Apparently photo missed from WaPo last August, even made the Czech papers in December and a bit of Putin love in January (try Google translate), where the Czech diplomat there seems to have fallen a bit under the Putin charm offensive (as well as the short-lived Flynn offensive). Kusturica's an amazing director (see Time of the Gypsies or Underground), steeped in those complicated Yugoslavian times. Willy Wimmer of Germany's also providing good cover for the Russians. Seems Putin knows how to spend his marketing budget effectively. Curiously, I've met Simonyan, though wasn't clever enough to get her to pay for my conference.

On Wimmer's Querfront & "who is Willy Wimmer"::

The Tagesspiegel has a piece discussing the "Querfront" (literally: "Cross-Front") movement in Germany which unites the far-left and far-right in hatred of the United States, support of Putin, and rejection of mainstream press (Ein Netzwerk für Putin und Pegida).

A key figure in the Quefront movement is Willy Wimmer, who served in the Bundestag for 33 years and was the defense spokesman for the CDU (Christian Democrats).  Wimmer is an outspoken critic of the United States and a reliable apologist for the Kremlin.  I note that Willy Wimmer will speak at the upcoming anti-American Berlin conference on the US "occupation" (Besatzung)  of Germany....

(more on Nazis in CIA & ties to Henry Ford, Ukraine "killing Russian journalists", etc.)