Meet “Svetlana”, a Russian agent of influence in Norway

Since 2022, Russian tactics of influence in Norway have taken on more provocative forms, while also increasingly operating in the grey zone, becoming more covert and harder to identify and attribute. 

A recent CEPA report lists diasporic activists, also termed as non-state actors (NSAs), as key assets in Russian hybrid operations. These include Russian citizens who sympathize with Kremlin policies and are willing to take on “patriotic” tasks on behalf of the Russian state. According to new research, the Russian regime’s reliance on NSAs has increased since the all-out invasion of Ukraine, as direct activities by the Russian state have faced growing exposure and countermeasures. NSAs are useful because they allow the Kremlin to project power while maintaining deniability. Moreover, research emphasizes that the use of NSAs is embedded in Russia’s strategic culture, rooted in the Soviet era and the practices of the KGB. This is documented also in Norway, as described in Mikhail Butkov’s book KGB in Norway. Today’s Russian intelligence services are directly involved in the practical orchestration of NSAs.

In Northern Norway, WWII history has long been a primary tool employed by the Kremlin to disseminate its foreign policy narratives on Ukraine, framing the Russian war of aggression as a just fight against alleged Neo-Nazism emanating from Kyiv. This message was openly presented by the Russian General Consul in Kirkenes on Norway’s border with Russia as late as May 9, 2022.

Since Russia’s escalation of the war in Ukraine, Moscow’s use of WWII history in Northern Norway has taken on increasingly manipulative and coercive characteristics, staging provocations to force reactions and create tensions. In Kirkenes, this is observed annually as days in the Russian military calendar have been systematically used to stir strife. 

On October 25, commemorating the Red Army liberation of Eastern Finnmark from German occupation during WWII, a Soviet era monument in Kirkenes has been used regularly since 2023 for Russian-orchestrated “seas of flowers”. These incidents are a copy-paste of acts performed by Russian NSAs in the Baltic states to provoke tensions. According to “Svetlana”, a patriotic activist of the Russian diaspora in Eastern Finnmark, the seas of flowers in Kirkenes are the result of spontaneous donations from all over Europe, protesting against anti-Russian feelings allegedly growing in the border region. The first sea of flowers in 2023 was framed as a response to “hostile acts” by the Kirkenes mayor after he allowed himself to disinvite the Russian foreign service from the commemorations, and later also moved a Russian wreath of flowers that was put atop the Norwegian wreath. By quickly appearing at the monument to correct the mayor, “Svetlana” staged herself as a victim of ill-mannered disrespect and Russophobia. The incident drew considerable attention from the media, and “Svetlana’s” insistent claim that the mayor was to blame for the incident resonated in parts of the public. 

The flower act performed by “Svetlana” was in reality a well-orchestrated trap with direct utility value for the Russian state. This became clear as the Russian foreign service in Norway and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow over the following days published statements stigmatizing the mayor and like-minded Norwegians as hostile Russophobes. The Ministry boosted the incident further by formally summoning Norway’s ambassador in Moscow to protest what the Russian officials termed as an “act of vandalism” by the Kirkenes mayor. Somewhat later, the mayor of neighbouring Vardø Municipality became subject to similar accusations from the Ministry in Moscow. Outside Norway’s embassy in Moscow, pro-Kremlin youth activists staged a patriotic act in support of “Svetlana’s” correction of the mayor.

Stigmatizing voices critical of the Kremlin is a key feature of Moscow’s influence operations.

In October 2024 and 2025, “Svetlana’s” continued staging of seas of flowers has been used to repeat accusations of Russophobia in Eastern Finnmark and even amplify a narrative of “Russians under threat” in the Norwegian border region. These allegations should be read as part of a broader effort to shape the information domain in ways favourable to Moscow. The narrative of “threats against Russians” was first promoted by “Svetlana” and a few other patriotic-minded women who claimed that unidentified vandals had trampled on and destroyed the sea of flowers in the darkness of the night. According to the women, elderly Russians in Kirkenes were scared and had started fearing for their safety.

Meanwhile, Moscow’s General Consulate in Kirkenes added to the narrative of alleged threats by adopting “security measures”, putting up a flower box made from concrete and claiming that there was a need to protect the entrance of the consulate building. The claim is absurd but fits neatly into the Russian tactics of stigmatizing Kremlin critics; it frames the peaceful participants of anti-war demonstrations outside the consulate over the last years as a threat to Russian state security. At the same time, the General Consulate maintains an illusion of diplomatic and constructive presence, outsourcing the grey-zone provocations to individual Russian citizens in Kirkenes.

The annual floral provocations at the war memorial are not solitary incidents. Other staged acts in Kirkenes, aiming to stir tensions and provoke reactions that can be used as a pretext for amplifying narratives of “hostile acts” and “Russians under threat”, include the repeated defacing of a local memorial dedicated to Aleksei Navalnyi, as well as the display of a PMC Wagner flag at the war memorial on May 9. “Stop War in Ukraine”-posters outside the Pikene på Broen art house in Kirkenes have been notoriously torn down, and a local car featuring the same slogan has been damaged repeatedly.

All acts are performed either by unidentified persons or by local Russians who appear as individuals without any affiliation to Russian state structures.

However, a closer look at “Svetlana” reveals that she is a celebrated figure in Murmansk. On Victory Day, 2024, after her first sea of flowers enactment, she was invited to the tribune of honour to greet the military parade together with Murmansk governor Andrei Chibis and high-ranking officials from the Northern Fleet.

While Russia’s instrumentalization of diasporic activists is done in plain sight, it remains deniable. The orchestrated provocations in Kirkenes have parallels in other NATO states bordering Russia. A recent report by The Psychological Defence Agency of Sweden details how Russia has upped its aggressive history policy towards Finland, instrumentalizing a wide range of NSAs to exert influence. A key Russian modus operandi is staging provocations at WWII memorials and creating an illusion of broad popular support for Moscow’s twisted narratives of Soviet and Russian “hero” soldiers, and “Neo-Nazi” Ukrainians.

The orchestrated incidents aim for several goals at once. Stigmatizing Kremlin critics is a primary objective. Mobilizing around Moscow’s propaganda narratives is another. It is painful to watch how part of the Russian-speaking community in Norway is recruited for flower donations, seemingly unaware of the manipulation. Memories of sacrifice and loss still linger in many Russian families and the natural personal desire to commemorate relatives is cynically exploited by the Russian state.

To counter Russian manipulation, we need increased public awareness, including among the Russian diaspora in Norway which is overall well integrated but still susceptible to Russian state narratives on how to be a “good patriot”. 

Moreover, Norway needs to join forces with the other Nordic states and the Baltics. By working together, the countries can build shared situational awareness and coordinate responses, making it harder for Russia to manipulate audiences and control the narrative. In particular, collaboration between museums, archives and memorial institutions to protect historical sites and narratives that are targeted by Russia is a powerful countermeasure that will enhance resilience.