Thomson Reuters The St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency that helped Russia interfere in the US election has a long history of interfering in internal Russian politics in order to impact public thinking. The Internet Research Agency was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for its role in US election meddling. The organization is a quite large, and is funded by a billionaire close to Putin. It seems to have its roots in 2011 as the Russian population began to become more engaged online. Although the Agency's impact might often be overstated, it has certainly impacted political candidates in Russia. MOSCOW—For many Americans, last week's indictment of the Russian "troll farm" by special counsel Robert Mueller was the first time a spotlight had been shown on the enterprise that allegedly meddled in US elections. But in Russia, the Internet Research Agency (IRA), as the organization is best known, has already been in the public eye for five years.