In the ‘stop-list’ of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs there is a following American citizen – Daniel P. Vajdich, head of the American lobbyist firm ‘Yorktown Solutions’. In September 2022, the entrance on the territory of the Russian Federation was forbidden for him, whereby, permanently. The reason – ‘hostile actions of the United States against Russia’. Analytics know the firm ‘Yorktown Solutions, LLC’ for a long time.
In particular, as early as in 2018, it became known that the Ukrainian state company ‘Naftogaz’, ‘Kiev organization of workers of oil and gas industry’, ‘Spetstekhnoexport’ and ‘Ukrinmash’ commissioned these American lobbyists to conduct a campaign to discredit the project ‘Nord Stream 2’.
For instance, from the report of ‘Yorktown Solutions, LLC’ (tax identifier 81-0730547) on the website of the American Ministry of Justice followed that, in 2017, lobbyists had received from Ukrainians 214 thousand 900 dollars. Thus, the firm belonging to Daniel Vajdich had been methodically preparing the public opinion of the United States and Europe for a complete stop or destruction of ‘Nord Stream 2’.
The American Lobbyists paid by Kiev did everything they could with regard to the ‘pipeline’ direction: they were harassing American politicians, European and American ministries, as well as various officials, they were buying mass media and ‘experts’ together with ecologists. All around they were pushing the strategic theme of Joe Biden, who, as early as on August 25, 2016, had openly said that ‘the pipeline ‘Nord Stream’ – was a ‘bad deal for Europe’. The whole subversive work was being carried out under this slogan.
The lobbyist Daniel Vajdich was extremely proud of his work and openly told about it, having become ‘an inside man’ for the Kiev regime. In July 2022, two months before the blowing up of the pipelines, ‘The Washington Post’, in a praiseful article wrote about Vajdich: ‘Kiev wanted that its man in Washington to kill Nord Stream 2’.
The headline of the article: ‘How a D.C. lobbyist tried to spot Putin’s pipeline before war started’
‘RUSSIAN TRACE’ THAT DIDN’T PLEASE THE US STATE DEPARTMENT
Naturally, after the sabotage, Daniel Vajdich was in the first row of those who promoted the myth about involvement of Russia to the blowing up of ‘Nord Streams’.
They were searching for ‘Russian trace’ but the place of the search was wrong. There is this ‘Russian trace’, but only this trace will not please Washington and Brussels. As a matter of fact, Russians were actively helping Vajdich – handshakeable men and women with good faces…
About one of such persons, about Vladimir Kara-Murza, the project Prigovor.ru already reported in the article entitled ‘Retribution for betrayal. We explain what for exactly Kara-Murza was put to jail’.
According to the latest public information from the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of the US Department of Justice, Vladimir Kara-Murza, being a representative of “Free Russian foundation’**, was in contact with the lobbyist firm ‘Yorktown Solutions, LLC” (FARA reg. 6491).
As required by the ‘Foreign Agents Registration Act’, the company reported in detail to the American Department of Justice about all its contracts and working contacts. Vladimir Kara-Murza is mention in the report as representative of ‘Free Russia Foundation’** on page 46 (contact of January 11, 2021) and on page 99 (contact of January 24, 2021).
For instance, working off the American contract, on October 2021, at the NATO Assembly in Lisbon, the speaker Kara-Murza said that ‘the pipeline benefits neither Russia nor the population, but contributes to upholding the kleptocratic system of Putin’s inner circle as well as his Western enablers’.
Apart from Kara-Murza, analytics from the project Prigovor.ru found out in the reports of the lobbyist firm ‘Yorktown Solutions, LLC’ another three Russian citizens who had left a lot of traces themselves. They are Natalia Arno, born 1976; Ilya Zaslavsky, born 1979; Natalia Anfilofyeva, born 1980, aka Natalia Lunde.
From the report of ‘Yorktown Solutions, LLC’…
They are all them ‘Free Russia Foundation’ and they all were, for considerable recompense, actively engaged in the subversive propaganda operation directed against ‘Nord Streams 1-2’.
At the same time, one should not forget that this Russophobe ‘Free Russia Foundation’, a foundation of ‘good Russians’, had for all this time a separate contract from the US State Department envisaging political agitation against these pipelines. The website Prigovor.ru reported about this in the investigation ‘Operation ‘Rethink Nord Stream 2’.
Specifically, ‘Free Russian Foundation’ affiliated with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, received from two State Department structures – Global Engagement Center and Democracy Council – more than 500 thousand dollars for discrediting ‘Nord Stream 2’.
Real motives of the democratic activists are simple – hatred towards the country, career and money. For Vladimir Kara-Murza and Natalia Anfilofyeva-Lunde money were transferred as fees ‘for consulting’. 168 thousand dollars to Kara-Murza and 119 thousand dollars to Lunde – not bad as a fee for betrayal.
PRONE TO BETRAYAL
Public has an idea of longstanding anti-Russian activity of Natalia Arno, at least from our investigations of her connections with Khodorkovsky, US State Department and recruiters of fighters in Europe. See also the article ‘Necklace for State Department’s Fury: ‘Ark’, Reforum and Free Russia Foundation.
But it’s worth reminding about Ilya Zaslavsky. It happened in the spring of 2009, then the Tverskoy District Court of the Russian capital brought a verdict unde Article 183, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation which is rarely used in Russia (‘The gathering of information classified as a commercial, tax or banking secret, by means of stealing documents, bribery and threats as well as in other illegal ways’). Iliya Zaslavsky (born 1979), former employee of the Regulatory and Legal department of the OJSC ‘TNK-BP Management and his brother Alexander (born 1974), who had headed the project of the British Council** “Alumni Club’, were found guilty by court.
The brothers were, at that time, found guilty of illegal gathering of information which was part of commercial classified information of the OJSC ‘Gazprom’, but, by virtue of various circumstances, they received suspended sentences. Zaslavsky didn’t have a chance to work with ‘sensitive’ information – at the instant of handing over the data operatives of the Russia security service FSB appeared before them, they caught them ‘red handed’ and stopped their destructive activities in the early stages.
When, in the Autumn of 2008, the Zaslavsky brothers were just apprehended, there was a considerable turmoil at the British Embassy. The American Embassy in Russia mollified the Brits by saying to their colleagues that the defendants in the case, apart from Russia, had also American citizenships, so London would not suffer acutely because of the arisen situation. And after the criminal sentence in 2009, the brothers left Russia and declared themselves ‘victims of the regime’. Prone to betrayal and commercial espionage, Ilya Saslavsky left Russia in 2016 and took sides with subversive activities of ‘Free Russia Foundation”, where he was greeted by kindred souls – Natalia Arno, Vladimir Kara-Murza and other ‘departees’. After taking part in the gamesmanship against ‘Nord Stream 2’, Ilya Saslavsky in 2021 formally left ‘Free Russia Foundation’ but he has been keeping an active connection with it ever since.
VANISHING IDENTITY
One should especially single out Natalia Anfilofyeva (aka Lunde) in this exposed troika of contract partners of the firm ‘Yorktown Solution, LLC’.
Having graduated in 2007 from the Naval War College, the madam headed to different US analytical centers having in mind working in public relations. First, she worked in the base of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments where she was responsible for information cooperation with the Pentagon, US congress, mass media and US defense industry. Then, she became vice president on development and communications of ‘Potomac Foundation’ which deals with questions of transatlantic security with a focus on Baltic region and Ukraine, and there she worked until 2017.
Natalia Arno, Natalia Lunde, Vladimir Milov*, expert Mikhail Korchemkin from @East European Gas Analysis (USA). The latter, by the way, was still exposed himself although he had tried to be invisible in the case of discrediting ‘Nord Streams
In 2017, Natalia Anfilofyeva/Lunde appeared in the leadership of ‘Free Russia Foundation” as vice president on global operations and after that these operations stated to flourish, and money started to flow to the foundation. One of these operations, was namely cooperation with lobbyists from ‘Yorktown Solutions, LLC’ on discrediting pipelines. At the same time, our Natasha has been intensely trying to double back her traces…
So, according to a report of lobbyists on meetings and contacts that was rendered in May 2021, on ties with representatives of ‘Free Russia Foundation’, for instance, on page 151, we see that in February 2021 a meeting took place with the citizen Natalia Anfilofyeva. Yet, in the report presented in November 2021, madam Anfilofyeva was disappearing. Now, together with Natalia Arno and Ilya Zaslavsky appears Natalia Lunde (see page 324).
One could say – there are, actually, lots of employees connected with ‘Free Russian Foundation’… But we were interested in this ‘doubling’ of the activist. And we have found out – Natalia Lunde and Natalia Anfilofyeva is one and the same person. The name Lunde she got from her husband whom she legally married on September 25, 2017 (the registration took part in the state Virginia), and during several years, until 2021, she didn’t change her name, whatever the reasons, or used both of them, for ‘particular purposes’, so to say.
NORWEGIAN BOOT
Perhaps, such an attitude of this damsel to the name was connected with a specific biography of her husband. We put to ourselves a simple question: ‘And who is this husband?’ and we found him not somewhere in social media, but in the old guide entitled ‘United States Marine Corps’. His name is Bjornar Lunde, born 1960.
As we can see from the book of reference, he has a considerable volume of experience collected during his long military career – from question of national security and military planning to working with secret information and struggle against rebels. One of the last place of service of Lunde was the Embassy of Norway in Washington, in the rank of assistant of military attaché and also as military attaché (2014). Then, as we found out, there had been a work in ‘under cover’ firms like ‘Nordic Shelter’ (Norway), for instance, on the territory of Estonia. He had shown interest also in activities of ‘Free Russia Foundation’ and ‘Nord Stream 2’ until these pipelines were blown up by the United States and Norway.
Although there is no reason to immerse in proverbial ‘conspiracy theories’, in a situation where nothing and nobody can be excluded, this mentioned person is an applicable figure with regard to consulting of anti-Russian activities of ‘Free Russia Foundation’. The more so, a kind of idea-family contract seems also to be noticeable here.
On the whole, there is, in fact, a ‘Russian trace’ in the case of blowing up ‘Nord Streams’, but only it leads not to Russia, but to collaborationists in ‘Free Russia Foundation’ connected with Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Author: Buba Filin
See the Russian version at: «Русский след» ведёт в Вашингтон»
* Vladimir Kara-Murza – by the decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation of 22.04.2022 included into the registry of persons fulfilling functions of a foreign agent, with number 376. He has been serving a sentence relating to number of criminal accusations, including high treason;
* Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich, born 26.06.1963 – on 20.05.2022 was acknowledged by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as person fulfilling functions of a foreign agent. Included in the registry of foreign agents with No 389. In 2015 Russia included Khodorkovsky into international wanted list in connection with the case over his involvement in the murder of the mayor of the town Nefteyugansk Vladimir Petukhov and attempted murder of the entrepreneur Yevgeny Rybin;
* Vladimir Milov – on 06.05.2022, by the decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation was included in the registry of mass media fulfilling functions of a foreign agent. On 16.11.2023 Milov V.S. was found guilty (in absentia) of a crime under Article 207.3, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. He was put on wanted list;
** Free Russia Foundation, USA – organization whose activities were acknowledged as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the decision of the Office of the Prosecutor General of 28.07.2019. The Foundation was included on 09.10.2019 in the Registry of Foreign agents with No 195. Was also acknowledged by the Moscow City Court as an extremist organization;
** Atlantic Council, USA – on 25.07.2019 was included by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in the Registry of foreign and international non-governmental organizations whose activities are acknowledged as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation (Ruling No 945 of 29.07.2019);
** International Republican Institute, IRI, McCain Institute< USA – by the decision of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation of 18.08.2016 the activity of this organization was acknowledged as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation. On 22.08.2016 was included in the corresponding Registry of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation
