Europe's New Moral Crusade: A campaign against progressive values | People and Power

Summary

The video investigates a coalition of Evangelical Christians, far-right politicians, and Russian oligarchs campaigning against progressive liberal values in Europe. The report traces significant funding sources, including $700 million from the US, Russia, and Europe, supporting anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ movements. It highlights key figures and organizations involved in this 'moral crusade,' revealing legal battles and political strategies aimed at undermining women's and LGBTQ rights. The investigation underscores the global scale and coordinated efforts of conservative activists pushing traditional Christian orthodoxies.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The coalition of Evangelical Christians, far-right politicians, and Russian oligarchs is campaigning against progressive liberal values in Europe.
• 🇲🇽 The World Congress of Families in Mexico gathered delegates aiming to roll back women's abortion rights, challenge LGBTQ equality, and defend traditional family values.
• ⚔️ This 'moral crusade' involves American Evangelical Christians, Russian oligarchs, and far-right politicians like Italy's Matteo Salvini and Georgia's Giorgia Meloni.
• 🇵🇱 Poland, seen as a model by the conservative right, has a near-total ban on abortion, with activists facing legal consequences for aiding abortions.
• 📊 Research identified that at least $700 million was spent in Europe over a decade to support the anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ movement, with significant funding from the US, Russia, and Europe.
• 🔒 Activists in Poland, like Justyna Wydrzyńska, face prosecution for helping women with abortions, highlighting the state's strict anti-abortion laws.
• 💼 Organizations like Ordo Iuris in Poland use legal actions to promote their conservative agenda and raise local funds.
• 🇷🇺 Russian oligarchs Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Malofeev have financially supported conservative moral initiatives in Europe, with close ties to the Kremlin.
• 🌐 CitizenGO, a global conservative platform, has received significant funding and support from Russian sources, though it denies financial ties to Russian oligarchs.
• 🚫 The ongoing war in Ukraine has strained but not entirely halted cooperation between Western European and Russian conservative activists.

Q & A

What is the main goal of the coalition of Evangelical Christians, far-right politicians, and Russian oligarchs as described in the video?

The coalition aims to roll back women's abortion rights, challenge LGBTQ equality, and defend what they see as the sanctity of the family.

What event is highlighted as significant for this coalition in the video?

The World Congress of Families, which took place last September in Mexico, is highlighted as one of the most important events for this coalition.

Which countries and figures are identified as key players in this moral crusade?

Key players include American Evangelical Christians, Russian oligarchs, and far-right politicians like Italy's Matteo Salvini and Georgia Meloni.

What specific laws and actions are being promoted by this coalition in Europe?

The coalition is promoting near-total bans on abortion, challenging LGBTQ rights, and defending traditional Christian values against progressive liberal values.

Who is Justyna Wydrzyńska, and why is she significant in this context?

Justyna Wydrzyńska is an activist in Poland who was prosecuted for aiding an abortion, reflecting the strict enforcement of Poland's near-total ban on abortion.

What role does the legal foundation Ordo Iuris play in the anti-abortion movement in Poland?

Ordo Iuris is actively involved in prosecuting abortion support workers and promoting strict anti-abortion laws in Poland.

How has the funding for the coalition's activities been sourced according to the video?

Funding has been sourced from the United States (over 80 million dollars), the Russian Federation (about 188 million dollars), and Europe itself (437 million dollars).

What tactics and strategies are used by the coalition to promote their agenda?

The coalition uses legal actions, public campaigns, and conferences to promote their agenda, often involving high-level coordination and strategic planning.

What is the significance of the Agenda Europe document mentioned in the video?

The Agenda Europe document is a manifesto calling for anti-sodomy laws, bans on abortion and contraception, and the creation of a network to promote these values globally.

How has the Russian invasion of Crimea affected the coalition's activities?

The Russian invasion of Crimea led to sanctions against key Russian oligarchs involved in the coalition, but the moral crusade activities continued with the involvement of other conservative groups.

Outlines

00:00

🚨 Evangelical Coalition Against Liberal Values

A coalition of Evangelical Christians, far-right politicians, and Russian oligarchs is aggressively campaigning against progressive liberal values in Europe. This movement, inspired by the reversal of abortion rights in the U.S., aims to roll back women's abortion rights, challenge LGBTQ equality, and defend traditional family values. The World Congress of Families, held in Mexico, epitomized this crusade, attracting various conservative figures determined to challenge liberal ideologies.

05:02

⚖️ Legal Battles Against Abortion Rights

In Poland, where abortion laws are extremely strict, activist Justina faces prosecution for helping a domestic abuse victim during the COVID-19 lockdown by sending her abortion pills. This case is emblematic of the broader legal and ideological battle against women's rights in Poland, driven by conservative organizations like Ordo Iuris. These groups seek to impose severe penalties on those promoting or aiding abortions, portraying their efforts as a defense of life.

10:04

🔎 Investigating Conservative Networks

Efforts to trace the financial support for conservative movements in Europe reveal significant funding from the U.S., Russia, and within Europe itself. Organizations like Ordo Iuris, supported by various conservative foundations, are actively involved in legal battles against LGBTQ rights and abortion. These groups use litigation as a tool to intimidate and penalize activists, raising funds through local and international networks dedicated to conservative causes.

15:05

🏛️ TFP and the Funding of Conservative Movements

The Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) movement, a significant funder of anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ initiatives in Europe, aims to restore traditional values and hereditary nobility. They have spent millions over a decade supporting conservative causes. Similarly, Russian oligarchs like Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Malofiev have financed various conservative projects in Europe, aligning with local movements to promote their shared moral agendas.

20:06

🌐 International Conservative Collaboration

The World Congress of Families, a key platform for global conservative activists, has seen participation from Russian oligarchs and European far-right politicians. Despite sanctions and geopolitical tensions, these networks continue to collaborate, driven by a shared vision of defending traditional values against perceived Western moral decline. Organizations like CitizenGO, funded by small donations, amplify this agenda through petitions and advocacy, while maintaining ties with influential conservative figures worldwide.

Keywords

💡Moral Crusade

A 'moral crusade' refers to a campaign aimed at promoting or enforcing moral standards. In the context of the video, it describes the movement led by Evangelical Christians, far-right politicians, and Russian oligarchs against progressive liberal values such as abortion rights and LGBTQ equality. This crusade is driven by a belief in traditional Christian orthodoxies and is a reaction to changes in social policies, particularly in Europe.

💡Abortion Rights

Abortion rights pertain to the legal rights and access to safe and legal abortion services. The video highlights the efforts of conservative groups to roll back these rights, exemplified by events like the World Congress of Families. These groups view the restriction of abortion as a way to uphold the sanctity of the family and traditional values.

💡LGBTQ Equality

LGBTQ equality involves ensuring that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer have the same rights and opportunities as others. The video describes the opposition from conservative factions who see LGBTQ rights as contrary to their traditional values. This opposition is part of their broader campaign to challenge progressive liberal policies.

💡Russian Oligarchs

Russian oligarchs are wealthy and influential businessmen in Russia. In the video, figures like Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Malofiev are identified as significant financiers of the conservative moral crusade in Europe. Their involvement underscores the geopolitical dimensions of this cultural conflict, linking it to broader East-West tensions.

💡World Congress of Families

The World Congress of Families is an international organization that promotes traditional family values. The video describes its role as a gathering place for conservative activists from around the world who share a common agenda of opposing abortion and LGBTQ rights. The Congress serves as a platform for coordinating and strategizing their campaigns.

💡Conservative Christians

Conservative Christians are individuals or groups who adhere to traditional Christian doctrines and oppose liberal social policies. In the video, they are depicted as key players in the moral crusade against progressive values, collaborating with like-minded politicians and oligarchs to influence social policy in Europe.

💡Poland's Abortion Laws

Poland's abortion laws are some of the strictest in Europe, allowing terminations only in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life. The video features activists like Justina, who face legal repercussions for assisting women in obtaining abortions, highlighting the harsh enforcement of these laws and the broader impact on women's rights.

💡Citizen Go

Citizen Go is a conservative advocacy group that promotes petitions against abortion, LGBTQ rights, and other progressive causes. The video mentions its significant funding and connections with Russian oligarchs, indicating its role in the global network of conservative activists pushing back against liberal policies.

💡Traditional Values

Traditional values refer to long-established beliefs and practices regarding family, gender roles, and morality. The video explores how these values are being defended by conservative groups against what they perceive as the erosion caused by progressive liberal policies. These values often include opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights.

💡Religious Freedom

Religious freedom is the right to practice one's religion without interference from the government. In the video, conservative groups argue that their opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights is rooted in their religious beliefs and thus should be protected under the banner of religious freedom. This concept is used to justify their legal and political actions.

Highlights

A coalition of Evangelical Christians, far-right politicians, and Russian oligarchs are engaged in a fierce campaign against progressive liberal values in Europe.

The reversal of abortion rights in the United States has emboldened conservative campaigners in Europe.

Delegates gathered for the World Congress of Families in Mexico, aiming to roll back women's abortion rights and challenge LGBTQ equality.

The coalition's mission is described as a crusade to defend traditional Christian orthodoxies against progressive liberal values.

American Evangelical Christians, Russian oligarchs, and far-right politicians like Italy's Matteo Salvini and Georgia Meloni are linked in this crusade.

Conservative activists in Europe see the continent as the next key battleground for their agenda.

In Poland, activists like Justyna Wydrzyńska face imprisonment for aiding abortions, reflecting strict state laws against abortion.

Legal organizations like Ordo Iuris in Poland use prosecutions to enforce anti-abortion laws and intimidate activists.

Research by Neil Datta and colleagues identified over 700 million dollars spent on anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ rights campaigns in Europe from 2009 to 2018.

Hidden camera footage from a conference revealed strategies and rhetoric used by right-wing and anti-abortion groups.

Agenda Europe, a conservative network, calls for anti-sodomy laws, bans on abortion and contraception, and other extreme policies.

U.S. organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom International and the European Center for Law and Justice receive millions to support faith-based legal advocacy in Europe.

Russian oligarchs like Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Malofeev have financially supported conservative moral agendas in Europe.

CitizenGO, a high-profile social media platform, was initially proposed to receive funding from Malofeev's foundation.

Despite interruptions from the war in Ukraine, conservative Christian activists in Western Europe and Russia continue to maintain friendly relations and collaborate.

Transcripts

foreign

[Music]

encouraged by the reversal of abortion

rights in the United States a coalition

of Evangelical Christians far right

politicians and Russian oligarchs are

now engaged in a fierce campaign against

Progressive liberal values in Europe but

what's driving this so-called moral

Crusade and who is funding it reporter

Sarah Spiller has been in search of

answers

foreign

it was billed as one of the most

important events of its kind in the

world last September in Mexico delegates

gathered for the World Congress of

families and they were on a mission

come on

[Applause]

a mission to roll back women's abortion

rights to challenge lgbtq equality and

to defend what they see as the sanctity

of the family

[Music]

thank you

this is nothing less than a crusade in

defense of traditional Christian

orthodoxies against Progressive liberal

values

[Music]

a crusade that has linked American

Evangelical Christians Russian oligarchs

and far-right politicians like Italy's

Matthew salvini and Georgia Maloney

natalita

okay

emboldened by the reversal of abortion

rights in America conservative

campaigners see Europe as the next key

Battleground

[Applause]

we talk about the family being under

attack the epicenter of this is is in

Europe that in Europe that the

governments they don't want you to get

married and they are anti-children you

are supposed to be gay or you are

supposed to be

diverse

we are building armies in all the major

cities across the world to fight to

speak out and to witness

that pool was taken up by conservative

Christians in Russia Keen to make common

cause with the West's moral Crusaders

[Music]

so we set out to investigate this

movement of European conservative moral

activists and Trace the millions of

Euros rubles and dollars which has

helped fund its moral Crusade

the places where this comes from three

main geographic sources first of them is

the United States accounting for just

over 80 million second sources the

Russian Federation about 188 million and

then the third source is Europe itself

437 million

our journey began in a European country

seen by the conservative right as

showing the way forward

Poland has a near total ban on abortion

and those who defy that ban was

imprisonment under strict state laws

Ka works with fellow activists in a

group which counsels women on how to

safely find help with abortion

we met her the day before a court case

which could see her jailed for up to

three years what will happen maybe

tomorrow will be the beginning of like

the Witch Hunt

[Music]

justina's ordeal began during the covid

pandemic in 2020 she was contacted by a

woman who said she was the victim of

domestic abuse trapped by the lockdown

and desperately needed help with an

unwanted pregnancy Justina sent the

woman her own abortion pills it is a

thing that every decent person would do

in my opinion and also this was the

safest and recommended method of

abortion

but that act resulted in Justina being

accused of aiding an abortion I was

really

pretty skirt

I I cried here like the two days

activities they they use us uh as a tool

to

make other women afraid

the day after our meeting Houston always

back in a heavily guarded Court where

she faced not just the state prosecutor

but also this man Jacob sloanovsky

so who is Jacob zlonovsky and why was he

there

[Music]

to find the answer I began here the

collegium into Mariam

private university in Warsaw which

trains lawyers in conservative ideals

it was set up by a legal foundation

called Aldo euras and the court has

allowed Odo Uris represented by the

lawyer soloski to participate in Houston

urban jinska's prosecution

in their Warsaw HQ I asked order urus's

president what he wanted to happen to

use dinner

we hope that

the lady will be punished by by the

court if anybody

promotes campaigns to take Life The

Unborn

we need to provide proper sanctions in

the criminal law meanwhile back at the

trial key Witnesses failed to appear and

the judge rescheduled the hearing

I'm very disappointed and

and I have to find a courage

outside the court activists called out

what they see as Odo urus's mission

a sustained attack on women's right to

abortion

and just in a pledge to keep supporting

women who need her group's help if

anybody will need it we will do no

matter what their circumstances are

battle to enforce Poland's law which

only allows terminations in cases of

rape incest or when a woman's life is in

danger has now extended to Ukrainian

refugees

on their website they say they sent

letters to hundreds of Polish hospitals

to find out if they were providing

abortions to refugees from Ukraine

the letter asks if doctors were taking

required legal steps to ensure women

were telling the truth they'd been raped

abortion is an abortion even if you come

from a war zone an abortion is an act of

a Act of Killing of an innocent person

and according to the Polish law and

those are only rare exceptions to this

General principle the constitutional

principle of a protection of life

in their self-ordained role is Guardians

of flag bearer for Europe's moral

Crusaders

Crusade operate and how are they funded

in Brussels we met a man who's been

looking hard for answers to those

questions

Neil data and his colleagues began their

research by following the money they

identified all the different

organizations which were active in

contesting abortion rights women's

rights contraception LGBT rights laws on

violence against women and then tracked

down their financial details their

annual reports audited accounts Etc over

a 10-year period from 2009 to 2018

I was able to find that there is at

least over 700 million dollars going

into this movement in Europe

for lgbtq activist Bart stachevsky this

movement felt like a real threat

so in 2016 he wired himself up with a

hidden camera to attend a conference

with the title agenda Europe this is the

first time he's spoken about what

happened

the guests were welcomed at a Gala

dinner

with special guests members of the

government and developments have fallen

the more I was there it was few day

conference the more I could understand

that there is very special meeting

especially when we see on how high level

those participants were attendees

included people from right wing and

anti-abortion groups from Spain to

Croatia and they were all given a

warning

[Music]

when they were speaking out about

tactics you need to use to win the

battles the language you need to use the

rhetoric the tools you need to use I've

seen the PowerPoint presentation which

was quite obvious that they don't want

to have a like an equal discussion with

us they just want to win

agenda Europe's online blog later

published this document which they

claimed showed how the abortionist the

homosexualist and the eugenicist agendas

a part of one and the same ideology

we are not an ideology we are human

beings that deserve to be treated

equally

[Music]

the document reads like a Manifesto

calling for everything from anti-sodomy

laws to bans on abortion contraception

and IVF and it notes we should not be

afraid to be unrealistic or extremist in

choosing our policy objectives

but perhaps the most significant idea

was its call for the creation of a

network which must be capable of acting

at the level of each country as well as

globally

we don't know if this idea was adopted

by agenda Europe what we do know is that

Alan formal Network which looks like

this has continued to grow in strength

it's a loose informal network of

organizations that want to undermine

human rights in relation to sexual and

Reproductive Rights and LGBT issues they

meet they exchange ideas they brainstorm

data's organization which is funded by

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

amongst others calculated that at least

700 million dollars was spent in Europe

in a 10-year period to 2018.

it suggested around 80 million of that

came from United States and tax filing

show US Dollars have continued to pour

into Europe from various sources if we

take a look at the American money for

example we can see that that 80 million

dollars is really concentrated in a few

organizations which have specific a very

specific specialty that of litigation on

subtle issues such as abortion really

what they call religious freedom LGBT

rights children's rights the woman who

opened the agenda Europe meeting in

Warsaw is Sophia Kuby a director of

Alliance defending Freedom International

an organization with offices and

capitals across Europe

it's backed by its U.S counterpart which

has poured Millions into the European

offshoot money they say used for

faith-based legal advocacy

their website boasts of many successes

when we emailed and even called at the

adf's Strasbourg office to ask about

their work they declined to take part

another conservative faith-based Legal

Foundation that's received large sums

from the U.S is the European Center for

Law and Justice led by French jurist

Greek or popink we

fellow conservatives

are the only ones who can save human

rights from self-destruction

because we accept that God exists

Mr Poppins Foundation issues legal

opinions represents clients and mounts

challenges in the European Court of

Human Rights he was also unavailable for

an interview

but not all litigation relies on U.S

funding

in Poland leaked emails show how Auto

eurus uses its legal actions such as the

prosecution of abortion support worker

used Tina vajinska to raise local funds

foolish lgbtq

camel Machu

machuse found himself at the center of

order euras supported litigation

what is concerning is that they are

using the legal ways to

um

to threat the activists the action Rose

after activists published this online

map of local municipalities arguing that

some had passed resolutions which

discriminate against lgbtq people with

the support of order Uris several of

those regions are now suing for

defamation demanding Financial penalties

and public apologies

the demands

are

extreme like

20 thousands Lots per each case

order Uris was originally set up with

financial help from another polish group

The Pietro skaga Institute so we are

very grateful to them what what did they

do was to provide us with the initial

funding to provide us with uh

fundraising know-how

based in krakov The pietroscarga

Institute is aligned with an

international network of Affiliated

organizations known as tradition family

and property

they believe in restoring not just

Traditional Values but also hereditary

nobility to positions of power

they're also amongst the most

significant funders of antichoice and

anti-lgbtq equality in EU countries

tfp student action will continue the

Crusade for the family the left can do

what it will

with great confidence those fighting in

this spiritual Crusade for moral values

will never retreat but March forward

under the standard of tradition family

and property

new data's team estimate they spend as

much as 113 million dollars over a

10-year period

the tfp movement itself is a great

initiative Catholic initiative of

laypeople from all over the world

privately founded by as I believe tens

of thousands of families

but data and his team believe they've

tracked the source of an even larger

amount of money the 188 million dollars

they say was raised in the Russian

Federation spent there and in Western

Europe on initiatives with a

conservative moral agenda I had 188

million dollars is linked to the

entities legal entities such as

foundations think tanks media Outlets

Etc that belong to two Russian oligarchs

Vladimir yakunin and constantinema

Lafayette both oligarchs were at one

point very close to the Kremlin those

men were sanctioned over Russia's

invasion of Crimea yakunin has been

sanctioned again this year and malofiev

indicted by a U.S port

a spokesperson for yakunin confirmed

representatives from one of his

foundations attended some WCF

conferences but denied this Foundation

or yakunin personally have funded

pro-life proof family activities in

Europe

a Russian who played a key role in the

story is this man Alexi kongoff seen

here at the conference of the right-wing

Italian party leganore

typical Russian doll and as we know God

has created man first and then woman out

of a man

Mr cromof told me how he'd sought to

create a link between Europe's moral

Crusaders and the pro-kremlin oligarchs

we were hearing back then 12 years ago

so many alarming news from the West

about those gay parades being imposed in

all those things and we thought no no no

there must be some Christians and

pro-family people and we need to find

them you were saying that you managed to

get

um the influence and financial support

of leaders in Russia like Mr yakunan and

Mr Malibu how how important were they in

terms of your vision and your project

well I I had this Vision that we should

actually make Russia uh the defender and

protector of those values and we should

declare it internationally and this was

my idea and uh I was speaking to any

people whom I could reach including some

of influential people whom you mentioned

so Mr komov looked for a forum where his

vision could find fertile ground we came

across World Congress of families which

is probably the largest platform that

unites uh uh you know pro-family

pro-life people from over 80 countries

of the world we in Russia share those

Traditional Values with you and you

share them with us so let's be friends

and do something

the Russian involvement quickly became

clear an opening speech at the 2012

World Congress was delivered by Natalia

Nina then president of the Russian

sanctity of motherhood program and wife

of oligop Vladimir yakunin

[Music]

the next World Congress was scheduled to

take place in 2014 in the Kremlin in

Moscow which came off helped plan

the Russian invasion of Crimea saw the

Congress drop its official affiliation

but a conference still went ahead with

many of the same players we have

organized a large and wonderful Congress

in Kremlin within Kremlin walls in the

main number one whole Kremlin Hall where

parties of the Communist Party of Soviet

Union used to be held and now we had in

2014

our Congress and people were amazed and

try to explain at the World Congress in

Georgia in 2016 Alexi komov himself was

a key speaker

if we are strong together we will be

victorious thank you and goodbye

recently in Russia president of Vladimir

Putin has been ramping up his socially

conservative credentials contrasting

them with Western degeneration

is

[Applause]

and Vladimir Putin's speech on September

30th was a very powerful one it should

be heard by people in America Europe

Africa Asia because he he had addressed

all those audiences on the very day that

Putin made that speech Spanish lawyer

Ignacio was addressed the Congress of

families in Mexico

sisters

is the founder of a high-profile social

media platform with a cheerful public

face called citizen go if you're

watching this video it's because you're

committed to defending life family and

Liberty with branches across Europe and

the world citizen go promotes hundreds

of petitions via its online platform

when any of our shared values comes

under attack we generate a petition

aimed at the citizen go says its Revenue

nearly 5 million dollars in 2021 is

raised wholly from small online

donations but let us uncovered by

Wikileaks reveal that when our Swagger

was originally setting up citizen go in

2013 an agreement was drafted with a

foundation established by Russian

oligarch Constantine malofiev

under that agreement malofia's

Foundation would pay 100 000 Euros to

Citizen go

and as part of the deal a representative

of malopia's foundation would be

appointed to the board of Citizen go

at the time Alexi komov was involved

with melofier's foundation so I asked

him about the proposed deal tell us

about that what happened then

uh there there were no financing

by Russians of citizengo zero never

there's an agreement drawn up in June

2013. are you saying that those nothing

happened yes so comorov insists

unequivocally that the financial aspect

of the proposed deal came to nothing

citizen gay also stated that it has

never received money from any Russian

oligarch or anyone connected to Putin's

regime but one of the ideas did

materialize

ended up on the board didn't you so how

did that come about the way it works

that uh if we share the same values and

we do various pro-family projects so we

trust each other then people invite

invite you on the board it doesn't

necessarily mean any Financial uh

transaction or anything like this

Putin's war in Ukraine may have

interrupted the growing cooperation

between Western Europe's Conservative

Christian activists and their Russian

counterparts indeed citizen go has

recently condemned Russia's invasion of

Ukraine and says it ceased its

activities in Russia in March 2022 but

komov remains optimistic that friendly

relations between Russian and Western

European conservative fellow thinkers

can continue sanctions they they create

the atmosphere of fear and persecution

for pro-family people who previously had

been developing contexts with

internationally including with Russia so

we have to keep this in mind so our

friendships stayed and in the meantime

Mr oswagen and his fellow Travelers in

Western Europe's new moral Crusade show

no signs of giving up on their fight

the freedom will not defense itself we

are the ones that need to protect our

values if we will stand for them we'll

protect them it will not stand for them

the battle is already lost we need to

take these organizations seriously the

truth on women's rights is now broken

and that the ones who have opposed the

right to abortion are now taking up arms

in the way that they have not done since

the 1970s