The Punking of Ann Linde

A pair of Russian hoaxters who go by the pseudonyms Vovan and Lexus are renowned for impersonating famous public figures in order to induce other famous public figures to make fools of themselves. Their latest prank has made a fool of Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, who thought she was taking a phone call from Julia Navalnaya, the wife of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny — who is currently languishing in prison — and his chief of staff, Leonid Volkov. The foreign minister had no idea that her words were being recorded, and that they would be released to the media.

Ms. Linde’s faux pas has given the Swedish tabloids plenty of fodder for sensational news stories. In the recording she indicates that she may be able send Swedish taxpayers’ money to help Mr. Navalny. She also brags about her work against Vladimir Putin, and her reluctance to support sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, due to the involvement of Western European companies in the project.

First the video (audio only, with still photos of Leonid Volkov, Ann Linde, and Julia Navalnaya), in English with Russian subtitles:

Many thanks to LN for translating this article about the prank from Fria Tider:

Ann Linde is revealed by prank callers — promises Swedish tax money to Russian politicians

A couple of infamous Russian pranksters managed to get a call with Ann Linde. In the conversation, the Swedish Foreign Minister discusses how to use Swedish development aid money to finance Russian opposition politicians.

Behind the coup are the infamous pranksters who call themselves Vovan and Lexus, who have previously managed to deceive a number of high-ranking people in the Western world.

In May, Fria Tider reported on how the duo got the American National Endowment for Democracy, NED, to boast that they funded and organized the mass protests in Belarus last year.

In the new conversation with Ann Linde, Vovan and Lexus pretend to be Julia Navalnaya, wife of the imprisoned opposition politician Alexei Navalny, and Navalny’s chief of staff Leonid Volkov.

In the phone call, Anne Linde talks broadly about the Swedish government’s work against Putin.

At one point, she is asked directly whether she can help fund Alexei Navalny’s movement.

“It would be fantastic if Sweden could help us, for example through the development assistance authority (Sida),” the man says in the conversation.

Ann Linde replies that Sweden has already set aside €38 million to support “civil society and human rights” over the next five years.

“I’m not entirely sure of the details, but I think it is possible that… if you have a contact… with you or through the embassy. If possible, because I do not know the technical details.”

The man, who thus pretends to be Navalny’s chief of staff, then explains that the Swedish tax money must be smuggled to him.

“The problem is that we can not use it openly. The Russian parliament has passed laws on foreign financing, so we can go through our office in Ukraine or in one of the Baltic states,” he says.

The Swedish Foreign Minister answers:

“I think we should not discuss this over the phone, but I think it is possible that someone else can talk to you after our phone call.”

The Foreign Ministry’s press office informs Expressen that the conversation took place “after an official request.” Ann Linde has requested contact with Julia Navalnaya.

“For the Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is important to be open to contact and dialogue with civil society representatives from different countries. It is unfortunate that that openness is used in this way,” the Foreign Ministry wrote to Expressen.

9 thoughts on “The Punking of Ann Linde

  1. To be honest, living in Putin’s Russia is unbearable.
    I even turn off the TV when they show this strange creature that looks like a rotten fish, and for some reason is called “President”
    But I do not support Navalny’s policy.
    First, I don’t believe. I don’t think that if he comes to power, life will get better. There will be some beneficiaries, but it will obviously not be me.
    He wants to enter the Kremlin on the backs and corpses of people, but does not promise anything in return.
    Why would I put my head under the riot police’s batons? He has no political agenda.

    Yes, he pulled out a lot of the dark sides of power.
    But some astute people argue that not all government corrupt officials fall under his spotlight. What does that mean?

  2. Their latest prank has made a fool of Ann Linde,
    the idiotic Foreign Minister of the globe’s single
    both “feminist and humanistic Great Power” –
    the kingdom of ancient Sweden.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Russia rages against Ann Linde: “Preparedness to finance banned extremist organization”

    Published August 3, 2021 at 3:44 p.m.

    FOREIGN.

    Foreign Minister Ann Linde (S) was tricked by bully callers into discussing how Swedish aid money can be smuggled to a right-wing extremist Russian organization. Now the Russian embassy in Stockholm is reacting strongly to the information.

    The prank call to Ann Linde
    Ann Linde is revealed by bully callers – promises Swedish tax money to Russian politicians
    In a post on Facebook, the Russian embassy writes that the recorded conversation confirms that the Swedish government does not intend to “deviate from its chosen confrontation course” against Russia.

    “Instead of calls for developing good neighborly relations between Moscow and Stockholm,” the Swedish Foreign Minister “speaks openly about the Swedish authorities’ readiness to finance an extremist organization that is banned in our country and does not support system opposition”, the embassy writes and continues:

    “In addition, the comment of the Foreign Ministry’s press service that the conversation took place ‘after an official request’ raises a sincere surprise. We would like to draw the Swedish diplomat’s master’s special attention to the fact that Navalny’s staff are not representatives of official Russian authorities considered as a source of official inquiries by definition. ”

    The embassy further writes that they want to make “Foreign Ministry’s press release writers” aware that their “profound conclusion” that “foreign policy relations have not been affected thereby” (i.e. the Swedish-Russian relations) is incorrect.

    “Such proposals in support of a so-called ‘opposition’ constitute, gracious gentlemen, a clear example of an intervention in the internal affairs of neighboring Russia and can not be considered in any other way than as directly detrimental to our bilateral relations.”

    The background to Russia’s plot is that a couple of infamous Russian pranksters managed to trick Ann Linde into believing that they were Julia Navalnaya, the wife of the convicted opposition politician Alexei Navalny, and Navalny’s chief of staff Leonid Volkov.

    In the recorded conversation, Ann Linde is asked if she can imagine smuggling Swedish tax money via Sida to Navalny’s organization, which is branded extremist in Russia.

    – I’m not entirely sure of the details, but I think it is possible that … if you have a contact … with you or through the embassy. If possible, because I do not know the technical details, she answers.

    When the man in the conversation proposes that the Swedish tax money should be laundered via Ukraine or in one of the Baltic states, the Swedish Foreign Minister replies:

    – I think we may not discuss this over the phone, but I think it is possible that someone else can talk to you after our phone call.

    The prank call has attracted attention in the Swedish media, but there they have strongly toned down or completely avoided mentioning the discussion about smuggling Swedish aid money to Russian politicians.
    (from: Nya Tider)

  3. Vovan and Lexus are terrific. Of course they are both very talented agents of the Putin regime, but it’s wonderful to know that Vlad Putin has a greast sense of humor unlike the woke tools of the jews who run America Red China and the rest of the world.

  4. Mr Swedish Foreign Minister behind in the bushes:
    Mats Erikson, troll and flop, proud husband of Anne Linde.

    One of the best examples of the different rules that apply in Swedish debate, where people on the left can say exactly what they want without criticism of either the media or anyone else, and everyone else is Mats Eriksson.

    Ordinary name, ordinary guy. You have not missed anything if you missed him.

    He is employed at LO (the national organization of trade unions).

    But he happens to be the husband of our current Foreign Minister Anne Linde. As such, he may represent Sweden in various contexts where it is required that each is involved.

    Do you think this made him behave more adult than a drunken 15-year-old SSU (sociial democrstic youth org.) with dad’s credit card and free internet?

    Nix. He tweets as usual. And ashamed.

    Below I will go through a daily harvest on Erikson’s twitter CV recently, but first we can go through who he is apart from Mr. Foreign Minister.

    I would not normally mention what my wife works with if it were not for the fact that she is in fact the Minister of Foreign Affairs and he is therefore involuntarily included sometimes. It makes demands.

    He has had a decent job for exactly 2 years. Since then, he has been continuously paid by the Power Party in various ways. First within S (sosial democratic party), then LO (national organization of trade unions). Same [offal], different name.

    But no real job, he has not had. And he has not come close to a
    real working profession.

    Except as a junior reporter for small local newspapers wehere the competition if the jobs can not be compared with the big ones.

    For a few months he worked at Elfsborgs län Allehanda, then nothing in 1982, until in August he got a job at the local radio in Örebro 6 months 1983, then a few months at Trollhättans tidning before 10 months at Västgötademokraten took over.

    In May 1994, he stopped dealing with people who are not suckers,
    pardon me, I mean social democrats.
    (to be continued)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Read the rest on site
    Rebecca Weidmo Uvell
    https://uvell.se/2019/12/16/mats-eriksson-troll-och-flopp/
    in Swedish – use Google Translater which has become
    quite good – it is easy.

  5. SWEDISH REACTION:

    Sweden’s Foreign Minister has seriously violated everything her assignment entails. She represents – unfortunately – Sweden in her position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
    Swedish Foreign Minister chats about money being secretly transferred from Sweden and given to obscure Russian groups.

    But it turns out that nothing is true! She’s cheated on by phone scammers! With the bralls really pulled down!
    She has broken the law. She must be fired immediately, reported to the police, and sentenced to a tangible punishment.
    Are these really individuals we have in Swedish government? You get completely scared of the dark! What else do they do in the same spirit ??
    ———
    I did this video very quickly and there were some noise disturbances, sorry. But opinion is the most important thing.

    https://youtu.be/0oEzcTy1Uj0

    /sha70sthlm

    • Nothing will happen to that wretched woman because 1, she is a feminaxi, 2 she belongs to a political party that can do no wrong, and 3 she is untouchable unless a citizen/citixens decides to met out justice to these corrupt traitors.

  6. https://www.friatider.se/sd-anmaler-lurad-ann-linde-till-ku

    THE PRANK CALL TO ANN LINDE
    SD reports cheated Ann Linde to KU

    Published 6 August 2021 at 12.08

    FOREIGN.

    Ann Linde is reported to KU, Committee on the Constitution, after being tricked into discussing on the phone how Sida, Foreign Aid, could smuggle money to right-wing extremist Russian politicians. But it is not ministerial rule, money laundering or unnecessary interference in foreign affairs that worries SD, Sweden Democrats – on the contrary.

    The prank call to Ann Linde
    Russia rages against Ann Linde:
    “Preparedness to finance banned extremist organization”
    Ann Linde is revealed by bully callers – promises Swedish tax money to Russian politicians
    – It is clear that Ann Linde and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through their carelessness, are playing into the hands of the Russian regime and damaging the legitimacy of the democratic movement in Russia, says Markus Wiechel, foreign policy spokesman for the Sweden Democrats.

    The Russian government has often singled out Navalny as a politician funded by bribes from foreign actors in exchange for promises to promote foreign interests in Russia. Earlier this year, the Russian government’s intelligence service, the FSB, actually released videos showing Navalny’s second-in-command Vladimir Ashurkov meeting with a British MI6 agent and promising to promote “billions” of foreign business interests in exchange for a $ 10-20 million donation to Navalny’s election campaign.

    Just as when the US intelligence service NSA recently revealed the identity of the opposition journalist Tucker Carlson, the FSB emphasized that they did not spy on their own citizens, but that Ashurkov happened to be in the picture when the FSB kept an eye on the British MI6 agent.

    The two pranksters, or comedians, who deceived Ann Linde go under the artist names Vovan and Lexus, and it has been speculated whether they are in fact a branch of the FSB. In the conversation with Linde, they claimed to be Julia Navalnaya and Leonid Volkov, wife and close associates of the right-wing extremist Navalny. In the past, they have cheated French President Macron, Turkish President Erdogan and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, among others.

    In the telephone conversation, Ann Linde openly discussed how Swedish grant money could be smuggled to Alexei Navalny through some type of money laundering scheme via Navalny’s representation in Ukraine or in one of the Baltic states.

    “In a ten-minute conversation, Linde is said to have had time to talk about both the EU’s split regarding the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 and sanctions against Belarus. Linde is also said to have talked about how both Sweden and the EU are trying to give economic “Political support for opposition leader Alexander Navalny in secret. Statements from the comedians’ interview with Linde have since been rolled out in Russian news media,” SD wrote in a press release.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that relations with Russia have not been affected by the incident, writes TT. However, that is not true, the Russian embassy writes in a statement.

    Linde does not want to comment on the KU report until the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has read it.

  7. At 09.03 2021-08-08, the Swedish State Radion’s channel P1 jumps in
    and tries in the weekly magazine ‘Good morning world’ with a feature
    entitled:
    “About the Russian jokers who deceived Ann Linde, meadowing
    in Sweden and artificial intelligence in China”
    to minimize damage with regard to the traitorious
    Linde blabbing.

    They do not dwell on Linde’s criminal blabbing, but to the question: Who are the Russian jokers who deceived Ann Linde? and that so called blue-brown right-wing circles took the opportunity to take advantage of the event.

    https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/godmorgon-varlden–3

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