According to a new report published by the New York Times, the Soviet Union viewed then-mayor of Burlington, Vermont Bernie Sanders as an ally and intermediary for their communist propaganda.
New York Times’ reporters combed through 89 pages of never-before-seen letters, telegrams and internal Soviet government documents that revealed Sanders’ personal attempts to establish a relationship with a Russian sister city.The NYT report indicated that the Soviets would often exploit sister city partnerships to advance their propaganda. Additionally, they “sought to leverage Sanders’ interest in their country to their advantage.”
Although the documents do not implicate that Sanders was aware he was contributing to the spread of communist propaganda, they did reveal that the Soviets saw him as an ally.
https://disrn.com/news/soviets-targeted-bernie-sanders-to-leverage-communist-propaganda-nyt-reports/