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Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Moscow, victim of Kremlin 'Twitter war'
Source: The Guardian
Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Moscow, victim of Kremlin 'Twitter war'
Miriam Elder in Moscow
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 May 2012 11.30 BST
There was a time when Soviet officials would plant stories in their pliant press or concoct honeytraps to bring down an out-of-favour diplomat. These days, the Russian state heads straight to Twitter.
Late on Monday night, the Russian foreign ministry launched an unprecedented attack on Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Moscow, unleashing nine tweets in the space of an hour.
"The foreign ministry is utterly shocked at U.S. Aambassador Michael McFaul's remarks during a speech to students at the HSE," the onslaught began, referring to a speech last week on US-Russia relations to Moscow's higher school of economics.
The foreign ministry added that McFaul had issued a "deliberate distortion" of numerous aspects of US-Russia relations, criticising him as "unprofessional" and challenging US ownership of a military base in the ex-Soviet country of Kyrygzstan.
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Miriam Elder in Moscow
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 May 2012 11.30 BST
There was a time when Soviet officials would plant stories in their pliant press or concoct honeytraps to bring down an out-of-favour diplomat. These days, the Russian state heads straight to Twitter.
Late on Monday night, the Russian foreign ministry launched an unprecedented attack on Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Moscow, unleashing nine tweets in the space of an hour.
"The foreign ministry is utterly shocked at U.S. Aambassador Michael McFaul's remarks during a speech to students at the HSE," the onslaught began, referring to a speech last week on US-Russia relations to Moscow's higher school of economics.
The foreign ministry added that McFaul had issued a "deliberate distortion" of numerous aspects of US-Russia relations, criticising him as "unprofessional" and challenging US ownership of a military base in the ex-Soviet country of Kyrygzstan.
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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/29/michael-mcfaul-twitter-attack-russia