The octopus through which Călin Georgescu was supported and financed by Russia. What is known so far

We present, based on the information from prosecutors’ reports, statements from those involved, social media posts, press investigations, and documents from secret services, how the operation „Călin Georgescu against Romania” unfolded.

Political Support from Russia:

• In 2014, Călin Georgescu invites Alexandr Dugin, the ideologue and main propagandist of Vladimir Putin, to Bucharest. This is the year when Russia launches its first military operations against Ukraine and annexes the Crimean Peninsula. In a TV show the same year, Georgescu admits to having connections with Alexandr Dugin.

• Additionally, on social media, Dugin has posted numerous messages in support of Călin Georgescu and accusations against the Romanian authorities for canceling the elections.

• Strong reactions from Russia, at the highest level after the election cancellation, some unprecedented. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, called Romania „a caricature of democracy.”

• The most powerful and shocking statement of support from Russia for Călin Georgescu came from the SVR, the Kremlin’s intelligence service, led by Sergey Naryshkin: „After an attack on Georgescu, it is very likely that the European liberal system will make new attempts to stifle dissent in the EU.” Russian espionage has never made overt statements about presidential candidates in other countries.

Political Support from the US through Russian Propaganda Channels:

• The main way an attempt was made to create a pro-Trump profile for Georgescu was on the social network X, formerly Twitter, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

• Elon Musk has an exposure of at least 10 billion dollars to Russian oligarchs, who contributed a lot of money to enable him to buy X, acquired for the sum of 44 billion dollars.

• Elon Musk turned X into the most powerful pro-Trump and pro-Putin propaganda tool. He has posted and shared a series of messages promoting Călin Georgescu and launching attacks against Romania.

• Mario Nawfal is the American influencer who posted the most messages in support of Călin Georgescu. He also conducted interviews with him and was in constant contact, broadcasting live on X the scene where the pro-Russian candidate was summoned by prosecutors for questioning.

• Mario Nawfal has strong ties to the Kremlin, conducting interviews with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, and with Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, Putin’s main ally.

• Mario Nawfal’s posts, with 2.1 million followers on his account, are heavily promoted by the X network algorithm and by Elon Musk.

• Several investigations have been carried out in the US regarding Russia’s development of multiple propaganda channels, especially on social networks where they invested hundreds of millions of dollars.

• “These Kremlin-backed media institutions not only play a role in covertly influencing the undermining of democracy in the US, but also in interfering in the sovereign affairs of countries worldwide,” Antony Blinken, then head of the US State Department, stated on September 24, 2024, two months before the elections in Romania.

Political Support in Romania through Russian Propaganda Channels:

• Kremlin agents developed a network of pages and groups on Facebook, the main social network used in our country, where they began to promote conspiracy theories, extremist movements, religious fanaticism, and false information. The vast network was heavily utilized in the last two weeks of the electoral campaign to promote Călin Georgescu.

• “Manipulation and interference of foreign information are a fundamental part of Russian military activities. The goal is to create distrust, provoke internal divisions, and influence the democratic decision-making process,” Kaja Kallas, the European diplomacy chief.

• Călin Georgescu, the pro-Russian candidate, also received support from former politicians, journalists, and influencers who are part of a network of websites, social media accounts, and podcasts that "distribute and support Kremlin narratives," according to a European-level journalistic investigation in which the Context.ro team participated.

Among those involved in the information manipulation operation are prominent figures from Romania, such as Cozmin Gușă, Sorin Roșca Stănescu, Adrian Severin, or Ion Cristoiu. They have their own websites or publish materials on other pages that propagate conspiracy theories and Kremlin narratives...

Iulia Stănoiu, Context.ro

• Another significant support from Romania through the Kremlin channel was from military reservist groups on WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok. Leveraging information about old influence networks created immediately after the 1989 Revolution, Russian agents managed to control a large part of the communication on these groups, which they used at the right time to promote Călin Georgescu.

• “...as I said at the beginning, behind Georgescu there is a network of reservists covering society in all directions, and they found a candidate and mobilized,” Kelemen Hunor, President of UDMR.

• Realitatea Plus is the main television channel in Romania supporting Călin Georgescu.

• The intense and impactful promotion was mainly carried out through TikTok, where an illegal campaign took place, with significant investments made.

How Russia Financed Călin Georgescu: 

• Horatiu Potra, a former member of the Foreign Legion with connections in Russia, was one of Călin Georgescu's financiers.

• From prosecutors' phone interceptions, it appears that the mercenary periodically offered sums of money to the candidate:

Călin Georgescu: Maybe we can meet at the end of next week. Starting Friday afternoon. The elections are on November 24. Please, I need support until then.

Horațiu Potra: Live long. We will definitely see each other after Friday's date. With support, we continue as we have until now. Respect! - Source: Prosecutors' report, phone interceptions

• Horațiu Potra has visited the Russian Embassy in Bucharest on several occasions and also met with a person holding Russian citizenship in Dubai, conducting a cash exchange. On his Facebook page, he repeatedly posted messages in support of Russia.

• The villas in Izvorani where Călin Georgescu resides belong to a Moldovan citizen with ties to Renato Usatîi, a political leader from Chișinău who has had business dealings in Russia and contacts with the FSB, according to an investigative report by Captura.ro.

How Călin Georgescu's illegal electoral campaign was funded:

• AdNow, an agency created by "Russian citizen Stanislav Fesenko, with a central office in Moscow controlled by Yulia Serebrianskaya, communication chief of Vladimir Putin's party, and his deceased brother" spent at least two million euros to distribute pro-Russian propaganda messages in Romania, as well as to promote Călin Georgescu on social networks, including TikTok.

• "We are approaching the great awakening," declared Călin Georgescu on the Forumul Țărilor Nealiniate podcast, a pro-Russian vlog, where he insisted a month before the elections that the European Union no longer has leaders and is zero, absolutely zero. He added that there are only two true leaders in the EU: the prime ministers of Slovakia and Hungary. In other words, Putin's most important allies," as shown in an investigation by Snoop.ro conducted by journalist Victor Ilie about the agency founded by Vladimir Putin's associates.

• The campaign "Balance and Verticality," carried out on TikTok, which targeted a number of influencers, paid for by PNL, was diverted in favor of Călin Georgescu shortly before the elections, as reported.

• The illegal TikTok campaign, financed by Bogdan Peșchir, who is in preventive arrest, for over one million euros, targeted manele singers.

• One of Peșchir's ties to Russia is evident as some of those paid by him to campaign for Călin Georgescu in Romania have also campaigned for the pro-Russian candidate in the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova.

• SIS (Security and Intelligence Service) of the Republic of Moldova has published a detailed report on Russia's interference in the neighboring country's elections.

• Bogdan Peșchir was an employee of Gabriel Prodănescu, a Romanian citizen who emigrated to South Africa. According to a declassified report by the Presidential Administration, a company from South Africa initially contacted several TikTok influencers. Additionally, the SIS report from Moldova states: "The Kremlin continues to consolidate its influence through the Rossostrudnichestvo agency in Africa, the Middle East, and in the former Soviet bloc countries. Internationally, it is important to note that the geographical area for launching Rossotrudnichestvo projects for 2024 coincided with a series of scheduled electoral scrutinies."

• "... there have been attempts by Rossotrudnichestvo to approach online influencers from Moldova, with online approaches reported by the federal agency representatives of bloggers, to promote the Russian world and projects implemented by Federal Agency Rossotrudnichestvo" - Source: SIS Moldova Report

Călin Georgescu's connections with Russian spies:

• There are at least two documented cases in which the pro-Russian candidate has come into contact with individuals controlled by the Kremlin's intelligence services. Călin Georgescu established the Ancestral Land Association alongside Bogdan Vacusta, a former employee of the General Directorate for Intelligence of the Army, who was recruited by Russian intelligence services, specializing in cryptocurrency administration and transactions in Moscow, as revealed in an investigation by the newspaper "Adevărul."

• Călin Georgescu, through his collaborator Marian Motocu, was in contact with the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, specifically with Evgheni Ignatiev, the deputy military attaché, expelled from Romania at the beginning of March due to espionage activities. The connection was documented following phone interceptions between Georgescu - Motocu and Motocu - the Russian Embassy, conducted by the General Prosecutor's investigators.

The cancellation of the presidential elections in Romania was based on a decision of the Constitutional Court, voted on by all 9 judges, motivated by their violation of electoral law regarding campaign financing.

Călin Georgescu has been indicted and is under judicial control for: "incitement to actions against the constitutional order..., communication of false information, continuous false statements (regarding campaign funding sources and asset declarations), initiation or establishment of an organization with a fascist, racist, or xenophobic character, joining or supporting, in any form, such a group, promoting, in public, the cult of persons guilty of committing genocide against humanity and war crimes, as well as promoting, in public, fascist, legionary, racist, or xenophobic ideas, concepts, or doctrines, and initiating or establishing an organization with an anti-Semitic character, joining or supporting, in any form, such an organization," as stated in the prosecutors' press release.

Călin Georgescu, a character created and supported by Russia, began his journey to the forefront of Romanian politics a decade ago. Although the authorities in Romania had numerous opportunities to stop him, for reasons still unknown, they only did so when it was too late from the perspective of the country's democratic process, causing immense damage to Romania's credibility and deepening the political crisis.