Russian Officials Celebrate Trump’s Budget Cuts to U.S. Media, Viewing It as a Win Against Propaganda

Moscow is reportedly pleased with President Donald Trump’s initiatives to reduce the operations of U.S.-backed media outlets such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA), as noted by high-ranking Russian officials and diplomats speaking with The Moscow Times.

All sources for this article requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the political subject.

Established by the U.S. during the Cold War to challenge Soviet propaganda, RFE/RL faced bans across communist nations that frequently interrupted its broadcasts. As press freedom has become increasingly restricted in contemporary Russia under President Vladimir Putin, both RFE/RL and VOA have again been labeled as “enemy voices,” reminiscent of the Soviet era.

The Kremlin showed particular annoyance toward regional RFE/RL affiliates that broadcast in local and Indigenous languages, as these services conflicted with wartime censorship that Moscow imposed following its extensive invasion of Ukraine.

Two current and two former officials disclosed to The Moscow Times that the reporting from these outlets has posed significant challenges to Kremlin propaganda, adversely affecting Moscow’s sway in the post-Soviet realm.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration began laying off personnel at VOA and other channels, including RFE/RL, after halting their funding.

Publicly, the Kremlin released a brief statement minimizing the importance of this action for Russia.

«These media outlets are hardly popular or sought after in Russia; they primarily serve a propagandistic function. This is an internal matter for the United States and does not concern us substantially,» stated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

However, unofficially, the Kremlin is content with the reduction of these outlets, according to one current Russian official and a senior Kremlin figure who recently stepped down.

“A dog’s death for a dog,” remarked the former Kremlin official, referencing a phrase previously used by ex-President Dmitry Medvedev after a Russian military defector was killed in Spain.

“It was an outdated and foolish tool. But I pray we don’t unintentionally provoke Trump,” the ex-official added, emphasizing support for many of Trump’s actions beyond the dismantling of RFE/RL and VOA.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the Trump administration’s actions concerning RFE/RL and VOA.

One Russian diplomat acknowledged to The Moscow Times that the ministry views this decision positively for Russian foreign policy, particularly regarding the former Soviet states that Russia considers to be within its sphere of influence.

«They certainly caused us problems in post-Soviet nations as their activities aimed at dividing us from our allies,» the diplomat observed.

Russian propagandists were more forthright about their sentiments regarding the Trump administration’s actions.

«Today is a celebration for my colleagues at RT and Sputnik. This is a fantastic decision by Trump!” exclaimed Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-supported RT network and the Rossiya Segodnya news agency, a vocal supporter of Putin and the invasion of Ukraine. “We couldn’t shut them down ourselves, but America has done so.»

Simonyan also accused VOA and RFE/RL of instigating ethnic tensions in Dagestan, alluding to the fall 2023 incident where locals stormed Makhachkala International Airport in search of Israeli passengers arriving from Tel Aviv.

«Everything was peaceful and normal, so what suddenly prompted some youths to storm the airport searching for Israelis? It was them [RFE/RL and VOA] and foreign agents stirring things up and fanning the flames,» Simonyan stated during a Sunday evening news segment on the state-operated Rossia 1 channel.

«They spread their influence across Russian regions like an octopus, brainwashing our compatriots,» she continued.

VOA began broadcasting in Russian in 1947, followed by RFE/RL in 1953. The Soviet Union had initiated its international broadcasting even before, with Moscow Radio commencing operations in 1929, later rebranded as Voice of Russia and subsequently as Sputnik.

In 2017, Washington designated Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik as “foreign agents.” Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, these outlets were blocked in the European Union and faced sanctions.

In retaliation, Moscow declared VOA and RFE/RL as “foreign agents” and subsequently banned them as undesirable organizations, making any collaboration with them illegal, including interviews or sharing their content.

Trump has framed the funding freeze on RFE/RL and VOA as part of his administration’s initiative to trim a “bloated” federal bureaucracy. However, critics caution that shutting these outlets would sever a crucial source of free information in non-democratic nations and facilitate adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran in disseminating their narratives globally.

Analysts connected to the Kremlin suggest that Trump’s dismantling of U.S.-funded international media signifies that Washington might be reevaluating its relationship with Russia and looking for new avenues for cooperation following years of strained ties.

«This at the very least indicates a search for common ground to foster dialogue between the major powers,» remarked analysts from the pro-Kremlin think tank EISI.

Nonetheless, Russian officials and lawmakers have asserted that the U.S. will maintain its efforts to exert influence over Russia and its neighbors.

«A new network structure with similar objectives may succeed the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which encompassed Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Current Time,» commented Vasily Piskarev, head of the lower house State Duma’s Foreign Interference Commission, who previously held the position of deputy head of the repressive Investigative Committee.

Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, a former KGB officer, expressed a similar opinion.

«I have no doubt that funding will be found for those who oppose Russia to continue their activities,» he stated.