“Uzel Svyazi”: How Konashenkov’s Assistant Deceives and Robs “Z-Patriots”

The evocation.info team continues to expose Russian Telegram projects that disguise themselves as “people’s” military channels. This time, the focus is on “Uzel Svyazi”.

It would seem like just another “honest” Rashist media outlet run by a “former military man” who remarkably precisely follows the agenda of the RF Ministry of Defense. However, a deeper investigation into this project, its owner and curator, as well as its monetization schemes, has led to a number of unexpected and telling discoveries.

What is the “Uzel Svyazi” channel?

The Telegram channel “Uzel Svyazi” was launched in sync with the start of the full-scale aggression — on February 24, 2022. From the very first hours of the invasion, it served as its information support. This fact already says a lot.

At first, the channel didn’t particularly hide its nature. Its description was straightforward: “Online media on army topics. The louder you shout, the farther it’s heard.” Contact for communication — @tlgconnect. The publications followed the classic first-days script: “all tasks completed,” “Ukraine’s infrastructure destroyed,” upbeat reports and footage of strikes on peaceful cities.

Over time, the audience began to tire of the overt officialdom. The project then carried out a rebranding. The contact was removed and replaced with a bot. And at the end of 2025, the channel completely changed its legend: “My name is Mikhail Medvedev. I once served, now I write and communicate with people at the front, in the army and in politics. No officialdom, no pathos. I write it as I see it.”

However, Mikhail “sees” things in remarkable synchronization with the main mouthpieces of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Kremlin Telegram channels, and the entire Z-network. The image change turned out to be not a rebranding, but merely an attempt to hide its former essence and cover its tracks. When direct Ministry of Defense reports began to provoke laughter even among Russians, they slipped in a “live” author with a convenient biography.

Now the channel diligently delivers the standard set of Rashist propaganda: demonization of Ukrainians and the AFU, justification of the aggression as a “forced measure,” downplaying RF defeats, discrediting the West, and so on. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of such channels, but what makes this one interesting is primarily the real identity of its “owner.”

Who is the owner of the “Uzel Svyazi” channel?

The evocation.info team managed to establish that the founder and curator of this project is Roman Sergeevich Rusakov. (full dossier on him and his family via the link). At first glance, an ordinary unsuccessful blogger who invested a lot of effort and money into promoting his YouTube channel. However, neither his delivery “in the style of Dud” nor his skills as an interviewer impressed the audience — the channel died.

However, it turned out that this project was an attempt to whitewash his reputation and create a new image after his involvement in promoting financial pyramids. Rusakov had no qualms about showing his face and openly lying to the audience when he advertised the notorious company CityLife.

The organization was fraudulent, as there is more than one article about it online. and a huge number of reviews from defrauded clients. The company collapsed when the Central Bank of Russia identified signs of a financial pyramid. . Rusakov himself actively tried to remove mentions of his persona in connection with this project.

Rusakov’s non-public biography raises far more questions. It turned out that while scamming naive Russians out of money, he was simultaneously building a military career. Rusakov studied at the Frunze and Zhukovsky military academies. He then served in positions related to the protection of state secrets. In 2017, he even took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square.

At present, Rusakov is an active officer in the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the RF Ministry of Defense (DIMС). He heads the Department for the Development of Functional Capabilities and Services of the Internet Portal of the Russian Ministry of Defense at the Center for Information Preparation and Support of Internet Resources. It is in this capacity that he manages the “Uzel Svyazi” project.

“Uzel Svyazi”: Patrons and Fraud

The fact that entire units within the structure of the RF Armed Forces are responsible for fooling their own citizens, feeding them fairy tales about outstanding victories and the “glory of Russian arms” (just look at the “liberation of Malaya Tokmachka” repeated about 20 times in the last couple of months), is far from news. Just as the existence of an entire network of media resources, specially created and generously funded from the aggressor’s budget for these purposes, is no surprise.

However, for the first time it has been reliably established that behind one of these media outlets stands a full major from the main propaganda department in the Russian army. And not just any major, but, according to entries in phone books, the personal assistant to the head of DIMС, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.

Judging by the same records, in parallel with his work in the press service of the RF Ministry of Defense, Rusakov managed to “solve issues” by posing as an FSB employee and to manage info-gypsies. He also rented out a whole series of apartments purchased with funds of unknown origin. Although the latter may be clarified by the family connections of the hapless major.

His father is the military commissar of the Akademichesky District of Moscow, Sergei Rusakov. The flow of cash that passes through such an institution is measured in millions, and clearly not in wooden currency. Rusakov Sr. obviously enjoys the support of influential clients and patrons. Even a major scandal well-known in legal circles could not remove him from his position. In 2022, the military commissar beat up a lawyer right in his office. The case reached the Investigative Committee, where it was successfully buried despite the media uproar.

Despite having a millionaire father and “additional earnings” that are dubious even from the point of view of Russian legislation, Roman Rusakov managed to moonlight even at his main job. His channel still regularly reposts fundraisers from the “Frontovaya Ptichka” channel, which is popular among “Z-ers”. Even Telegram itself noticed that this money is clearly not going toward the declared goals, but into the pockets of its owners.
Rusakov has been promoting only these fundraisers for years and did not stop advertising them even after the messenger’s own administration slapped the “scammers” label on “Frontovaya Ptichka”. So there is no doubt that he is not only aware of it, but also taking a cut. Whether Rusakov’s colleagues and his patron Konashenkov know about this remains an open question.

Who is “Uzel Svyazi” friends with?

“Uzel Svyazi”, although not a million-subscriber channel, is important as a link in the overall ecosystem. It is actively reposted by other Z-channels: “Artamonov: Defense of Russia”, “Let’s Figure It Out!”, “News Z LUGANSK”, “News Without Censorship” and others. Alexander Artamonov stands out in particular — he is connected with “A Just Russia”. His large-audience channel amplifies the weight of “Uzel” materials and tries to give them greater resonance.

The name of the project is almost prophetic in this sense. It is indeed one of the nodes in the Kremlin’s propaganda network. Only in the fifth year of the full-scale invasion has the focus of its struggle noticeably shifted inward — into its own state. Rusakov and those like him are no longer simply feeding their fellow citizens nonsense. They are also actively attacking anyone who dares to ask questions, complain, or seek justice.

And all this is happening with the money of the Russians themselves. In the form of salaries for DIMC employees, IW, and similar departments, paid for by taxpayers. As well as the “donations” they themselves have appropriated, supposedly intended for the boys in the trenches.