If you want to find an EU country where Russia REALLY has some sway, go to Cyprus. Their banking system is so porous that the EU has penalized them several times.

I looked at buying some holiday property in Cyprus. Looks really nice, but I would be there maximum a few weeks a year, and would want to rent it out the rest of the time. I talked to the realtors and got some really nice prospects (printed and digital). In five minutes I could calculate that the property could never make money, even if I rented it virtually 100% of the time I was not using it.

Who would make such a shitty investment? Russians laundering their rubles into Euros. If you stole the money you know you're going to lose money laundering it into clean assets.

Sure enough, if you go to nice resorts, shops, restaurants in Cyprus you'll hear a LOT of Russian. My experience is of course anecdotal. The reports on Cyprus banking are not.