Storm-1516 influencer network routinely promotes Russian drones to the Western audience on X
Storm-1516 influencer network routinely promotes videos associated with one of the PR brands of "Alabuga", which is responsible for the majority of the Russian drone production
On January 22, 2026, an unusual campaign was launched through the Storm-1516 distribution network. The campaign promoted a video that serves as a sort of advertisement for the Russian “Geran-2” drone, which is based on the Iranian Shahed drone design. The video depicts a Russian drone allegedly hitting a Ukrainian HIMARS launcher. At the end of the video, the domain name “сталинские-соколы.su“ appears, which translates to “Stalin’s falcons”. We were able to trace the video to the “Stalin’s falcons“ telegram channel, from just a day before.
Storm-1516 is a temporary name assigned by Microsoft to the persistent actor that emerged in late August 2023, almost certainly as an offshoot of “Lakhta”, and specialises in disinformation campaigns aligned with the interests of the Russian regime. Storm-1516 is linked to the Russian military intelligence agency GRU and the Russian Presidential Administration, and is closely tied to the “Foundation to Battle Injustice” (R-FBI), which was inaugurated by Yevgeny Prigozhin and was also a part of “Lakhta”. Their typical modus operandi was laid out in NBC and Bloomberg publications. To promote their disinformation campaigns, the Storm-1516 operators are relying on an influencer network on “X”. As previously reported by our team, the Storm-1516 distribution network is also occasionally used to promote narratives associated with Rostec and Rybar; however, it’s not entirely clear whether it’s a centralised operation or if it’s an operator of a segment of the Storm-1516 distribution network working with multiple parties. One such campaign at the end of January 2026 promoted an infographic by Rybar that displayed the alleged capabilities of “Geran” drones if launched from Cuba.
At the end of March, in the midst of the conflict around Iran, another “Stalin’s falcons” advertisement came up, now attempting to mock the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. An Arabic version of the video was promoted through “Syrian Girl” account, which was then amplified through the quote tweets by the Storm-1516 influencer network.
And at the end of May, one more advertisement appeared, now focused on the German anti-aircraft tank Gepard, and also promoting “сталинские-соколы.su”.
The domain “сталинские-соколы.su” leads to a website that offers easy money and even a long-term career path: starting as a mechanic or electrician, with later promotion to “Geran pilot” and even draws a path to become a “crew commander”. It also offers an option for a civilian or military contract, and the “best of the best” allegedly may become “career military personnel in state-of-the-art unmanned units”.
The website’s privacy policy specifies ООО “ВиБиАй“ (LLC “VBI”, INN 7726475134, OGRN 1217700133804), which was founded by Юдин Вадим Александрович (Yudin Vadim Alexandrovich, INN 500508286106). In 2024, VBI reported a turnover of 41 million RUB and a profit of almost 14 million RUB. A rather modest website states: “We create websites and ensure that they operate reliably and generate profit for our clients”. However, Yudin is also a co-founder in another legal entity, ООО “Высокие Бизнес Идеи” (LLC “Vysokie Biznes Idei“, which in Russian also abbreviates into “VBI” and translates to “High Business Ideas”, INN 7725769942, OGRN 1127747014504), which reported over a billion RUB in turnover and a mere 4.8 million RUB in profit. A website for “High Business Ideas” claims that the company has 12 years of experience in internet marketing, 2 offices, and more than 80 specialists. Considering the name coincidence and the same (co-) founder, it may be safe to assume that both companies are essentially the same business. Neither “VBI“ nor “High Business Ideas” are sanctioned, nor are their founders.
Our team also found a YouTube video which also promoted “Stalin’s falcons”, and in the description, it’s clearly specified “Реклама. ООО «ВиБиАй», ИНН 7726475134 erid: 2Vtzqw6rxwN”, which essentially means that the ad was paid by “VBI”.
But the story doesn’t end here: “Stalin’s falcons” brand is also actively used for the sale of merchandise, including “toy airlanes”. No, you didn’t read it wrong, and there is no mistake in translation; they’re really selling toy drones as “toy airplanes” and if you have spare 5000 roubles (roughly $65, or a little less than 50 British pounds), you may even get your own RC “Geran”.
“Stalin’s falcons” storefront in the biggest Russian marketplace Ozon is not associated with VBI, but with АО ОЭЗ ППТ Алабуга (AO OEZ PPT ALABUGA, INN 1646019914, OGRN 1061674037259), a sanctioned entity, which is essentially responsible for the production of Iranian “Shahed” drones in Russia, branded as “Geran”. The contact phone number is also linked to the “Alabuga” HR department. Reported by BBC, the same entity is also complicit in the tricking of the people from African countries into the drone production under the “Alabuga Start” program. “Stalin’s Falcons” is likely just a PR facade to recruit people for “Alabuga”. A similar conclusion was made by RFE/RL, after one of their authors was contacted by a representative of the “Rasklad” marketing agency with a message that “the client wants to reach an English-speaking audience”, which may be the reason behind the distribution of these materials through the Storm-1516 influencer network; however, the motivation to do so is not entirely clear.
In an interview from December 2023, Vadim Yudin openly spoke about VBI’s work with Alabuga (excerpt, translated):
There are several cases where major clients came not through the sales department, but specifically through ratings. We are currently working with the Alabuga Free Economic Zone in Tatarstan. They found us through ratings, contacted us, and now we are collaborating with them, developing their educational cluster, the polytechnic college.
Work with Alabuga does not stop Yudin from travelling to the West: reportedly, he visited the United States in January this year and a year before. The “polytechnic college” appears to be a prior iteration of the same “get rich quick” bait scheme, which boils down to getting people to work in the drone manufacturing plant. It was also reported that the “college” is using minors in drone production and practising “team building” practices reminiscent of the Hunger Games. While the current version of the website attempts to appear like a civil institution, at the beginning of 2024, it promoted pretty much the same thing as “Stalin’s falcons”. Additionally, we found an instance in which “Alabuga polytechnic college” was advertised and paid for by VBI.