Trolls spread a story misrepresenting anti-Kremlin oppositionists' positions on pension reform

Somebody up to no good apparently planted a hit piece at the online publication TJournal, twisting and misrepresenting quotes from various opposition activists (especially Alexey Navalny) who supposedly supported raising Russia’s retirement age before the federal government recently proposed pension reforms. The text's author and two dozen of the comments were posted from the same St. Petersburg IP address — all created on the same day, from an address at a small Internet provider called Chaika Telekom.

A whole coterie of public figures (like Ilias Merkuri and Dmitry Steshin) and media outlets (like Vyzglyad and Ridus) infamous for attacking the anti-Kremlin opposition helped promote the planted story. Chaika Telekom's St. Petersburg office was previously acquired by Felix Dlin and restructured as a foreign real estate seller.

Dlin reportedly has ties to one of Russia's richest businessmen: Mikhail Gutseriev. The two own a company called “Arsenal” that makes missile launchers for the Russian Navy. Earlier this year, Gutseriev reportedly sold his stake in Arsenal to avoid American sanctions. This is Dlin's first known flirtation with St. Petersburg “troll factories,” but Russia's troll factory king, Evgeny Prigozhin, is a major defense contractor.

Starting next year, the reforms would take effect gradually, raising the retirement age for men from 60 to 65 by 2028 and from 55 to 63 for women by 2034. The reforms would start as soon as next year.