Across Latin America, Russia has implemented long-term strategies to influence intellectual elites through media, educational institutions, and think tanks to shape public opinion and policy. In this blog, Armando Chaguaceda and Vladimir Rouvinski discuss this “intellectual elite capture”, explaining that it often involves blending authentic intellectual diversity with co-optation efforts, blurring the line between independent analysis and Moscow’s propaganda. Russian media outlets, like RT Actualidad and Sputnik Mundo, and some academic institutions, have become platforms for spreading Kremlin-backed narratives. According to Chaguaceda and Rouvinski, the major challenge is distinguishing between independent intellectuals offering objective analysis from captured elites promoting biased agendas – especially when information is distributed through media outlets and academic institutions with strong reputations.

Read Armando Chaguaceda and Vladimir Rouvinski’s blog here.