OPERATION MATRYOSHKA
Russia is waging a hidden war of propaganda and disinformation to destabilise the Baltic countries and ultimately test NATO. Following journalists, the film reveals hybrid warfare as the first step towards future military aggression.
As Russia continues its war in Ukraine, another conflict is unfolding in the Baltic countries. Using the same methods it deployed before occupying Crimea and Donbas in 2014 – propaganda, sabotage, manipulation and fear – Russia is testing how far it can go before the West responds. The film follows investigative journalists as they uncover the hidden threats along the EU’s eastern borders: disinformation, cyberattacks, intimidation and covert influence operations, often using Russian-speaking communities as part of the strategy. This is how hybrid warfare works: it tests communities, weakens resistance and prepares the ground for future military aggression. This is not an alternative to military aggression. It is the opening phase. The real target is not territory. It is NATO’s credibility. If the West hesitates, the alliance fractures. With rare footage from inside Russia today, the film shows how propaganda fosters national pride and how war is being quietly normalised in the public mind. Tense, urgent and deeply unsettling, the film shows what conflict looks like in Europe’s most vulnerable regions – long before the first soldier crosses a border.