Russia has always exerted their influence this way. This method became particularly prominent in the communist era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot
Source: I’m a Pole and my grandfather was Lt Col of the Security Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Service_(Poland)
He told me useful idiots were a lot better in disseminating propaganda than dedicated agents or the illegals.
As a Pole, this is only a small sample of what Russians are capable of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre
They don’t belong in civilised world