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In Season 3 of Stranger Things, the Russians are in Hawkins to

open the portal again and broadcasting a signal with a hidden message. Why are they opening the portal and why are they broadcasting the message (for whom?)

Is there some explanation as to why I missed?

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    I'm not at the end of season 3 yet, but in earlier seasons the Hawkins Lab characters mentioned that they believe the Russians would love to get their hands on the Upside Down 'technology' (and Brenner was using 11 to detect/intercept spies), presumably to us it as a weapon (ie: Cold War, nuclear arms race), but perhaps there is still a more specific reason...
    – Darth Locke
    Commented Jul 5, 2019 at 12:54
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    @DarthLocke Yes I agree with that part, but what about the message, why would they broadcast that.
    – Thomas
    Commented Jul 5, 2019 at 13:13

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Why are they opening the portal?

We don't know their exact motives yet but if you have seen the end credit scene then remember they are not done with the Upside down:

In a post-credit scene, at a Russian base in Kamchatka, guards are referring to an unseen American prisoner as another prisoner is fed to a captive Demogorgon. - Wikipedia.

So we need to wait for the fourth season for an exact answer and we can only speculate at this moment. Most speculated one is they need a weapon against America or something but let's wait and see.

Why are they broadcasting the message (for whom?

It was a coded msg for there associate to know about the upcoming shipment, they can't use the phone as it can be way risky and they can't say it directly so coded msg. popsugar did a nice breakdown of the message. And if you remember then that shipment was green liquid to run the machine.

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  • How about why the location (which should he known to the suppliers) is part of the message? It feels a little handwaved to me
    – Thomas
    Commented Jul 6, 2019 at 18:03
  • @Thomas are we sure that they don't keep the delivery location same?
    – Ankit Sharma ♦
    Commented Jul 7, 2019 at 6:47
  • They do? They only have 1 elevator right. And it points to the elevator.
    – Thomas
    Commented Jul 7, 2019 at 10:36
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    @Thomas not necessary - we know only about one entrance (via the elevator in the mall), but they've managed to leave the base while US army was entering via the same elevator. This means there are more than one entrances. But out of universe, the whole "spy speak" message is a bit silly and put there only so it could be cracked by a bunch of kids.
    – Yasskier
    Commented Jul 7, 2019 at 21:37
  • @Yasskier Hence my comment about handwaving
    – Thomas
    Commented Jul 8, 2019 at 15:03
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A Little Context

You have to bear in mind the historical context of the 1980's relationship between the US and the USSR. The Cold War was at its peak during the timeline explored during Stranger Things 3

Possible Motives

In the minds of the Soviet Union, releasing a supernatural force in a foreign land would be a major disruptor to everyday life. The kids mention The Red Dawn scenario a couple of times, referring to another 1980's classic like Back to the Future.

The coded message

Most phrases simply referred to the food court area, which is where the final showdown with the Mind Flayer occurred. The message provided an above-ground point of reference to where the generator would be in the bunker.

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    Speaking as an ‘80s kid, “Back to the Future” was a classic. “Red Dawn” was just a thing that happened.
    – Michael Stern
    Commented Jul 29, 2019 at 12:21

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