Unmasking the “Narva People’s Republic”
Hint: It Was Not the GRU!
Hi everyone, and greetings from Paris! I’ve been here speaking with diplomats, researchers, and reporters about our experiences with Russia’s malign influence and interference tactics.
Fittingly, my colleague Martin Laine published a fantastic investigation today in which he uncovered who is most likely behind the infamous “Narva People’s Republic” campaign that swept through much of European media and social media a few weeks ago.
As I explained yesterday in my presentation, the movement is a non-event that western media, politicians, analysts and social media enthusiasts managed to escalate into something much larger. Sometimes, we really do shoot ourselves in the foot.
But now, let me hand this post over to Martin, who wrote about how and what he discovered. If you like what you read here, please don’t forget to subscribe and share!
In February 2026, obscure pages for a “Narva People’s Republic” began surfacing on Russian social media. Before long, what started as local rumors reached the Estonian press, eventually ballooning into headlines across major international outlets.
A provocative Telegram group that initially held only a few dozen followers quickly swelled to several thousand. While some international outlets correctly identified it as a Russian information operation, others framed it as genuine separatist sentiment brewing on Estonia’s border.
Deutsche Welle asked: “Does the Estonian city of Narva really want to join Russia?”
Euronews reported: “A ‘people’s republic’ on NATO’s edge: The Narva narrative testing Europe’s defences.”
Narva’s mayor, Katri Raik — whose mornings now consist of fielding interview requests from foreign journalists — told us at Eesti Ekspress that these media misconceptions couldn’t be further from the truth. She noted that Narva residents understand perfectly well that life in Russia is significantly worse than in Estonia. In fact they likely see the reality more clearly than those living in the capital, Tallinn.
Got a hint? Find me on Signal at holgerroonemaa.30.
Perhaps the best proof for this is the fact that among the tens of thousands of residents in this border town, not a single person has agreed to put up a separatist poster, despite the group’s administrators actively trying to persuade people to do so. Contrary to the breathless international reporting, there is no separatist “movement” in Narva.
To dispel these misconceptions, we will show who is actually promoting separatism in Narva. Spoiler: these people have nothing to do with Narva.
Dissecting the Movement
In 2024, Russia’s National Bolshevik movement, Drugaya Rossiya (The Other Russia), posted: “There will be a Narva People’s Republic—there will be!”
I believe this is not a random prediction that just happened to come true (at least in obscure Russian social media channels). Especially since the anonymous admin of the Narva People’s Republic uses the exact same wording in their posts.
The Nazbols, or National Bolsheviks, present themselves as an opposition force in Russia; some of their members have even been arrested.
At the same time, they are hardcore nationalists and imperialists. For example, at a 2023 protest in front of the Estonian embassy, they declared: “Narva, Tartu, and Tallinn are Russian cities!”
In one of the group’s first posts, the administrator shared an edited image of Eduard Limonov—the founder of the original National Bolshevik Party—stylized in the colors of the fictional “Narva People’s Republic.” The choice of such a specific, niche radical figure is likely not a coincidence.
I decided to infiltrate the group. To gain entry, I had to follow a specific “verification” process: writing “Narva People’s Republic” in Russian on a piece of paper and taking a photo of it.
After a lengthy conversation, he admitted: “My views are similar to those of the National Bolshevik Party.”
A few years ago, a nearly identical campaign was launched in Latvia regarding a “Latgale People’s Republic.” The Polish outlet Vot-Tak eventually identified a suspected organizer behind those groups: Svyatoslav Znamensky. Interestingly, Znamensky bears a resemblance to the masked “separatist” currently appearing in Narva-themed propaganda...
Znamensky is a functionary of the St. Petersburg branch of Drugaya Rossiya (coincidence, again). He is a veteran who fought against Ukraine and has been seen speaking at party events—often with Limonov posters in the background—discussing his experience as a drone operator. This could also explain the frontline photos posted in the Narva group.
These are Russian activists with no organic connection to the Russian government or intelligence agencies (at least not yet). Even less do they have any connection to Narva.
The people of Narva have laughed this initiative off, and there is no real separatism there.
There is only the imperial ambition of outsiders from Russia.
Thank you and you will be hearing from us soon again!
Holger