Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
агитатор
English translation:
propagandist
Russian term
United States
Interpreter, translator,10+y.experience
Native in: Ukrainian 
, Russian
Works in: English to Ukrainian, Ukrainian to Russian, Russian to Ukrainian, and 6 more.
агитатор
| On 'agitator' |
Boris Shapiro
|
Jan 13, 2022 22:28: Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D. Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
United States
On time, on target, on budget.
Native in: English , Polish
Works in: Polish to English, English to Polish, Russian to Polish, and 1 more.
propagandist
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/prop...
someone who creates or spreads propaganda:
Communist/Nazi/Republican/right-wing propagandists
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/propa...
a person who disseminates messages calculated to assist some cause or some government
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/propagandist
over 40 years of experience
Native in: Russian , Ukrainian
Works in: English to Ukrainian, Belarusian to English, English to Russian, and 10 more.
agitator
| neutral |
Boris Shapiro
: Although I'd disagree with many of the other suggestions on stylistic/associative grounds ('outreach officer', 'recruiter' - what next, 'HR manager'?), this one, I believe, is wrong *semantically*.
3 days 11 hrs
|
United States
Responsible. Dependable. Skilled.
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English
covert (KGB) agent
Top quality, reliability
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, French to Russian, and 6 more.
recruiter
Ukraine
Years in Software & Automotive
Native in: English , Russian
Works in: English to Russian, English to Ukrainian, German to Russian, and 4 more.
propaganda agent/officer
From Vysocki: Ho ведь я не агитатор, я потомственный кузнец,
Я к полякам в Улан-Батор не поеду, наконец.
scalphunter
https://www.wordsense.eu/scalphunter/
Noun
scalphunter (pl. scalphunters)
A warrior who collects the scalps of vanquished enemies.
(espionage) An agent who vets potential defectors.
1982, Richard Deacon, With My Little Eye: The Memoirs of a Spy-Hunter (page 103)
There is one class of spook we have not encountered as yet. This is the scalp-hunter, or defector-hunter. Quite often a scalp-hunter will be more valuable than almost any other intelligence operator.
2002, Angelo Codevilla, Informing Statecraft (page 82)
But agency policy is that the case officer is, in the jargon, a "scalp hunter" who must turn a contact into an agent […]
Kyrgyzstan
Education, Legal, Technical & Medical
Native in: Uzbek (Variants: Tashkent, Ferghana valley, Samarkand-Bukhara, Khorezm) , Kirghiz
Works in: English to Uzbek, English to Kirghiz, English to Kazakh, and 26 more.
communicator / campaigner
We can't say definitely they are campaigners or communicator or something else,
maybe brainwashers?
I believe campaigners and communicators are widely used in Soviet contexts.
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Note added at 1 day 17 hrs (2022-01-08 16:27:56 GMT)
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Maybe outreachers?
Reference comments
Russian Federation
Doing 9000/6000 w/d as editor/translator
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Russian
On 'agitator'
To wit: a [political] agitator is a person who stirs up sentiment *opposed* to the current regime (OED still notes: 'After the Bolshevik Revolution freq. applied spec. to Communist agitators').
That is, in the land of Bolsheviks агитатор had a positive meaning, while outside of the Eastern Bloc it was (and, I suppose, still is) negative. Out there people agitating the masses get locked up, you know.
Discussion