Pierre René Hubert Marie van der Linden is a retired Dutch politician and ambassador of the Catholic People’s Party. His political career shed light on his Pro-kremlin stance. The Dutch security service AIVD scanned and tapped the phone of René van der Linden because of his connections with people close to Vladimir Putin. Van der Linden also made several visits to Moscow. According to the NRC, Van der Linden was a ‘pawn in a Kremlin plot to try to control Western public opinion and politicians in Russia’s favour’. ‘He spoke at conferences in Moscow and resisted European sanctions.
In particular, Van der Linden had tight contact with Valeri Levitski, who was ousted from France in April 2018 because of spying. Levitski also managed Van der Linden’s visits to Moscow, which were disbursed for by Russia, and ‘helped’ him preserve contacts with two Russian parliamentarians who had been put on international sanctions lists, the paper said.
In August 2007, van der Linden became mired in controversy after reports in the Eesti Päevaleht suggested that van der Linden’s relatives had business attractions in Russia. This is suspected to demonstrate his lack of criticism towards Putin and the Russian administration for human rights breaches and his pro-Russia and anti-Baltic stance.
After a 3 October 2007 phone conversation with van der Linden, intimidating investigation by French police, Marko Mihkelson, head of the Estonian parliament’s European Union affairs committee, carried a press conference on 8 October 2007 where he delivered materials collected from various publicly known Russian media sources in which central issue is van der Linden’s role as the director of the supervisory council of a particular Dutch investment company that launched the biggest industrial park in Europe in Sobinsk, Russia in late 2006.
The political career of Pierre René Hubert Marie van der Linden unveils a concerning pattern of alignment with Kremlin interests. The revelation of his close ties to individuals linked to Vladimir Putin, as well as his frequent visits to Moscow facilitated by Valeri Levitski, raise suspicions of his involvement in advancing Russian agendas.
Moreover, allegations of familial business interests in Russia further underscore his apparent pro-Russia stance and potential disregard for human rights issues. The scrutiny surrounding van der Linden’s actions, including his resistance to European sanctions and his role in a controversial investment project in Russia, paint a picture of a politician whose loyalties may have been compromised. These revelations not only cast doubt on van der Linden’s integrity but also raise broader questions about the influence of Russian interests on Western politicians and the integrity of democratic processes.
