11 times Russian Embassy accounts were the biggest trolls on the internet

Official Russian government Twitter accounts are renowned for their trolling of the West.

And with the Russia-Ukraine conflict becoming a rising global issue, the embassy just couldn't resist posting a tweet to mock the Western media.

Among mundane tweets promoting Russian culture and wildlife sit far darker, provocative and sometimes wittier posts, not dissimilar to the tone Russian bots used to spread propaganda during the US Presidential election in 2016.

Although these Russian government accounts – most notably, the UK Russian Embassy and Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs – don't have many followers, their tweets appear to be designed to go viral.

A Freedom House report from November 2017 pinpoints Russia, along with China, as a pioneering force in the state-led spread of misinformation, a phenomenon that moves diplomatic discourse far, far away from standard procedure.

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Here are 11 times Russian Embassy accounts were the biggest troll on the internet:

Mocking Western media on the 'day of no invasion'

Britain's armed forces minister James Heappey said, "Europe is the closest it's been to war for 70 years", after growing tensions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On Wednesday, the Embassy of Russia turned to Twitter to mock the media using meme rhetoric. It shows a confused John Travolta in the character of Pulp Fiction's Vincent Vega looking around an empty Ukrainian backdrop.

This comes after broadcasts forecasted February 16 for the day of invasion. The day came and passed without incident.

Snarkily shutting down the United States Ambassador to Poland

In 2019, the United States Ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, said Germany and the Soviet Union were both responsible for the outbreak of World War II.

She later made a statement in a tweet in response to Vladimir Putin's claims that Poland was responsible.

In turn, the Russian embassy in Poland dismissed her remarks with a snarky response: "Dear Ambassador, do you really think that you know about history any more than you do about diplomacy?" they posted on Twitter.

Responding "#SmallD*ckEnergy" to the Lithuanian foreign minister

Ridiculing Trump's "Space Force" graphics

In 2018, former President Donald Trump unveiled logos for the new "Space Force" campaign.

The Russian Embassy in the United States opted to put their own spin on things by posting their own graphic of a rocket and the Russian flag.

“Good morning, Space Forces!” the Embassy tweeted.

This thinly veiled threat, warning the UK off sanctions on Russia

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned in Salisbury with a Russia-made, military-grade nerve agent.

Theresa May, who asserted it was "highly likely" that Russia was behind the poisoning, promised that the UK would be ready to take extensive measures if Russia did not provide an adequate explanation by 13th March.

In a series of tweets, the Russian embassy hit out at the UK, promising a like-for-like response to any sanctions taken against them.

This tongue-in-cheek response to Theresa May's sanctions on Russia

In March 2018, May moved to dismantle the Russian spy 'network ' in the UK by expelling 23 embassy officials, the largest number of diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War, following the attack in Salisbury.

Russia's Embassy in the UK hit back at the prime minister with a tweet referencing the expelled officials, demonstrating their lack of concern and fearlessness.

This bizarre, menacing message for Theresa May

May accused Russia of trying to "weaponise information", condemning its alleged meddling in elections and cyber espionage campaign in November 2017.

In one of her strongest speeches on Russia at that point, she said the UK and its allies would do "what is necessary to protect ourselves". Addressing Moscow directly, she said:

We know what you are doing. And you will not succeed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back on Twitter, posting a picture of May drinking wine and saying: "We know what YOU are doing as well."

This meme sarcastically toasting conspiratorially-minded Russia critics

Using a meme of Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby, the Russian Embassy mocked two of the most outspoken, far-out Russia critics on Twitter, Louise Mensch and Scott Dworkin.

This sceptical response to widespread stories of Russian hacking and election interference in the US

Just a few weeks into the presidency of Donald Trump, Russia's Embassy in the UK mocked the allegations of Russian hacking in the presidential election in 2016.

This questionable meme used to taunt Theresa May

Responding to reports that May was advising the US administration against a warmer relationship with Russia in January 2017, Russia's UK embassy shared a crude cartoon frog named 'Pepe' that has become an unlikely poster child for far-right intolerance and hatred.

A few days later, the embassy tweeted a photograph of a frog, apparently in response to the backlash.

This snide response to president Barack Obama expelling 35 Russian diplomats from the US

A tweet in December 2016, accompanied with a duck overlaid with text reading 'LAME', claimed that everybody, including Americans, will be glad to see the end of Obama's administration.

Obama had issued new sanctions against Russia in retaliation for alleged cyberattacks designed to interfere with the US election.

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