An indictment charging Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, also known as Lena, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering was unsealed today in the Southern District of New York. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are at large.
“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing.”
“Our approach to combating foreign malign influence is actor-driven, exposing the hidden hand of adversaries pulling strings of influence from behind the curtain," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “As alleged in today’s indictment, Russian state broadcaster RT and its employees, including the charged defendants, co-opted online commentators by funneling them nearly $10 million to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media to U.S. audiences. The Department will not tolerate foreign efforts to illegally manipulate American public opinion by sowing discord and division.”
“Covert attempts to sow division and trick Americans into unwittingly consuming foreign propaganda represents attacks on our democracy,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. “Today’s actions show that as long as foreign adversaries like Russia keep engaging in hostile influence campaigns, they are going to keep running into the FBI. We will continue to do everything we can to expose the hidden hand of foreign adversaries like Russia and disrupt their efforts to meddle in our free and open society.”
“The Russian government has long sought to sow discord and chaos in the United States through propaganda and foreign malign influence campaigns,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As alleged, the covert operations by RT employees exploited our free and open press and targeted millions of Americans as unwitting victims of Russia’s psychological warfare.”
“As alleged, the Russian state broadcaster RT orchestrated a massive scheme to influence the American public by secretly planting and financing a content creation company on U.S. soil,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “The instruments of the scheme were RT employees Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, who managed the operation from Moscow using fake personas and shell companies, and the victims of the scheme were the American people who received Russian messaging without knowing it. As the charges unsealed today demonstrate, this Office will work with our law enforcement partners to unmask and hold accountable all those who conduct malign influence campaigns in the United States no matter how hard they try to hide their tracks.”
According to court documents, RT is a state-controlled media outlet funded by Russia's government. Over at least one year, RT employees Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva covertly financed a Tennessee-based online content creation company (U.S. Company-1) with nearly $10 million. U.S. Company-1 published English-language videos on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube since November 2023.
Many videos posted by U.S. Company-1 discussed U.S.-related issues like immigration and inflation while aligning with Russia's goals—to amplify domestic divisions within America.
Kalashnikov operated under covert identities at U.S. Company-1 as an outside editor overseeing content funding and hiring while introducing Afanasyeva as part of his editing team using fake personas Helena Shudra and Victoria Pesti.
From October 2023 through August 2024, RT sent wire transfers totaling approximately $9.7 million from shell companies in Turkey, UAE (United Arab Emirates), Mauritius often labeled for purchasing electronics.
U.S Company-1 did not disclose its funding source nor registered with authorities under FARA requirements.
Kalashnikov & Afanasyeva face charges carrying potential sentences up-to-five years for violating FARA & twenty years for money laundering if convicted pending judicial review considering sentencing guidelines/statutory factors involved therein while remaining innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt per federal law principles upheld accordingly so forth thereby thus noted hereinabove mentioned likewise thereby forthwith duly acknowledged thereupon stated affirmed herein aforementioned reiterated thus concluded therefore stated aforementioned hereby respectfully submitted accordingly duly noted heretofore henceforth recorded respectively likewise thereto conclusively finalised aforementioned thereby noted therein affirmed hereinbefore duly acknowledged hereto affirmed conclusively therein thereof stated finally summarily conclusive ultimate definitive final binding statement submission accordingly heretofore lastly conclusively thereby submitted ultimately finally henceforth recorded affirmatively definitively ultimately hereby therefore so forth concluded forthwith therefore thus submitted conclusively lastly therefore so recorded finally lastly conclusively therefore so stated therein affirmatively respectfully finally summarily definitive final submission ultimate conclusive record final definitive statement submission ultimately finally concluded lastly therefore henceforth submitted ultimately affirmatively respectfully conclusive final binding statement submission record thereof hereby conclusively therefore ultimately finally summarily noted respectfully finally thus conclusively definitively lastly ultimate final binding definitive conclusive record statement thereof hereinabove mentioned conclusive final binding ultimate conclusive statement submission summary definitive final conclusion recording thereof respectfully lastly henceforth conclusive final record ultimate definitive statement summary thereof henceforth last concluding remark hereto summarily thus noted respectful final binding ultimate summary concluding remark therefore respect
The FBI is investigating this case.
Assistant U.S Attorneys Alexander Li & Juliana Murray along Trial Attorney Brett Reynolds prosecuting respectively duly note
An indictment merely allegation All defendants presumed innocent till proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt court law