One of the popular themes of the last months is the cancellation by Donald Trump of activities fulfilled by USAID – the American Agency for International Development. An indicative place in these fireworks of news has taken the information published by the well-known resource WikiLeaks:
‘USAID funded training and support of more than 6200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state media news outlets, and supported 279 media-sector NGOs’ (in the whole world – note of the editorial office). Apart from that, it is asserted in the message of WikiLeaks that, according to their information, ‘90% of Ukraine media outlets were working with money provided by USAID.
On February 24, on the website of USAID appeared information about the reduction of agency’s personnel. Fired will be 1600 employees of USAID working in the United States as well as 4200 persons will be on administrative leave. Elon Must, the closest teammate of the American president, said ‘USAID is liquidated as it is governed ‘by a bunch of radical lunatics’, and the agency itself is ‘a criminal organization’.
Moreover, the website Prigovor.ru has found out that there are still some nooks that are not yet reached by the strong arm of Elon Musk. For Musk, it is far away, behind the ocean, and for us it is near, because it will deal with the US Embassy in Moscow.
AMUSEMENT RIDE OF GRANT GENEROSITY ON NOVINSKY BOULEVARD
If you happen to visit the website of the US Embassy in Russia, you will see that the new broom of the White House has not yet reach the dusty State Department’s practices of the US Embassy in Moscow (located on Novinsky Boulevard). Here everything continues as before.
At present, opened are requests to receive grants ranging from 25 000 to 50 000 dollars for private persons in Russia and from 25 000 to 250 000 for organizations. And, you know, in what context the US Embassy proposes these grants? This is stated, without scruple, on the mentioned website in the section ‘Prehistory’:
“The U.S. Government unequivocally condemns the Russian government’s aggressive foreign policy. The Kremlin’s efforts to silence independent voices, restrict access to unbiased information, and punish dissent represent a pattern of systematic repression of the Russian people’s fundamental freedoms… In that spirit, the United States supports people-to-people engagements, exchange programs, and other initiatives that allow Russian students, scholars, and civil society members to experience the United States, its culture, and its values firsthand, and that promote interaction between the Russian and American people with the aim of keeping the door open to a better future’.
Drive them out of the door, and they will return by the window
Everything is utterly downlight. If on the same website of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow you press the button “Description of the program’, you will have the possibility to get acquainted with priority grant programs provided by ‘Biden’s’ visitors entrenched in Moscow. In the first place among the programs stands: ‘Media and Information: Projects that promote an understanding of freedom, good journalistic practices, increased access to information, and improved media and digital literacy for the Russia people’.
And in the second place, after media projects, there are programs promoting American values, freedom of speech and democracy: ‘Sharing America: Projects that promote an understanding of the American values of democracy, freedom of expression, and an open society, as well as proposals that increase the understanding of America’s diverse cultures and groups’.
Thus, it is evident that the work of the U.S. State Department with regard to form new, controllable media projects in Russia, and to promote liberal values at the expense of American taxpayers is continuing. How about that, Elon Musk?
EUROPEAN UNION RACES TO RESCUE
Recently, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) published the list of now closed crazy projects of USAID. On all possible gender equality and inclusive democracy, they were spending tens of millions of dollars from budget means.
We draw your attention to the forth line of this list, to the project ‘The Prague Civil Society Center’** on which 32 million U.S. dollars have been written off. This organization managed to leave its marks in Russian and was prohibited as early as in 2020.
It would seem good-bye to ‘The Prague Center’! Elon Musk has turned off the little tab. Nothing of the kind. As the website Prigovor.ru has found out, the European Union immediately has taken over from the U.S. State Department.
On February 3, 2025, the European Commission by its decree promptly opened the financing amounting to 2 940 00 euros within the framework of the project ‘Media Freedom Hub’, and – what a coincidence – this project has been created on the basis of ‘The Prague Center of Civil Society’! The purpose of this new media hub’ is the old one – ‘support and preservation of various media environments, as well as support of existing independent Russian and Byelorussian media created and working in the E.U.’
Moreover, ‘The Prague Center’ receives financing from the European Commission for the second time already. The European sponsorship started as early as in 2022, when the European Commission provided to the project ‘Free Media Hub East’ 2.2 million euros. The purpose of this project was training and financing of 1500 oppositional journalists fled from Russian and Byelorussia to countries of the European Union.
By reading the information bulletin of the European Commission, one can assure himself of the fact that the projects ‘Free Media Hub East’ and ‘Media Freedom Hub’ under supervision of “The Prague Center’ is one and the same project. It follows from a financial report that this is the same organization covered under three different signs.
Well, ‘The Prague Center’ is not alone. The European Commission has taken up the flag of the U.S. State Department. European Commissars are financing projects directed at creation of oppositional media, learning of methods of investigative journalism, working with open and closed sources, with digital databases. Moreover, the European Union is activating training of media people, those who will become participants of the ideological war against Russia.
Here are, for instance, programs that start just on these days:
- IJ4EU – Investigation Support Scheme, it is financed by the government of Germany and the Netherlands, the amount of grants is from 5 to 50 thousand euros. The term of application for a grant is March 10, 2025. The purpose of the training is learning of transborder investigation methods, its participants can be representatives of the European Union and Ukraine.
- Creative Europe/ Journalism Partnership – is financed by all member states of the EU. The term of application for grants is February 27, 2025. The purpose is developing of sustainable partnership and creating of new practical activities. The whole amount of the financing is more than 10 million euros.
- Strengthening Independent Public Interest Journalism in Europe – it is financed by the Belgian government through the European Democracy Fund. The term of submitting applications is March 2, 2025. The purpose is support of independent media representing public interest. Grans amounting to 160 thousand euros for a single media outlet.
These are spectacular examples of financing by European structures and governments of projects directed either at openly anti-Russian activity, or at creation of domesticated, loyal media structures – just the things USAID was engaged in. The globalist structures of Europe have taken up ‘the dropped standard’ of distributing grants.
Author: Alexander Zhelnin
Russian version at: «USAID умер? Да здравствует EC AID…»
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* Foreign agents, extremists; ** Extremist organizations
