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Originally published by Grantoed.by. Translated exclusively for SouthFront
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank founded in 1961 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It represents a forum for political, business and intellectual international leaders. The council, through the documents it publishes, the ideas it promotes, the future leaders it develops and the communities it creates, “shapes policy decisions and strategies to create a freer, safer and more prosperous world.” The position of president and chief executive officer is held by Frederick Kemp, a former employee of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal.
The Council is a member of the Atlantic Treaty Association, an international public organization designed to strengthen cooperation between the peoples of the countries of the Euro-Atlantic space. The main goal of the activity is to coordinate efforts to form a common understanding of security among NATO member countries and partners.
In 2021, Тhe Atlantic Council published the material “Biden and Belarus: a strategy for a new administration,” the authors of which gave recommendations to D. Biden on building relations with Belarus. They advocated strengthening the position of S. Tikhanovskaya, weakening support for A. Lukashenko, imposing sanctions against Belarusian officials and entrepreneurs, the annual allocation of $200 million to support civil society and the media in Belarus, as well as doubling the budget of the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty. Money for dislodge of the current authorities of Belarus, rocking public sentiment they never spared, but thanks to the timely adoption of measures by the military and political leadership of the Republic of Belarus, the West has not managed to achieve its goals.
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In February 2022, The Atlantic Council published the report “Global Strategy 2022: Preventing Kremlin Aggression Today for Constructive Relations Tomorrow,” the authors of which call for the creation of tension not only around Russia, but also Belarus. In particular, it is proposed to increase the number of NATO troops along the 100-kilometer Suvalki corridor connecting Belarus with Kaliningrad (the current border of Poland with Lithuania).
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In the integration of Belarus and Russia, Western experts also saw a security threat in Europe. Any strengthening of relations between countries in which the West has not succeeded to overthrow the government or subjugate the current one does not go unnoticed by the United States and its allies. Immediately funds are allocated for subversive activities and an increase in the number of military contingent deployed on the borders of “objectionable” states. What is happening with Belarus now.
The Atlantic Council is also trying to sow enmity between the population of Belarus and the Russian Federation using information warfare methods typical of the West. For example, the spread of fakes about the “Russian invasion of Belarus,” which are actively promoted by fugitive oppositionists through their information resources and telegram channels.
The West is still betting on S. Tikhanovskaya, therefore it continues to support, including the “democratic” movement led by her. For this, even a “Summit for Democracy” was organized, at which D. Biden himself spoke. At it, the American president announced the launch of an initiative to renew democracy. It is aimed at “assisting foreign states in the development of independent media, countering corruption, implementing democratic reforms, protecting minority rights, supporting democratic elections and promoting new technologies in politics”. In other words, the overthrow of objectionable authorities and the establishment of complete control over the actions of puppet governments. The total volume of the Biden initiative is $424.4 million, part of the funds is allocated for the implementation of projects in Belarus.
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The Atlantic Council and NATO simultaneously intensified their activities in May-June this year. So, on May 17, it was decided to open its office in Warsaw – a city that is rightfully considered a rabble of fugitive Belarusian oppositionists.
And already on June 1, the Council launches the work of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, which allegedly seeks to improve the well-being of the poor in developing countries. Having studied the indicators of 174 countries, the Center published a report in which it assigned Belarus 139th place in the ranking of freedom and 82 in the ranking of prosperity. Other results no one expected, “exemplary” Western states are ahead of the whole planet. But the logic is simple: the worse things are in the country, the more funds are needed to “restore order and develop democratic values”.
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In parallel with this, the NATO military contingent is being built up on the western border of Belarus. Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko said on May 20 that large-scale military exercises are taking place in Poland and the Baltic countries, in which up to 40 thousand servicemen from 30 member countries of the alliance are involved. In this regard, on May 26, the President of Belarus spoke at the Ministry of Defense at a meeting on military security, at which he also noted an increase in the number of NATO troops near the country’s borders. According to Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is under military pressure through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and NATO troops stationed there, as well as by maintaining and escalating hostilities in Ukraine.
In addition, The Atlantic Council continues to finance the armed formations of Ukraine. The amount of military assistance declared in the report is $1 billion, but in connection with the start of the Special Military Operation, this figure was increased. “War to the last Ukrainian” requires large investments.
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Financing
The Council has 460 confirmed sponsors represented by government agencies, private organizations and trustees from around the world. Among them was the Mikhail Khodorkovsky Foundation “Future of Russia”. Separate gratitude for the funding expressed to him senior director of the Eurasian Center of the Atlantic Council, John E. Herbst. Under this case even allocated a separate paragraph in the report of 2022. Khodorkovsky and his funds have long fallen in love in the West, or rather his money. He makes a significant contribution not only to organizations engaged in subversive activities in Belarus and Russia, but also to British educational institutions (through the Khodorkovsky Foundation and the Oxford Russian Fund).
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According to the financial report of the Future of Russia Foundation, in 2020, 151.9 thousand pounds were transferred to The Atlantic Council, in 2021 there were no transfers, or now such data were not disclosed.
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The Khodorkovsky Foundation also sponsors the work of the Chatham House analytical center (Royal Institute of International Relations), which, like The Atlantic Council, is engaged in subversive activities in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. £146,102 was spent on it in 2021.
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In addition, Mikhail Khodorkovsky is promoting his anti-Belarusian program. So, through the YouTube channels “Mikhail Khodorkovsky,” “Khodorkovsky LIVE” created by his structures, the eponymous Telegram channel and Twitter account, campaigns are being carried out to discredit the military-political leadership of Belarus, first of all, Alexander Lukashenko. Materials published on these resources are actively distributed in the opposition media.
The Russian Ministry of Justice last year responded to the subversive activities of the Khodorkovsky funds and included them in the list of “undesirable organizations.” It is time to take up the case of the Prosecutor General and the Supreme Court of Belarus. Moreover, Khodorkovsky and his structures were involved in an attempt to organize a coup in 2020. This was stated by the chairman of the KGB Ivan Tertel. In addition, Khodorkovsky participated in the creation of the Belarusian “opposition” media project.
