Historian Timothy Snyder said in an interview that aired on Thursday that Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections was a replay of what Moscow had already done in other countries.
“When I was following the American events of 2016, what struck me most was how much of it was a replay of things that had already happened in other places,” Snyder, who specializes in Eastern European history, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball on “Rising.”
“If you’re living in Europe and following events in Europe, you’re reading the Russian press, and reading journalism in other languages, what you see is that 2016 was just a climax of things that were already happening elsewhere,” he continued.
The historian went on to highlight that Russia had begun “using the same propaganda instruments” in 2014.
“Beginning in 2014, Russia was already using the same propaganda instruments and the same politics of fiction against Ukraine that were later brought to bear against the United States,” he said, citing Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, its interference in the U.K.’s Brexit campaign, as well as its involvement in French politics.
Snyder is promoting his book “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America,” which details Russia’s attempts to interfere in Western democracies.
The U.S. intelligence community revealed in January 2017 that Russia had worked to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, citing their use of hacking, as well as internet trolls and bots, and a social media campaign aimed at influencing U.S. public opinion.
The assessment said that the efforts favored President Trump, and were aimed at hurting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Russia has repeatedly denied that they played a role in interfering with the election.
The intelligence community has also warned that Russia will continue to work to interfere in U.S. elections.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating the matter since last year.
— Julia Manchester
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