Last month, the disappearance of a 13 year-old Russian girl in Berlin caused a series of scandals. When the girl, Liza, returned the day after her disappearance on 11 January, her family claimed that she had been abducted and raped by Arabs. This assertion led to demonstrations by Russian-speaking Germans, heightened interest in the story from Russian media and a verbal conflict between the German and Russian foreign ministries. Indeed, the active involvement of Kremlin media (and Russia's Channel One, in particular) in stirring up anti-migrant feeling among the German public has led to the incident being christened “Operation Liza”.
Some people believe that “Operation Liza” was a victory for Russian propaganda — a successful attack on Germany as part of its “hybrid war”. In the end, between 10,000-20,000 Russian-speaking residents came out to protest in a dozen towns across Germany, even demanding the resignation of Angela Merkel. Nothing like this has ever happened before.
Believing in the success of this action only amplifies “Operation Liza” further
