The Hunt For Vladimir Putin's Troll Nest

by Nomad

In Vladimir Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg, journalists uncovered one of the Russian leader's covert operations. Paid by the Kremlin, online trolls are paid to blog and comment, praising Putin and vilifying his opposition and all things American.

Reporters for the St. Petersburg Times recently infiltrated a covert online operation which acts as pro-Putin mouthpiece. Employees, the report alleged, were being paid to write  "pro-Kremlin postings and comments on the Internet, smearing opposition leader Alexei Navalny and U.S. politics and culture."

Professional Comrades

In August of 2013, journalists received a tip from the public. It seemed plausible enough. The insider described her interview with a company called St. Petersburg Internet Research Agency. She described the location as a “posh cottage with glass walls” in Olgino, a village in St. Petersburg’s Kurortny District.
She told the reporters:

The office occupying two rooms reminded her of an “internet club with lots of computers and people.” Employees in one room wrote blog posts for social networks, while those in the other room specialized in comments.

The unsuspecting interviewer was quite upfront about the technical details, about what to write and which political party to support. According the tip:

Each commenter was to write no less than 100 comments a day, while people in the other room were to write four postings a day, which then went to the other employees whose job was to post them on social networks as widely as possible.

Employees at the company, located at 131 Lakhtinsky Prospekt, were paid 1,180 rubles ($36.50) for a full 8-hour day and received a free lunch...

The employment ad- which has since been deleted- invited “goal-oriented people who like to surf the Internet” to join its “successful team.” “Now you’ll be able to surf the Internet and receive money for it,” it said.