council.

The Compatriots Coordination Council in Norway is headed by Zhanna Furynes. By her initiative, in 2007 the youth association “RuNo” was formed in Oslo. In April 2018, the Regional Conference of Russian compatriots from the Northern European and the Baltic Sea countries took place in Oslo. In the city of Bergen, a cultural and educational society “Compatriots” was created, led by Tatyana Dale, an employee of the regional administration of the Hordaland province. She also publishes the journal Rights of Compatriots in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.

The Coordinating Council of Compatriots in Denmark is headed by Svetlana Manizer.

For a deeper understanding of the system of such structures in Northern Europe, as well as for the analysis of the socio-economic and domestic political sphere, it is proposed to consider each country separately:

Finland

In Finland, Russians are the third largest nationality (after Finns and Swedes). As of 2020, their number was estimated at 84 thousand people, of which about 25 thousand people have dual citizenship (Finnish and Russian). In January-June 2013, Russian citizens were in first place in terms of the number of requests for a residence permit in Finland – 1832 people (from India – 951; China – 687).

Gennady Timchenko, a businessman and a close friend of Vladimir Putin is among representatives of the Russian elite that hold Finnish citizenship.

Mostly, Russian-speaking migrants are Ingrians from the Russian Federation and Estonia. In the spring of 1990, President Mauno Koivisto issued a special decree. According to it, Ingrians became considered “returnees”. This was legally reflected in Finnish law in 1993. The unregulated flow of returnees was restricted in 1996 by a law that clarified the criteria for Finnish origin. Later, a queue system was introduced, and knowledge of the Finnish language was required for advancement. Nowadays, the right to settle requires passing an exam test (based on the IPAKI system at a level not lower than A2).

The economic improvement in the Russian Federation and Estonia contributed to the fact that half of the Ingrians remained out of this queue. To obtain the right to reside, it is necessary to prove that the returnee himself, one of his parents or two grandparents are marked in the documents as Finns. Also, persons who were taken to Finland during the Second World War or served in the Finnish army can obtain a residence permit without any language tests. The number of Ingrians who entered Finland since the 1990s exceeds 25,000, but the number of those who entered during the first year is not known.

According to sociologists, about 20% of the Russian-speaking population of Finland is unemployed.

An important centre of Russian life in Finland is the Russian House in Helsinki, operating since 1977. It is a part of the “Rossotrudnichestvo” system. The heads of the Russian House are Pyotr Yakhmenev and Anastasia Miklina.

The largest association of the Russian diaspora in Finland is the Finnish Association of Russian-Speaking Societies (FARS), which unites 42 organisations. The Association draws the attention of official authorities and society to the issues of the Russian-speaking population of Finland, takes initiatives and comments, participates in the work of Finnish and international organisations that deal with immigration and ethnic minorities, and supports its member organisations in their activities by providing them with consulting assistance, arranges seminars, workshops, meetings, conducts informational and publishing activities. The association is headed by Natalia Nerman.

Fairly active work is carried out by the Vantaa Russian Club. It provides employment services for citizens, holds thematic events for pensioners and teenagers, and promotes the development of cultural initiatives of the Russian-speaking population. The club is run by Svetlana Chistyakova and Valery Komina.

There are certain organisational difficulties. Until the end of 2020, the Russian-language newspaper Spektr was published in Finland, which ceased its work on January 1, 2021, due to financial difficulties. Internet resources in Russian are mostly weak, and anaemic, publications appear irregularly.

The most popular resource for the Russian-speaking Finnish community is the “Finland in Russian” website.

Sweden

More than 100 thousand Russian-speaking migrants live in Sweden. Lyudmila Siegel, one of the activists in the Russian community, stated in an interview: “Many Russians and Russian-speaking residents of Sweden do not belong to any societies, diasporas. They are not even registered by the consulate. Who works with these people? With their children? And this is at least 80% of the total number of our compatriots in Sweden. They are left behind. State programs, like education, do not keep up with changes and the real world. There is no mobility, lightness, or understanding of the situation.” She also suggested: “It seems to me that we need a state program “I am proud that I am a Russian!” and a detailed action plan. But it should be implemented by non-systemic people. Consistency is good for reporting, but ineffective in reality.”

As a general matter, Sweden has the largest number of ethnic Russians (compared to Finland, Norway and Denmark). Therefore, more than 35 organisations, either focused on Russia or advocating the development of relations with Russia, are registered here. In addition to culturological societies, frankly political organisations also operate here, such as the Immortal Regiment (“Bessmertniy Polk”, headed by Irina Brosalin), the Ribbon of Saint George Association (headed by Oleg Mezhuev – the society, in particular, launched fundraising for residents of the self-proclaimed «DPR» and «LPR»). In addition to ethnic Russians, some Swedish pro-Russian organisations are led by ethnic Swedes – for example, Niklas Bennemark (SKRUV Society) or Barbra Chelkerud (Swedish-Russian Friendship Society). At the initiative of the Coordinating Council, the Russian-language portals “Ours in Sweden” and “Swedish Palm” were opened.

A Teen Club, which was created around Top Dans Studio, a dance school for Russian-speaking children, operates in Stockholm. Kids participated in international dance festivals and held 15 own concerts. Headed by Natalia Tsypkina.

A Russian Salon has been opened on Östermalm in Stockholm. It pays much attention to children who want to preserve the Russian language. Lyudmila Tourne manages this club.

Also, the following organisations operate in Sweden: the Compatriot Club, the Russian-Swedish Cultural Society in Gothenburg (chaired by Inna Khromova), the BERUS association, which represented Russia during the celebration of the 750th anniversary of Stockholm, the Foreign Policy Association at Stockholm University (Olga Sulina), the Russian House in Uppsala (Andrei Lakstigal, arranger of Kinorurik, the Russian film festivals), Swedish-Russian society SKRUV in Ystad, that facilitates contacts with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The “Resurrection” Society, led by actress Irina Jonsson, arranges tours of famous artists but dreams of starting their own theatre.

Fun fact: in Sweden, there is a Russian-speaking Society of Anonymous Alcoholics (led by Yuri Babyuk).

The Russian-Swedish Internet is growing and developing. The first website in the Russian language was ryskweb.ru, launched by Alexander Dokukin, currently working on the stockholm.ru project. Later, the portal was replaced by two sites: “Ours in Sweden” (made by Slava Averkiev) and “Swedish Palma” (introduced by Pavel Mesolik, Mikhail Lyubarsky, Oliana Lionovskaya and Nikolai Romanov). It is possible to find there some information regarding concerts and gatherings, see photos, and chat on the forum. The authors of the Internet projects agreed to receive informational support from the Union of Russian-Speaking Societies in Sweden. Slava Averkiev undertook a commitment to launch a special “Russian Culture” forum to discuss the problems of creating a society of Russians. There is also an Orthodox website in Russian, the author of which is Dr Vitaly Koisin (www.orthodoxy.ru/sweden).

Activities of pro-Russian forces in Sweden are more tangible than in other Scandinavian countries. In 2016, there was a high-profile scandal regarding the disclosure of the activities of a journalist who emigrated from Russia and writes under five pseudonyms, the most famous of which are “Egor Putilov” and “Tobias Lagerfeld”. It is believed that a certain Alexander Friedbak is hiding behind these pseudonyms (there are suspicions that this is not his real name). Friedbak worked in the secretariat of the right-wing populist party Swedish Democrats.

This political party most of all acts as a Russia’s attorney (although in 2015, a youth wing aimed to cooperate with Russia and headed by William Khane separated from the party). The party’s statements show support for the Russian interpretation of the war in Donbas, calls to lift sanctions against Russia, supports anti-immigration slogans and theses on preventing Sweden from joining NATO.

Gustav Kasselstrand and Kent Eckeroth are among the most pro-Russian politicians in Sweden. Pro-Russian sentiments are also demonstrated by extreme right-wing political forces, neo-Nazis and skinheads.

The Russian-funded “Anti-Euromaidan-Sweden” organization, headed by Oleg Mezhuev, operates openly in Sweden.

After 2014, a significant part of the Russian liberal opposition found political asylum in Sweden. So did representatives of left-wing organisations, among which, according to several experts, there are agents of the Russian special services. In particular, such suspicions were raised in the media regarding Alexei Sakhnin, one of the leaders, who received asylum in Sweden.

Most of all Russia uses the Aftonbladet magazine to disseminate the necessary theses and definitions in Swedish society.

To a large extent, representatives of big business, who also have an influence on the government, are interested in cooperation between Sweden and Russia. Russia plans to influence the Swedish government to lift the sanctions through business and  “Swedish Democrats”. 

Our sources point attention to the activities of the investment fund East Capital (Stockholm), which is one of the largest lobbyists for Russian interests in Sweden. An interesting fact: Aivaras Abromavicius, the former Ukrainian Minister of Economy is a co-founder of the fund. He is considered to be close to businessman Nathaniel Rothschild, who, in turn, has recently demonstrated a common game with RAO Gazprom.

The Swedish mining company LKAB took part in the construction of the “Nord Stream 2”. The company’s products were transported through Norway to the port of Karlshamn and the island of Gotland. Swedish companies have earned about EUR 30 mln from logistics operations alone.

Norway

According to official statistics, in 2019 about 18,500 Russian-speaking immigrants lived in Norway/ Compared to 2000, this number has almost doubled. Every year, about 1,000 citizens of Russia and other CIS countries receive a Norwegian residence permit.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, most of the immigrants from Russia were natives of the North Caucasian republics, who applied to the Norwegian authorities for political asylum in connection with the “counter-terrorist operation” taking place in this area. After its ending, the situation significantly changed. Now, residents of the Kola Peninsula, which is located close to the border of the Russian Federation and Norway, relocate to Norway most often.

Nowadays, Russians can obtain the status of a permanent resident of Norway in three ways: by marrying a Norwegian citizen; employment at the country’s enterprises; or being admitted to a Norwegian university.

Close contact with Russian compatriots in Norway has the Arktikugol trust. It engaged in the development of coal deposits at Svalbard (Spitsbergen) island (they are mines “Barentsburg”, “Pyramid” and now closed “Grumant”). The trust sponsors the issuing of the “Russian Bulletin of Spitsbergen” and also allocates funds for the “Compatriot in Scandinavia” periodical.

The main information resource that allows Russians and Russian-speakers in Norway to coordinate their actions (including help in finding housing and work, training classes, etc.) is the “Russian Norway” Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com /groups/russkayanorvegia/), connecting over 7 thousand users.

Russia is concerned about the presence of NATO military bases in Norway and the possibility of their influence on the Russian and Chinese Arctic programs. Russian experts practically do not obscure the fact that environmental activities that criticise Norwegian Arctic programs (the impact on the number of polar bears, climate change, etc.) are mainly associated with the competition with Norway.

According to unverified information, Russia sponsors the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth Norway, which advocates the closure of several industrial facilities. In December 2019, environmentalists from this society brought about 4,500 people to a rally in support of the closure of the Nussir copper mine in northern Norway. This organisation has close ties to the Russian institution PORA, which is suspected of having ties with the Foreign Intelligence Service.

Given the fact that 67% of Norwegians consider Russia a source of potential military danger to their country, it is a thankless task to express pro-Russian sentiments in Norway. Recently, pro-Russian statements were publicly expressed by  Ragnhild Vassvik, a head of the provincial council of the Finnmark administrative-territorial unit (in an article for iFinnmark, she called for lifting the sanctions against Russia) and Georges Chabert, a professor of the Norwegian Institute of Natural and Technical Sciences in Trondheim (in December 2019, he proposed considering Norway’s withdrawal from NATO as existing Russia does not pose a danger to the world community).

Russia is actively working with the population of Norwegian northern territories, among the Saami, trying to oppose the north and south of Norway. The initial stake in the search for possible allies in the Green Party and the Progress Party did not work. The rest of the potential allies are too few and uninfluential – the bet on the leader of the Communists Runa Evensen brought no result, and all the political forces with which Russians tried to establish contact demonstrate a result of less than 1%.

Denmark

In its time, it was Denmark, where Yuri Ushakov and Sergei Ryabkov, the “anchors” of the current Russian diplomacy, started their diplomatic careers. The Danish Queen Margrethe was the first European crowned person (except for the Romanian King Mihai), who visited the USSR in 1974.

As of 2018, about 7,000 ethnic Russians and about 29,000 people from other republics of the former Soviet Union lived in Denmark.

There are about 20 organizations focused on the promotion of Russian culture, language and knowledge about Russia working in Denmark.

The Russian House (Russian Center for Science and Culture) in Copenhagen is headed by Diana Magad (she is also an adviser to the Embassy). The Russian House was opened in 2001 and is engaged in the development and promotion of Russian culture in Denmark. The Russian House includes educational sections, legal advice, an amateur theatre, and the “The Moon Shines” ensemble.

Another facility that connects Russian-speaking citizens is the “Russian Society” in Copenhagen, founded in 1998 and headed by Irina Ivanchenko-Jensen. The “Russian Society” is a member of the Coordinating Council of Compatriots.

In Denmark, Russia’s main political partner is the Danish People’s Party (led by Christian Tulesen Dahl). The party is represented by 16 deputies in the Folketing and 1 deputy in the European Parliament.

Most of the political actors in Denmark took the position of criticising Russia. In 2018, the Folketing tried to pass a law that would envisage criminal liability for pro-Russian positions and statements.

In 2019, Denmark was under precise attention: the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline depended on its position. Journalist Jens Gyvsgaard explains Denmark’s position this way: “The problem was that we were under pressure from Russia and Germany, on the one hand, and the United States, on the other. The United States urged us not to grant permission, while Berlin and Moscow requested to allow it immediately. It was a very difficult decision because Germany and America are very close allies for Denmark, we are trading partners. Therefore, we took a decision – to give international waters between Denmark and Poland for the project. Since 1972, there have been disputes over which of the two countries this water area belongs to. Copenhagen requested studies regarding the possibility of paving the way in these waters. The Kremlin agreed and Denmark granted its permission for this route. We did this because these are international waters and because we are a small country, and we do not want to be punished either by Russia and Germany, on the one hand, or by the United States, on the other.

In the summer of 2019, US President Donald Trump offered to buy Greenland from Denmark, which led to intensifying anti-American sentiment in the country. This moment was used to lobby for permission to build a gas pipeline through the territorial waters of Denmark.

In March 2019, Danish politician and financier Klaus Risker Pedersen, in an interview with Altinget, said that it is more beneficial for Denmark to be friends with Russia than with the United States. “It is simply unprofitable for Denmark to be at enmity with Russia. We have been cooperating with the Russians for 400 years. This means that we must stop conflicting with the Russians. We need to expand cooperation with them. This whole story with Eastern Ukraine and Crimea does not concern Europe at all, it is none of our business,” – said the politician, a former member of the European Parliament. “Russia has never attacked Europe. They are our friends. We just have different views on how society should be organized. But just a difference of opinion does not make you enemies and does not force you to go to war with each other … Pursuing a policy like the current one is madness. It should’ve be changed a long time ago, I don’t doubt it for a second.”