Topical timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
[30] The Internet Research Agency (IRA) is a Russian entity, sometimes called a "troll farm", tasked with coordinating online propaganda efforts to interfere in American elections.He was also involved in international business and influence operations for Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum magnate with close ties to Vladimir Putin.[170] Kilimnik had also been working since 2014 with W. Samuel Patten, an American lobbyist, to further the interests of the Ukrainian Opposition Bloc party in the United States.He was quickly dismissed because he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.Even before running for office, Trump had made a number of public comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin, usually praising his leadership style, or pretending he "got to know him very well" even though they had never met.