Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Moscow and now one of the most vocal and vocal critics of Russia, made an online admission that it was profitable to retrain from diplomats to fighters of information warfare.

On Sunday, an anonymous Twitter user posted a correspondence with Michael McFaul, a tireless anti-Russian activist who teaches international relations at Stanford University and writes a column for The Washington Post when not busy promoting conspiracy theories on television.

Asked if he was worried about getting a visa to visit Russia again, a former adviser to US President George Walker Bush said he was more than comfortable with observing the country from afar.

I wrote that message in a private channel.

I did not expect it to be published.

But it was still a mistake.

I apologize.

It was arrogant and idiotic.

A swarm of Russian trolls was accusing me of failure, and I responded in a most unprofessional way.

Explanation, not excuse.

https://t.co/OGxdGrcaed

- Michael McFaul (@McFaul) August 1, 2021

“I work at the best university in the world and can work there my whole life,” he said.

- I live in a huge house in paradise.

Earning under a million dollars a year.

I have an enthusiastic TV fan base and half a million Twitter followers, of which 99% admire me too.

I feel good even without a damn visa to Russia. "

To which a Twitter user responded with the words: "All this is a perfect illustration of the fact that American meritocracy is nothing more than a myth."

According to some reports, for this counter-attack, the ex-diplomat blocked the account of the interlocutor.

Then, late Sunday evening, McFaul confirmed the correspondence, adding, “I posted this message on a private channel. I didn't expect it to be published. " However, he continued, “It was still a mistake. It turned out arrogantly and foolishly. " “A cloud of Russian trolls accused me of failure, and I responded in a very unprofessional way,” he said.

McFaul argues that he is mostly attacked online by some shadowy Russians, but he has drawn endless streams of criticism from other Western commentators and analysts who see his approach to Russia as a complete loss of touch with reality.

As journalist Glenn Greenwald noted, McFaul believed that his interlocutor was “an agent of the Kremlin, unless he immediately presented his real name, but that probably goes without saying.

For these elite blockheads, obsessed with conspiracy, everyone is an agent of the Kremlin. "

Former Obama Ambassador to Russia, fanatical Russiagater, and current Stanford Professor @McFaul responds to an anonymous critic in DMs by boasting what a lavish and wealthy life he leads and how he has adoring fans around the world: pic.twitter.com/QFduDDgjgJ

- Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 1, 2021

McFaul headed the American embassy in Moscow for two years and left the position in 2014 when the crisis in Ukraine reached a boiling point. His stay in the Russian capital was ambiguous. Many high-ranking officials believed that the "accidental ambassador" intervened in the internal political affairs of the country. In a 2012 interview with Slon, he was described as "an expert on democracy, anti-dictatorial movements, revolutions." Moreover, in 2005 he wrote a paper on the theme "American Actions to Promote Regime Change in the Soviet Union and subsequently in Russia."

Returning to the United States, McFaul became an ardent critic of the Russian government, and his Twitter page became his main platform here.

He then began appearing on American cable television and writing articles for mainstream newspapers.

If he really, as he himself stated, earns almost a million dollars a year, then his "part-time job" is amazingly monetary.

The professor became truly famous when he became almost the most ardent supporter of the conspiracy theory known as "Rushagate".

McFaul helped whip up paranoia among like-minded Democrats about alleged Russian meddling by reinforcing the fake accusations with his former diplomatic status (take, for example, his claim that "Russia attacked us") and promoting incredible, biased and often simply inadequate theses.

He went on to speak as an expert on MSNBC, on the air of which he helped develop the theme of "rushgate" - often in tandem with Rachel Maddow.

Moreover, the presentation of the material here was closer to something from the field of entertainment information than to what is generally considered journalism in most of the civilized world.

In Moscow, McFaul's antics were taken with surprise.

Many did not understand how a person with a significant baggage of real knowledge about Russia could come to this.

I will cite the point of view that Russians from academic and political circles often express to the author of this article (I note that there are many opposition-minded among them): the tragedy of the situation with the former ambassador is that he could use his status to improve the perception of Russia (and of the people) in the United States, but instead chose to promote xenophobia and cash in on conspiracy theory, knowing that it is completely untrue.

The day before yesterday evening, a consultant close to the Kremlin, seeing that conversation on Twitter, said in personal correspondence the following: "We always understood that he was fantastically stupid, but still did not know that to such an extent."

Also on russian.rt.com Peskov commented on McFaul's words about Putin's ideology

In 2018, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation made a statement about the desire to speak with Michael McFaul in connection with accusations against William Browder, a former pro-Kremlin financier who later led the campaign to impose anti-Russian sanctions.

Browder, once a prominent supporter of Vladimir Putin, has turned against Moscow after being accused of $ 40 million in tax evasion.

Former US President Donald Trump, with whom his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin raised the issue, said it was "an interesting idea."

Later, American lawmakers voted against allowing the former diplomats to be questioned.

While research centers and American cable news outlets pay very generous salaries to those whose analytical worldview is in harmony with the goals of US foreign policy, and while McFaul's California home is likely truly luxurious, at least one of his statements may still be does not correspond to reality.

So, according to the Twitter Audit service (although this method is far from the most scientific), almost 40% of the esteemed professor's readers are fake accounts.

What's even more amusing is that nearly 40% of his Twitter followers are fake, Glenn.

pic.twitter.com/wYREhyiKoW

- Bryan MacDonald (@ 27khv) August 1, 2021

Whether this alleged shadow army of account bots was provided by the Kremlin in an attempt to lend weight to McFaul's loud and harsh statements about Russia, or whether it was paid for by the former ambassador himself remains unclear.