Use this short vocabulary to translate the language the Kremlin uses in its broadcasts into human language:
- Sacral — anything that the Kremlin wants to steal
Russian special forces and mercenaries subdue and escort away a local resident before Russian troops assault the Ukrainian Belbek airbase, outside Sevastopol, Crimea, on March 22, 2014. (Image: AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) - Sovereign — anything that the Kremlin has stolen already
- Geopolitics — a rationale the Kremlin uses to steal
- Sphere of influence — the area the Kremlin already considers its territory, even if it hasn’t yet annexed it
- Fascists — those who do not voluntarily share “sacral” with the Kremlin
- Liberals — “fascists” who talk a lot and have nothing to steal
- Spiritual staples — the talent to follow government orders
- Sociological survey — a notification to the population of what specific kinds of “spiritual staples” are sought from them
- Balanced opinion — a lively monologue on the topic of “spiritual staples“
- Blogger — a low-paid propaganda official
- Expert — a propaganda official with mid-range compensation
- Political analyst — a highly-paid propaganda official
- Journalist — a gofer, a courier, or a microphone with legs
The Putin poster at a demonstration in Moscow quotes George Orwell’s “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.” (Image: EPA) - Liberal democracy — Zhirinovsky
- Managed democracy — Pavlovsky
- Sovereign democracy — Surkov
- Dear fellow Russians — cheap Russians
- Real patriots — expensive Russians
- Migrants — non-Russian blockheads
- There will be no war — there will be war
- To dance to the Western tune — to abide by international treaties and protocols
- Eurasia — the territory with free accreditation for agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)
- Russian human rights representative — another name for an FSB handler
- Unethical — anything unsanctioned by the FSB
- Illegal — anything that is done at free will, without a government order
- Honest elections — voting conducted under FSB control
- Coup d’etat or junta — any voting conducted without FSB control
- Architecture — any kind of real estate nonsense
Russian pop singers Kobzon and Baskov (Image: Russian Defense Ministry’s Zvezda TV) - Culture — a concert to celebrate the National Police Day given by pop singers Baskov and Kobzon
- Literature — a long-forgotten school subject
- The Russian State Duma — the combination of a cheap buffet and an expensive garage
- The Kremlin — the combination of an expensive buffet and a no-charge garage
- Spirituality — dragging your bones to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour again.
Related:
- Why Americans are “stupid,” according to Russians
- Russian journalist Valeriy Solovey: What Russians don’t like about Ukrainians
- Seven strategies of domestic Russian propaganda (Infographic)
- Kremlin disinformation and Ukraine: The language of propaganda
- A guide to Russian propaganda. Part 1: Propaganda prepares Russia for war
- How Russia’s worst propaganda myths about Ukraine seep into media language
- 15-point checklist of Putin regime’s propaganda techniques
- How journalism died in Russia. A Russian journalist describes
- Putin admits Russian media ‘cooking’ the news, Zaidman says
- Ukraine’s Parliament asks BBC to stop using “civil war” for Russia’s aggression
