4 December 2025
While European politicians argue about new security models, Moscow has long been acting according to its own script – systematically, coldly and almost without resistance, destroying the Western order. Many still reduce Russian attacks to cyberattacks, propaganda or sabotage. But the real picture is much broader and more dangerous.
For example, just the other day, the Swedish general, the head of the country’s General Staff, Mikael Klasson, openly stated: Russia oversees the flow of drugs and illegal migrants to Europe through North Africa. And this is not just a crime – it is an element of a grand strategy to destabilize the EU and NATO. And this is another manifestation of the system that Putin began to build twenty years ago.
When the Kremlin destroyed Yukos in 2003, many perceived it as another internal Russian conflict. In fact, it was a turning point and a dress rehearsal for a dictatorship that would later extend far beyond the country’s borders. The seized assets were incorporated into the mafia-like vertical built by Putin, where business, security forces, and crime eventually merged into a single system. The logic was laid down then, which still applies today: control over the economy, politics, and society as the foundation for preparing for war.
It was in 2003 that Putin and his gang felt impunity. The West had a chance to stop the escalation, but it did not do so: no sanctions, no political pressure, no real consequences – they continued to do business with the Kremlin and communicate on international platforms. If Moscow had received a tough response then, the world could have avoided the war in Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Putin received a signal that he was allowed to do anything.
The destruction of Yukos was actually the first shot of this war — not artillery, but legal. Then the collapse of independent business began, and the economy was put on the rails of militarization. From that moment on, Russia ceased to be a market state and began to turn into a machine for waging war: mobilizing resources, total control of information, dismantling independence, searching for mechanisms for illegal enrichment around the world.
The book “Mafia State: How Russia Failed to Become Democratic,” which I edited, describes in detail that mafia autocracy is impossible without a complete monopoly on financial flows. That is why Putin destroyed or subordinated big business and replaced market processes with corruption schemes. Today, the Kremlin equally easily finances the army, special operations, and propaganda, promotes influence through banks and companies in Europe, supports European politicians, and controls illegal flows — from weapons to drugs. This is a well-thought-out model.
Examples have been cited many times: Karin Kneissl, the former Austrian foreign minister who danced with Putin; Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho; Italian diplomat Cesare Ragalini; Berlusconi’s advisor Angelo Codignoni – the list is long. All of these people were formally supposed to represent the interests of their countries, but after resigning from their positions they ended up in the “Kremlin personnel department.”
The latest statements by the Swedish general confirm what experts have been saying for years: Russia uses drug trafficking and illegal migration as a weapon. The Kremlin cooperates with groups in North Africa, relies on criminal structures, creates artificial flows of migrants and simultaneously launches drug trafficking into Europe. The political chaos is being exacerbated by populist forces that Moscow actively supports. This is a direct continuation of the model that began with the Yukos affair: the mafia in power uses crime as an instrument of state policy.
Modern Europe is increasingly feeling the consequences of this strategy. Under the guise of energy projects and business investments, the Kremlin is penetrating critical infrastructure and the media space. Moscow-controlled networks are lobbying for political decisions that weaken European unity. Disinformation campaigns are undermining public trust, cyberattacks are paralyzing important systems. Illegal migration and drug trafficking are becoming additional tools of pressure on states. All this is shaping a new reality — Europe has become a theater of hybrid warfare, where traditional security mechanisms no longer work. If the systemic nature of the threat is not recognized and collective action is not taken, the consequences will be very serious.
Putin did not build a state, but a mafia structure with nuclear weapons. And this structure operates not only through the army, but also through crime, corruption, migration crises, drug trafficking and political interference. Europe is already paying for this mistake – and will pay even more if it does not recognize that Russia has been waging a war against it for twenty years, and this war has long gone beyond the traditional one.
The consequences of this strategy are already being felt by millions of Europeans, from economic instability to rising crime and social tensions. Experts predict that without joint, decisive action, this threat will only grow. The Kremlin’s hybrid methods are becoming the norm, not the exception, undermining the very foundation of European security. Europe is at a crossroads: either it recognizes the full scale of the threat or it will continue to pay for the mistakes of the past.
“Russia oversees the flow of drugs and illegal migrants to Europe through North Africa. And this is not just a crime – it is an element of a grand strategy to destabilize the EU and NATO. And this is another manifestation of the system that Putin began to build twenty years ago.”
The mafia state pushes migrants and drugs into Europe, as certain European politicians and parties are in bed with the crime syndicate. Meanwhile, millions of Europeans think those same politicians and parties are the answer to mass immigration. The stupidity is as widespread there as it is here, with the maga cult.
All of this strongly reminds me of that other political parasite called Merkel, who opened Germany’s borders to millions of immigrants. I’m more convinced than ever that she colluded with the mafia state in its endeavor to destabilize Europe.
And what is Europe doing about this massive, multi-faceted non-military assault by mafia land? You guessed it, practically nothing at all.