Maria Senova’s job was to create tension and division in America. Her colleagues wrote social media posts and Serova corrected their typos. She was fluent in English and could spot their mistakes. In the Russian language, the words “a'' and “the” weren’t used, so were commonly left out when translating to English. So when her colleagues left out these words in their memes, Serova had to catch them. These mistakes would raise the suspicions of actual Americans reading the posts. They could realize that the memes were coming from people pretending to be Americans. 

 

This work was boring for Serova. She didn't find it creative. But she loved to write and this was a chance to get paid for it. She couldn't make this much money writing anywhere else in Russia. It was more like advertising. Instead of selling cereal or cars, she was selling rage and hostility. She was selling emotions to have America fight against itself.

 

For months, she was working on the American division project leading up to their 2024 election. The goal was to bring chaos to America and have Americans distrust their elections. If her post got at least 1000 re-posts from actual Americans, it was considered a success. If it was reposted by an American politician, then her boss, Belyakov would praise her in front of everyone. “Serova did it again!” he would yell as he wiped sweat from his neck with a handkerchief. He was always sweating, even though the office was cold.

Because of her success, Belyakov had her correct everyone’s posts before they were published. Although she loved the recognition, it showed how much Belyakov exploited her talents. She felt she wasn’t given the responsibility she deserved. 

 

Belyakov sat in an enclosed, glass room in the center of the office floor. It was surrounded with desks. One third of the desks were occupied. The rest were empty and ready for new members of the growing American 2024 election team. 

 

Belyakov was yelling at someone on the phone in his office. His voice could be heard by everyone. Serova couldn’t hear what he was saying. Only the base of his voice through the glass and the floor shaking as he paced around the flimsy floorboard. Occasionally, she could hear his fist bang against his desk. 

Serova heard a giggle. It was Elena Penkina who sat at the desk across from Serova. Serova smiled at Penkina, trying to share their amusement over Belyakov. After briefly making eye contact, Penkina smiled and quickly shifted her eyes back to her computer screen. 

 

Serova first noticed Penkina in 2019. They were stationed together in the Russian web brigade office in a quiet St. Petersburg suburb. At the time, Serova was working on spreading doubts about the American 2020 election results. Penkina was creating memes to make Democrats think that Republicans are all racists and sexists. At the time, Serova was too shy to talk to her, which was one of her biggest regrets over the years. She thought about her frequently and was thrilled when she joined the 2024 election team.

 

With 2 hours left on her shift and having no interest in editing memes, Serova decided to work on her side project. She was creating a campaign strategy for the American 2024 election. Since she started working here in 2019, she knew that she had an eye for this kind of work. Better than Belyakov or any of the other men the Kremlin put in charge. Since the American 2020 election, she learned to keep a low profile from the American watchdogs. This included the American intelligence agencies and even social media companies. There was a lot more pressure now. Back in 2020, they could be more open with their tactics. The goal was to get as many actual Americans to follow their social media accounts. If they had 300,000 followers, that was considered a success. 

 

Now in 2024, getting 300,000 followers would be a red flag for the Americans. It would put them on the grid and risk having their office exposed. 

 

Serova kept suspicions low by having no more than 5000 followers across multiple fake accounts. The other trollers were still following the Kremlin’s old playbook. Even with the risk, they were trying to get as many real American followers as possible. This short sightedness frustrated her. 

 

Serova’s plan would do away with that unnecessary risk while driving Americans to even more extremes. To further widen their existing divide. Her plan would make most Americans not trust their own elections. Their democracy would be in chaos and their country would grind to a halt. The Kremlin could finally show the world how Russia’s democracy was stronger than America’s democracy. Belyakov’s words from 2019 rang through her head. “A divided America is a weaker America!  A weaker America is a stronger Russia!” He would walk up and down the office floor, yelling to nobody in particular. “A divided America is a weaker America! A weaker America is a stronger Russia!”

 

Her challenge would be for Belyakov to hear her ideas. Belyakov was ex-FSB and his heart still belonged to the agency. She thought he would follow them blindly. She had to somehow convince Belyakov to put her in charge. Serova didn’t want to waste her ability, like her parents did. They spent their careers playing small. Being clogs on the wheel of blind, bureaucratic system. A lifetime of no ambition. That wasn’t for her.

...