provokatsiya

— Certainly the organization formerly known as the KGB has some expertise in destabilizing foreign countries, particularly through the use of provokatsiya. One of those non-Slavic words that nevertheless appear in every Slavic language — prowokacja in Polish, provokace in Czech — a provokatsiya is technically a "provocation." But it has a narrower meaning as well: a political event or action that the authorities, through their secret services, create to serve their own purposes. A staged crisis; the publication of outrageous documents, authentic or fake; a rapidly organized political movement of the far right or far left; an anonymous bomb explosion: All of these can be provokatsiya. Putin, himself trained in KGB methods, knows this very well.