The Kremlin has reacted instantly to New York’s new leadership. Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev has publicly mocked the inaugural speech of newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, according to Newsweek.
The trigger was Mamdani’s statement that his administration intends to replace “rugged individualism” with “collectivism.”
Kirill Dmitriev is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been involved in peace talks with the US team on the end of the war against Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, Dmitriev sought to persuade US Envoy Steve Witkoff to present Russia’s so-called “peace plan,” which in reality amounted to Kyiv’s full capitulation, as an independent proposal.
The Kremlin has used a familiar tactic of taking remarks out of context and attaching ideological labels.
“Dear Comrade”: how the Kremlin weaponizes language
Dmitriev has reacted to a clipped excerpt of the speech circulating on social media.
“Dear Comrade Mamdani — just a friendly reminder that this has been tried before," he wrote on X.
The use of the word “comrade” carries a clear Soviet connotation and was clearly intentional.
Through this framing, the Russian official attempted to equate democratic socialism with communism, ignoring the fundamental differences between the two systems.
Not communism, but nuance does not interest the Kremlin
On 1 January, Mamdani was officially sworn in and openly stated that he would govern as a democratic socialist. In his inaugural address, he pledged to freeze rent, expand public childcare, and invest in public transportation.
“I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed ‘radical,'" Mamdani said.
Democratic socialism does not involve abolishing private property or imposing one-party rule, unlike communism, which in Russia culminated in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
For the Kremlin, however, such distinctions are irrelevant. Complex political debates are often reduced to caricatures that serve the needs of domestic and foreign propaganda.
