A few days ago, TF1 announced that the diplomatic accreditations of Alexander Makogonov, head of the press office at the Russian Embassy in France, were not renewed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that Makogonov had to return to Moscow. Even before this announcement, various pro-Russian circles in France expressed their regret at now being deprived of the presence in France of this media figure. This is an opportunity to look back at the career of this diplomat who was regularly invited onto French television programs.
Among the multiple faces of Russian propaganda in France, Alexander Makogonov gained international notoriety on June 4, 2024, when he made a statement on BFM TV concerning French military instructors in Ukraine. He stated that if these instructors trained Ukrainian soldiers “to better target and kill Russians,” they would themselves become legitimate targets. This direct threat caused an outcry in international media and was quickly condemned by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Unlike many typical Russian propagandists, Makogonov does not fit the expected mold. He uses his playboy physique to influence French public opinion, which contrasts sharply with figures like Elena Karayeva and Alexey Pushkov. François Asselineau, known for his pro-Russian leanings, described him as a “brilliant French speaker whose arguments hit the mark on BFMTV.” His persuasive tactics made him an effective, albeit highly controversial spokesperson, who appears more as a soldier in the information war than a diplomat.
Makogonov’s diplomatic career is unconventional. A graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, he arrived in France in 2006. At the embassy, he worked in the cultural service, where he implemented various “cultural events” organized by the Russian Federation or Kremlin sympathizers. In December 2015, Makogonov was officially identified as the second secretary of the Russian Embassy and member of the Russian delegation to the Paris Climate Conference. This role, unusual for someone primarily involved in cultural affairs, suggested his true profession: intelligence. In February 2016, Makogonov was the only embassy official to accompany Ambassador Alexandre Orlov to Monaco for a meeting with Prime Minister Serge Telle.
Until his recall to Moscow in 2017, Monaco was a frequent destination for Makogonov, who often stayed at the luxury Fairmont Monte-Carlo hotel. Apparently, his mission was mainly focused on monitoring the Russian expatriate community on the French Riviera and in Monaco, which he assiduously frequented. Before becoming the embassy spokesperson in 2019, Makogonov’s only media experience was with the magazine Russian Roulette, a Russian-language publication registered in England, but distributed primarily in France.
Russian Roulette was launched in 2015 by the London publishing company OMB Publishing; the magazine is its only publication. From the beginning, Russian Roulette positioned itself as a publication dealing with luxury and glamour. According to the magazine’s website, its main interests are “everything that falls into the ‘luxury’ category” as well as “social issues relevant to those who are lucky.” A mediocre publication whose purpose remains obscure, Russian Roulette has never had major luxury brands among its advertisers. In fact, it has never even reached the break-even point and remains a highly loss-making enterprise, entirely financed by its publishers. By 2023, the magazine had accumulated a negative balance of more than 400,000 euros, according to British government sources.
From the launch of Russian Roulette in the summer of 2015, Makogonov, who wrote nothing, was nonetheless a regular at the magazine’s events, attending its parties and even appearing in a 2016 photo shoot, where he posed alongside a female model in a series of tacky black and white images.
In September 2016, the magazine Marianne, a French political weekly, mentioned Russian Roulette in an article titled “How Putin’s Russia Deploys Its Networks in Europe.” Marianne described the profile of Russian Roulette as follows: “It contains a sensational mix of celebrity topics and spy stories, against a backdrop of classified ads […]. A member of the editorial staff since the first issue is Oleg Nechiporenko, the unofficial spokesperson for Russian secret services in Moscow, a retired KGB colonel, once assigned to fight against the American Radio Liberty station… This case is far from isolated.”
Indeed, KGB Colonel Oleg Nechiporenko is a known figure in the fields of espionage and information warfare. Nechiporenko began his work in the secret services as an assistant to Ramón Mercader, Leon Trotsky’s assassin, when Mercader was released from Mexican prison and arrived in Moscow. During his career, he met Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963, was expelled from Mexico in 1971 for helping a Marxist terrorist group, and was involved in the attack on Radio Free Europe/Liberty in Munich in 1981. In the 1980s, he supervised Soviet radio and television programs. He was in charge of KGB public relations and monitored Soviet dissidents abroad. In the 1990s, Nechiporenko became a counterterrorism expert, working with various organizations linked to the FSB and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. He was also involved in public attacks against Leonid Rozhetskin, a Russian-American and British businessman, media mogul and critic of Vladimir Putin, who disappeared in 2008 and whose body was found in Latvia in 2012.
It is rather unusual to see someone like former Chekist Nechiporenko as part of a magazine about glamour and luxury. On the other hand, Nechiporenko is known as a proponent of the “total espionage” doctrine. Even though we have no evidence of direct contact between Nechiporenko and Makogonov, Makogonov’s frequent visits to Russian Roulette could be more than mere coincidence. The third enigmatic character of Russian Roulette is its editor-in-chief and co-owner, Olga Mayr, whose professional past remains a mystery—there is practically no trace of her on the Internet. Yet both Nechiporenko and Makogonov were in close contact with her.
The network underlying Russian propaganda efforts is complex and often obscure. Makogonov’s trajectory from cultural attaché to leading Russian propagandist in France illustrates the multidimensional strategies employed by the Kremlin to influence public opinion and gather intelligence abroad. As the public face of the Russian Embassy, Makogonov became a master at delivering Kremlin talking points in a smooth and convincing manner. His role was not only to disseminate official statements but also to participate in media appearances, where his ability to navigate sensitive questions and deflect criticism, sometimes practicing outrageous lies while looking straight at the camera, is fully demonstrated. His rise to prominence also highlights the Kremlin’s broader strategy of deploying individuals capable of seamlessly integrating into the societies they are tasked with influencing.
Makogonov’s story is an enlightening example of the broader geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West. This diplomat represents a new generation of propagandist-operators, combining traditional diplomatic training with modern media tactics to promote the interests of the Russian state. His professional journey, marked by a mixture of cultural diplomacy and intelligence, underscores the complexity and subtlety of contemporary propaganda operations. Hence the need for vigilance and countermeasures to protect the integrity of public discourse and counter flagrant Russian disinformation. Makogonov’s return to Moscow is to be welcomed.
François Millet is a pseudonym. The author specializes in the history of intelligence services and teaches at a prestigious French institution of higher education.