Radek Koten is a Czech politician and businessman. He serves as an MP in the Chamber of Deputies for the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party. He helps in spreading Russian influence. Koten has been posing in the House of Representatives since 2017, in the previous election period he headed the security committee, today he is an ordinary member. He maintains the position of chairman of the Subcommittee for Health and Rescue Services, and also conforms, among other things, to the Subcommittee for Defence, cyber and Security Policy and Strategic Concepts of the Czech Republic.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine activated an intense discussion about the necessity of diversifying Czech energy sources, which until now were hanging on Russian suppliers. The government of Petr Fiala organised and with the contribution of the Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN) enforced several measures to decrease dependence on Russia. It uncovered support mainly from the government groups, and their decisions were mainly fought by the SPD, including MP Radek Koten.
The ex-chairman of the security committee, Radek Koten, systematically distributes disinformation and is characterized by extremely pro-Russian statements and attitudes. For example, according to him, there is not enough proof for the involvement of the Russian Federation in the bursts of ammunition warehouses in Vrbětice, which is why he claims in favour of the normalization of relations with Russia.
In a similar vein, he denounces the “ideologization” of the vaccination process and thus lobbies for the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, which is not endorsed in the EU. The spread of the pro-Russian narrative can also be presented by the frequent sharing of outright conspiracy theories such as the alleged German project to invade Russia or the alleged American strategy to exterminate the Slavic race, which comes from disinformation sites.
In 2016, Radek Koten disseminated an inflammatory post from a pro-Russian website which blasted mandatory vaccinations. “Cancerous enzymes” had been discovered in vaccine compounds, according to the article he conveyed, and the doctors who made the finding had all been “murdered.” Over the past year, he has also illustrated his Facebook wall with assertions that the 9/11 attacks were a CIA plot and that the United States desires to liquidate the Slavic race.
For his part, Koten states the controversy around him has been “created and raised by the media.” He was not the only person handling his social media accounts, the MP claimed, as he disregarded concerns about his past internet posts. He denies any links to Russia, but he has supported the growing audience for pro-Russian websites. “If Czech Television or any other TV channel was reporting people in a balanced way about the presidential elections in America, or the battle in Ukraine,” he stated pointedly, “then I think people wouldn’t be required to find other sources of media.”
