Vladimir Putin’s regime is often presented as a pioneer in the production and use of “fake news,” but, in fact, historical writer Nikolay Syromyatnikov says, “fake news” under various names has been part of Moscow’s modus operandi since January 1923 – a tactic that Soviet leaders from beginning to end viewed as critical to their success.
On January 11, 1923, 13 days after the formation of the USSR, Iosif Unslikh, the deputy head of the NKVD, asked the Politburo to authorize the creation of a bureau of disinformation in the State Political Administration of his commissariat. The Politburo agreed and that agency was set up.