Radim Fiala is a Czech politician. From 2006 to 2013 he was a constituent of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, elected as a nominee of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). He left ODS in 2012 and then joined Dawn of Direct Democracy. He resigned from Dawn in 2013 and co-founded Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD). He is one of the politicians who helped the spread of Russian influence.
SPD Vice-Chairman and Member of Parliament Radim Fiala has for a long time preserved or at least maintained connections to several persons who are close to Russia and can thus affect Fiala or obtain non-public information from him from the environment of the Chamber of Deputies.
SPD First Vice-Chairman Radim Fiala systematically distributes pro-Russian disinformation, which helps extend the influence of the Russian Federation in the Czech Republic. For example, he supported Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea or distributed the pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that the Ukrainian crisis was due to meddling by Western countries. He also challenged the conclusions of the Czech secret services about the involvement of GRU officers in the outbreak of ammunition warehouses in Vrbětice.
In June 2017, Radim Fiala travelled to Moscow as a component of a multi-member delegation made up of members of the transnational nationalist faction Europe of People’s Freedom, where he visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Duma. According to the decision of the economic committee, he also proceeded to Russia in November 2019, as an element of a business mission to Bashkortostan.
Since 2014, the Czech Republic has encountered a long-term disinformation movement by the Russian Federation, which extends this disinformation, especially several pro-Kremlin websites. However, with the Russian attack on Ukraine came a momentous turning point in this area, as these websites were thwarted for the first time. The move flashed a political debate over the legitimacy of such a move, with Radim Fiala, speaking against it.
