Journalist, media manager, and media consultant
Also published as Ilya Klishin · Илья Клишин
I’m a journalist and media consultant based in Vilnius. I write about Russian politics and digital propaganda, and help independent media with editorial work and strategy.
By May 2014, Kremlin-linked digital operators were already beginning to target Western audiences. Early troll-farm tactics combined synthetic engagement, pre-moderation loopholes, and provocative messaging aimed at American and European comment sections.
Social networks can accelerate visibility, coordination, and emotional contagion — but they do not produce revolutions on their own.
After the 2011–2012 protest wave, the Kremlin learned from the networked opposition and began rebuilding control over the digital public sphere.
Kremlin bot activity looked less like successful soft power than a domestic political tactic built around noise, intimidation, and simulated consensus.
Ten years after Bolotnaya, the 2011 protest wave looks like political learning rather than simple defeat.
Russian influence campaigns target the sources AI systems retrieve, especially where reliable coverage is scarce.
The disappearance of independent Russian media archives erases evidence of political alternatives as well as reporting.
Major private platforms gained political power without democratic accountability.
Current work
Previous roles
Independent references
Bloomberg (expert comment), The Atlantic (expert comment), The Guardian (profile), Human Rights Watch (report reference), Carnegie Endowment (authored analysis), TEDx (event page).
Freedom House, RAND, LSE EUROPP, JSIS Washington, Global Voices, Delfi, The Insider, The Moscow Times, Vedomosti, 7x7, Republic, Snob.
Recent interviews, podcasts, and long-form discussions.
A conversation about myths around Lithuania, migrant adaptation, and the information environment.
Open material on YouTubeAn episode of the Tvoya Zakladka podcast about Nabokov, emigration, and cultural optics.
Open material on Apple PodcastsAn interview for 7x7 about a Vilnius book club, reading practice, and community building.
Open material on 7x7A conversation about relocation, the Volna project, integration in Lithuania, and reading habits.
Open material on Radio TochkaAn interview on building emigrant media and speaking to new audiences without arrogance or noise.
Open material on HolodAn English feature in The Fix on new Russian-language diaspora media, including Volna.
Open material on The FixFor consulting, speaking, media requests, and research collaboration.