From Military Strategy to the Militarization of Information

To fully understand how dangerous the current disinformation phenomenon has become for democratic processes it is necessary to look at its historical roots; thus, examining some of the conceptual and strategic foundations of the Soviet approach to information warfare. Disinformation, in fact, is not a phenomenon that was born with the web and digital platforms advent but is a phenomenon closely linked to the main cultural, technical and economic trends of the last century that has exploited the possibilities and tools that the digital revolution has introduced to expand the scope and effectiveness of its strategies. With this premise, the work offers a historical reconstruction of dezinformatsiya documenting how the Russian communications apparatus used (and is using) disinformation systematically as a weapon to preserve its sphere of influence inside and outside its borders.