Page 11 - RusRPTAug23

associated with Patriot have been blocked in Russia following Prigozhin's failed mutiny, The Bell reports.
Prigozhin's troll factory employees were primarily hired to spread pro-government comments on social media platforms. They also engaged in attempts to influence elections in Western countries by supporting candidates seen as favorable to Russia. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Prigozhin's trolls organized rallies in the U.S. through Facebook and promoted "urgent social issues" on Twitter, actions that resulted in U.S. sanctions against Prigozhin in 2018.
Following the capture of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia by Wagner fighters on June 24, most of Prigozhin's trolls and journalists failed to show up for work, as reported by a source from the Patriot holding who spoke to The Bell. Law enforcement conducted a search at the business center in St. Petersburg, where Prigozhin's media outlets and troll factory are located. The source stated that if the servers can be retrieved, work could potentially resume.
At the time of Prigozhin's mutiny, his media activities were overseen by Ilya Gorbunov, who previously worked for other Russian propaganda outlets. However, Gorbunov's current whereabouts are unknown, according to a source at FAN. There were discussions about potential new owners of Patriot, with the National Media Group owned by Yury Kovalchuk being mentioned as a potential buyer. However, it appears that the deal is unlikely to be finalized.
On June 30, heads of departments at Patriot and Prigozhin's troll factories instructed staff to submit resignation letters, as it was revealed that the media operations were coming to an end, according to two sources at Patriot. During a meeting in St. Petersburg, it was reportedly announced by "Prigozhin himself" that work at Patriot would be terminated. Editors were given instructions to erase all traces of an online presence. The meeting was described as Prigozhin berating everyone and expressing his lack of need for any of them.
The situation surrounding Prigozhin's media empire continues to evolve rapidly, with significant disruptions and uncertainties. The termination of operations at Patriot marks a significant turn of events, leaving the future of Prigozhin's media assets uncertain and his reputation in disgrace.
2.1 Russia lets the ruble go to protect the budget
“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” Gerry Garcia. Lead vocalist of the Grateful Dead
Positive trend in GDP. Over the past month, two developments have stood out. One was expected and the other was not. The first is a strong bounce in the economy evident in the latest statistics. All major parametres have shown significant spikes in Y/y terms – from GDP to industry, construction, retail sales, and personal incomes. That was a widely expected shift driven by the base factor.
11 RUSSIA Country Report August 2023 www.intellinews.com