The daughter of Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov is part of the team running the Fund, which Russia exploits for intelligence operations to infiltrate France’s political circles and meddle in the country’s affairs. Elizaveta Peskova is Vice President of the Fund for the Development of Russian-French Historical Initiatives.
According to our sources in the Kremlin, Peskov has been expressing interest in taking the post of Russian Foreign Minister for three years already. His daughter lived in Paris in an apartment in the prestigious 16th arrondissement. Currently, she still travels to France, despite her official “legend” claiming that in 2018, she returned to Russia for good.
The Fund for the Development of Russian-French Historical Initiatives was co-founded with French national Pierre Malinowski, who is closely affiliated with the Russian oligarch, Konstantin Malofeev. The latter has links to Russia’s military intelligence and is closely affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is also an integral part of the Russian national security machine. Thus, it is actually the Kremlin that ultimately runs the Fund and determines its operational objectives. Thanks to Peskov’s connections, the Fund receives funding from large Russian enterprises and enjoys political backing on the part of Russian authorities. Among the sponsors listed on its website are the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company owned by Iskandar Makhmudov, while other partners are government agencies, as well as the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Culture, and Presidential Administration.
Among the sponsors is also a Russian lawmaker, Leonid Slutsky.
Despite the fact that Peskov attends all the events organized by the Fund, his role is limited to political lobbying. Obviously, the main motive behind his involvement is helping his daughter, who is convinced of her own talent and an exceptional role in developing the Fund’s relations and attracting funding. Given that the Fund works as a soft power tool, it automatically got in the focus of Russian intelligence agencies, which, with Kremlin’s support, are embezzling budget funds under the pretext of trying to recruit French politicians.
Pierre Malinowski, 35, earlier worked as an aide to Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Marine Le Pen, who is now leader of the far-right National Rally party, which received loan support from Russia.
Malinowski is also friends with Marion Marechal, Marine Le Pen’s niece. The Russians are naturally interested in Malinowski as a source to reach out to France’s ultra-right politicians. Marion Maréchal expressed support for the French Yellow Vests protest movement, which in turn was infiltrated by Russian military intelligence.
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Malinowski was one of the participants in the effort to organized the escape of French pilots who were engaged in the “Air Cocaine” case in 2015 (the smuggling of 680 kg of cocaine from the Dominican Republic by Falcon-50 aircraft). However, the fact that the exfiltration of pilots coordinated by DGSE, it can’t be ruled out that Pierre also works for French intelligence. Malinowski’s access to the Russian president’s entourage is something that has to be of interest to France.
Since 2014, Malinowski has sought to build relationships with the Russian elite. Malinowski is a regular guest on Russian propaganda TV channels.
According to our estimates, one of the motives for seeking contacts with Russians was financial gain, aimed to further develop his career. This assumption is confirmed by numerous photos on his Instagram, made in luxury hotels in Dubai, UAE. Malinowski has an apartment in Moscow, just opposite the City Hall. He was granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin’s Decree in the summer of 2022.
Malinowski was provided access to the Russian political elite by the chief of the Moscow Charitable Foundation of St. Basil the Great, Zurab Chavchavadze, who is affiliated with Konstantin Malofeev.
Malinowski saw Malofeev as a potential sponsor for his projects, which he believed would bring him more money.
In 2016, Malinowski tried to reach out to high-ranking clerics from the Russian Orthodox Church. Through Chavchavadze, he contacted Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov), who is Putin’s informal confessor. Since this contact most likely happened through Peskov, the latter saw this as an opportunity for his daughter – and for himself, along the foreign policy track.
In late 2018, Malinowski registered the Fund in Moscow. At the same time, Elizaveta Peskova returned from Paris to Moscow.
Despite the fact that on the Fund’s official website Peskov’s daughter is listed as vice president, the first to hold this position was Maria Katasonova, a staffer with the far-right National Liberation Movement and an aide to MP Fedorov. In 2017, Katasonova posed for a photo with a giant triptych depicting the world’s new hopes – Putin, Trump, and Marine Le Pen.
One of the Fund’s Sponsors is also the Leonid Slutsky Russian Peace Foundation. The head of the LDPR faction in the State Duma and is the chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Slutsky gained notoriety over a sexual harassment case. Slutsky took part in the coordination of GRU’s foreign policy operations with the participation of representatives from the AfD.
The Fund’s budget in 2019 and 2020 did not exceed RUB 15.5 million. However, in 2021, it has expanded to over RUB 30 million. In the absence of serious results from the Fund’s work, such figures imply political support.
According to Le Figaro, the Fund is tasked with bringing Moscow closer to Paris. Thus, there is no doubt that the Fund’s operations are supported by Russian intelligence agencies as a tool for their influence operations on French soil.
Malinowski may also be affiliated with Russia’s SVR Foreign Intelligence Service. Its head Sergei Naryshkin is also chairman of the Russian Historical Society. They have met several times during various events, such as the Forum “History for the Future. New Look” in October 2020, that is, two years after the Fund was established. It is highly likely that two intelligence agencies in Russia are co-handling Malinowski.As a result, the way the Fund is being used once again confirms the realities of Putin’s corrupt Russia where nepotism blooms in the use of budget funds.
