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Key Takeaways:

• Since launching its February 2022 “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russia has carried out a concerted effort to sway public opinion in its favor through information operations (IO) both in the post-Soviet space and globally, yet it has found unique success in countries in the Global South.
• While Russia has found a convincing narrative in the Global South, where its discourse taps into issues related to social identity, culture, and anti-colonial sentiment, in Central Asia and the Caucasus, where its discourse focuses primarily on unity, solidarity, and security, younger populations in particular have rejected its IO efforts, due to lingering resentment over Soviet colonialism.
• This brief suggests that the U.S. and its Allies have new opportunities to engage these post-Soviet populations, while recognizing the new challenges that they face due to Russia’s successful IO campaigns in the Global South.