Russia, as was recently reported de Volkskrant, is using increasingly brutal methods to weaken Western democracies, ‘from espionage to sabotage’. A few decades ago, when communists were still in the Kremlin, this kind of analysis was often dismissed by progressive Dutch media as ‘Cold War rhetoric’ and ‘enemy thinking’. It was better not to start doing that, because then the ‘relaxation between East and West’ would be in danger. But times have changed. Talked at length de Volkskrant us at:
‘Russian espionage has changed drastically in character in the last year. Previously, the country in Europe could use spies with a cover as diplomats at Russian embassies abroad. They tried to recruit sources and obtain intelligence. But since European countries started expelling diplomats in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine – the Netherlands sent seventeen Russians back to Moscow – the country has had to choose a different strategy. Digital espionage offers a solution.’
Our energy supply is probably also a target
The Netherlands is extra interesting as a transit country for Western weapons for the hackers of Russia’s military intelligence service GRU. Not coincidentally, said de VolkskrantRussian infiltration attempts have been discovered at suppliers to the Ministry of Defense: ‘At a time when European leaders are increasingly warning of a possible war with Russia, that country is trying to undermine the European Union and NATO in numerous ways.’
‘Many ways’: let’s expand on that. Because in their efforts to weaken Western democracies, the rulers in the Kremlin will certainly not overlook our energy supply. After all, this is an essential part of our infrastructure and therefore of great importance for our economic performance and our military resilience. Putin and associates may therefore hope that as many Europeans as possible – Dutch included – will be under the illusion that the end times are near: due to climate change.
Of course, in the four and a half billion years that the Earth has existed, the climate has continually changed. Sea level rise also occurred twenty times faster and there were times with more than twenty times as much CO2 in the atmosphere as now. But that kind of knowledge is not in Russian interests at the moment. The point is that people will believe that we can only avert the impending climate Armageddon through an energy transition. In this context, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas must be known as a diabolical practice that must be eradicated as quickly as possible.
But isn’t that disadvantageous for a fossil exporter like Russia? No, because there is a second step. It is also necessary and in Russian interests that as few people as possible realize the benefits of nuclear energy (cheap, safe, hardly any CO2 emissions). Because then we will automatically opt for ‘climate solutions’ that will be fatal for our energy infrastructure: heat pumps and electric cars that increase the demand for electricity, coupled with solar and wind energy, which make the power network unstable. Predictable consequence: insufficient capacity to connect new companies, and the threat of power outages also for small consumers, such as households and retailers.
Shame and self-flagellation
In addition to energy supply, food supply is also of fundamental importance. The Russians could also subvert there. For example, by discrediting our agricultural sector as a cause of animal suffering and odor nuisance, a polluter of groundwater and drinking water and – last but not least – as an emitter of nitrogen. Additional advantage: The Netherlands is the second largest export country for agricultural products in the world, so making our farmers suspicious can also have interesting destabilizing effects internationally.
We’ll continue for a while. Because undermining by the Russians does not have to be limited to material matters. Countries also have one mental infrastructure that could come under fire. The Kremlin, for example, has no interest in a Netherlands that is proud and oozes with self-confidence. They prefer an enemy who is ashamed of their own past and constantly practices self-flagellation.
Our continued lamentation about the Dutch slavery past will certainly please the Russians for that reason, as will our permanent self-accusations about ‘Islamophobia’, ‘institutional racism’ and lack of ‘diversity’. A country that wallows in guilt is not a vital opponent. We are still silent about our status as an immigration country with an ever-expanding multicultural drama.
We do the undermining ourselves
Fortunately for the Russians, they hardly have to make an effort to promote any of these things. Because the Kremlin can confidently leave endangering our energy supply, phasing out our agricultural sector and undermining our national self-confidence to the Dutch themselves. More specifically to our progressive politicians, because when it comes to climate alarmism, anti-nuclear sentiment, nitrogen hysteria, mass immigration and our collective guilt culture, they are the main drivers.
Viewed in this way, the man who plays most into Moscow’s hands is not the open Putin fan Thierry Baudet, but rather someone like GroenLinks-PvdA leader and Kremlin hater Frans Timmermans. How fascinating politics can be.
Roelof Bouwman is a columnist and deputy editor-in-chief of Wynia’s Week. He writes about politics, history and media.
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