In our first series, Propaganda prepares Russia for war, we use Kseniya Kirillova's classification of strategies of Russian propaganda for Russians, and illustrate it with disinformation episodes gathered by EU Stratcom's Disinformation Review (we would like to thank Oleksandr Nykonorov, Pavlo Spirin, East StratCom Network, StopFake, and others for their excellent work in monitoring Kremlin disinformation.)
Russian propaganda for Russians has a very different tone than the stuff the Russian state serves up to foreigners. This is partially because they serve very different purposes. The Russian state lacks the ability to coerce foreign populations (well, outside of occupied territories) and therefore propaganda is mainly a tool of division. Russia tries to persuade western audiences about Russia's reasonableness, create grassroots or even political lobbies for pro-Russian positions, or sometimes just confuse people and muddy the waters about key issues.
Russia's rulers use propaganda in Russian to direct their populace, squash dissent, and instruct them in the core political beliefs that Russia's rulers find most useful. One of the most useful ideas they push on their populace is a particular Russian form of anti-Americanism. The use of anti-Americanism may be partly the result of Cold War propaganda, but even if the Russian people totally forgot their Soviet indoctrination, Russia's current rulers would probably use the same idea.
As America is the most powerful nation on earth with a tremendous amount of cultural influence, it is the perfect candidate for the role of the villain in paranoid nationalist propaganda. Below are examples of propaganda and an explanation of the role they play in influencing the Russian population.
1) To weaken critical thinking |
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| To make sure that Russian audiences will consume propaganda without asking too many questions, Russian media bombard their audience with falsified or invented reports that aim to disable critical thinking.The most cynical means are used to achieve this result. Propaganda employs methods of psychological manipulation which are designed to reduce dramatically, if not to block entirely, the ability of critical thinking on the part of the viewer or listener through an appeal to his or her feelings. Hatred is not necessarily always the feeling sought. Propaganda actively exploits the feeling of pity: in so doing, it plays not only on the worst but also on the best human instincts. It does so, for example, by showing ruined residential buildings in the Donbas, or children who are suffering from the effects of war. In propaganda, there is no hesitation to resort to open lies: it is sufficient to recall the story about “crucified boys,” purportedly macerated by the Ukrainian army, and other similar subjects.
The characteristic that distinguishes propaganda from regular reporting is that the person who is experiencing feelings of pity, pain, fear or “righteous anger” is not given the opportunity to think rationally about the subject that has elicited such feelings. He or she is given a prepared response, and a prepared image of the enemy – “punishers,” a “junta” and the Americans who back it, “destroyers of the civilian population.” More often than not, Russians are slipped a veritable cocktail of emotions intended to block the very ability to think during the time it takes to process the information. Examples are the horror of war, pity for the victims, fear that can reach proportions of panic, and the dread of an impending military threat. |
Fake Crucifixion in Donetsk Oblast After Ukrainian forces re-took the town of Sloviansk, which had been a base for Russian irregulars, Russian TV aired a fake story about the public crucifixion of a young boy by Ukrainian troops. The story was not one of Russian propaganda's better fabrications, as the supposed eyewitness made several mistakes in describing Sloviansk that a local would not make. This story is one of Russian propaganda's more notorious fakes.
propaganda's more notorious fakes. The image of crucifixion came up again in a report on the website 31tv.ru, in which it was claimed that Ukrainian soldiers crucified a separatist fighter, a naked girl and slaughtered 30 people in Eastern Ukraine. No evidence given for these claims. Mercenary came to Donbas to fight 'fascists' after watching Russian propaganda Russian propaganda is known to recruit mercenaries to fight in Donbas. Kyrgyz's division of RFE/RL aired an interview with a mercenary from Kyrgyzstan who came to fight alleged "fascists" in Ukraine's Donbas. He left after 6 months without finding any. Russia claims Ukraine buried pro-Russian riot police alive In March 2014 Russian television aired a program called “Evil spirits of Maidan: the mysticism of Ukrainian mayhem”. The program, among other things, referred to a claim that two soldiers of “Berkut”, who refused to kneel in front of Lviv Maydan and recognize the current government were burned alive.
Read more at StopFake. Russian News spreads fake story of mass grave of Donetsk Women On October 31 several Russian mass media (Interfax, RIA Novosti) spread the false statement of Oleksandr Zakharchenko, the so-called “Prime Minister of Donetsk People Republic”, who said that almost 400 women at the age of 18 to 25 had gone missing in the town of Krasnoarmiisk during the Ukrainian Anti-Terrorist Operation:
“As of October 14 of this year 382 women at the age of 18 to 25 have gone missing. The bodies of 286 women, shot in the back of the head, probably raped, were found in woods near Krasnoarmiisk..." Read more at StopFake. Russian propaganda claims western Ukrainians celebrate Nazism Russian propagandists circulated this photograph around the internet in February 2015. They claimed that this Nazi arch was part of a City celebration in Lviv.
The sign on the Nazi arch reads, in German and Ukrainian: "Long live the German Army! Glory to a free Ukraine!"
The banner is in fact a prop from a Russian film from 2012 called "Match" that was set in Nazi-Occupied Ukraine and filmed in Kyiv and Kharkiv. Here is a still from that film.
Read more at StopFake. Russian propaganda claims Kyiv nazis are robbing peaceful citizens This allegation is published on the site novorosinform.org, an outlet of the Russian-backed separatist Luhansk and Donetsk "People's Republics". In fact, the picture depicts a Russian soldier looting in Chechnya in 1995 (debunked by StopFake.org). Russian propaganda asserts that US companies turn Ukrainians into Russophobic zombies In a story published on cont.ws and translated on fortruss.com, US companies inject weapons of mass zombification into Ukrainian water and turn Ukrainians into Russophobic zombies, according to FSB. These weapons might be also used by Coca-Cola and Nestle. There is no evidence given to these claims. One of largest private Russian channels claims Ukrainians are cannibals RenTV, one of the largest private federal TV channels in Russia, claimed Cannibalistic rituals are rampant in Ukrainian society in the show Voyennaya Tayna s Igorem Prokopenko, going on to say that the EU provoked the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014 which was implemented with the involvement of Nazi groups. Both claims are false and without evidence. |
2) To create an image of the enemy |
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| The idea of an nearly all-powerful enemy that can do incredible things behind the scenes is an important aspect of Russian propaganda narratives. This enemy is usually the USA, and those who the propagandists call “American puppets,” beginning with the Ukrainian authorities and ending with the whole of Western and Eastern Europe. Recently, the Crimean Tatars, whose representative organ, the Mejlis, has been banned by Russian occupation authorities in Crimea, is also being labeled as an "enemy."The importance of the evil, powerful, crafty enemy in Russian domestic propaganda cannot be overstated. This enemy justifies the immense reach of the Russian state into Russian civil society (how else to defend against the vast American conspiracy?) It also ennobles the Russian people and their leaders and the sacrifices they must make because of Russia's aggression. Russia has not invaded Ukraine and Russian troops are not murdering Ukrainian citizens for the political defense of Vladimir Putin, Russia instead reacted preemptively against the American plot to destroy Russia. A foreign observer of Russian propaganda may be surprised to find out how American personalities and policies are characterized.
There is a joke about an American Republican who moves to Russia. He says: "When I lived in America, I thought President Obama was a feckless do-nothing who was weak on Russia. Now I'm in Russia watching Russian TV, and it turns out that Obama is an anti-Russian strategic genius with influence everywhere!" |
Russian propaganda: America plotting to start a big war in Europe to cancel its national debt This YouTube video initially appeared in Russian and received almost 4 million views, but a version translated into English soon followed. Note the theme that America is trying to provoke and destroy Russia as part of a global conspiracy to gain financial dominance.
Russian propaganda blames America for the Charlie Hebdo islamist terrorist attack After Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists massacred the staff of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo the Russian propaganda channel LifeNews featured a "political analyst" named Alexei Martynov. He explained that he was sure that the people who attacked Charlie Hebdo were in fact agents of US intelligence.
This item includes a hallmark of many Russian anti-American conspiracy theories: Since the US is so immensely powerful and cunning (as Russian propaganda tells us) then why do many of their terrorist enemies still exist and even prosper? The explanation they provide is that terrorists like ISIS are in fact American proxies. From the video: "I want to note that in recent years and decades that so-called Islamic terrorism is in the lands of one of the world's leading intelligence agencies, I am referring to the United States. I am sure that the events in Paris, one way or another, behind those islamists, who carried out this terrorist attack, there stand American handlers." Russian propaganda claims American tanks are in Ukraine In August 2015 several Russian propaganda websites carried a fake story that US tanks were seen operating in Ukraine. Russian propaganda circulated a video of a Russian irregular talking about seeing US tanks. Read more at StopFake.
Disinformation about US military involvement in Ukraine appears regularly in Russian outlets. For example, the Vremya Pokazhet show on TV1 on 33:34 claims are made that the USA are aiming for more military actions in the South-East of Ukraine, with no evidence backing up the claim. An artile on warfiles.ru asserts, again with no evidence, that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is in full subordination to US intelligence services. The 6th floor of SBU's HQ supposedly hosts 1180 American specialists from the CIA and the NSA. Russian propaganda claims America wants to destroy Russia This 2013 video from the Russian propaganda website Polit Russia depicts liberal Russian politicians as pawns in a US plot to bring down Russia in order to make natural resources cheaper.
Claims that America wants to destroy Russia are repeated often and from various outlets. In the Vremya Pokazhet show on Russia's TV1, guests at 33:46 assert that the US the collapse of the USSR, and now together with Europe they are trying to destroy Russia. The DenTV internet channel discusses, with no supporting evidence, how the USA are preparing to disintegrate Russia via a liberal coup, after which they will take control of nuclear weapons on Russian territory. After that, European countries, the USA, China and Japan will begin an occupation of Russia. The "Velichayshiye tayny kosmosa" show claims, again, with no suporting evidence, that foreign powers have been trying to divide Russia into separate republics for centuries and that today this is one of the main objectives of American strategists (Zbigniew Brzezinski) and the "secret brotherhood of global elites" led by the Anglo-Saxons. War in Ukraine is war of West against Russia, Russian propaganda claims The war in Ukraine is directed solely against Russia. This includes the extermination of the people of Novorossiya. There is also an ideological and economic war (sanctions) going on against Russia. Anglo-Saxons also aim to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church. These are all theses of historian Alexander Goncharov on Yury Kotenok's video blog. In reality there has been have been no credible reports of threats to the Russian-descent or Russian speaking population, outside of Russian media outlets. In the show Voskresnyi vecher s Vladimirom Solovyovym on Russia's TV1 (at 55:00), the claims are extended: Ukraine is proclaimed to be an artificially created as a state hostile towards Russia. In reality, Ukraine is a sovereign country whose territory has been annexed and occupied by Russia. Russian propaganda claims Crimean Tatars are preparing a war in Crimea In an article on versia.ru, it is claimed that the Mejlis of Crimean Tatars prepares a war in Crimea with the help of Türkiye. No evidence is given.
The same disinformation is also propagated from mainstream outlets, for instance from Russia's TV1. Petr Tolstoy in the "Vremya Pokazhet" political talk show warns that Türkiye is training Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar fighters close to the border of Crimea. The Crimean Tatars, who are disloyal to Russia, are now moving to the North of this peninsula to support these fighters. No evidence is given. Meanwhile, according to RFE/RL, since the beginning of the Russian annexation of Crimea, at least 10,000 Crimean Tatars have fled Crimea due to discrimination and lawlessness. The EU has reaffirmed its deep concern at the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Crimean peninsula, including the denial of freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of religion and belief, and the persecution of persons belonging to minorities, in particular the Crimean Tatars- (information by Pavlo Spirin from from EU Stratcom's Disinformation review.) The classic: US President Obama provoked a coup and a civil war in Ukraine At 30:44 of the Vesti Nedeli show, the chief propagandist of the Kremlin Dmitriy Kiselyev repeats the mainstream line of Russian propaganda: that the Euromaidan revolution was a coup which provoked a civil war in Ukraine. In reality, the demonstrations which began in Kiev in November 2013 were born out of Ukrainians' own desire for a closer relationship with the European Union, and their frustration when former President Yanukovych halted progress toward that goal as a result of Russian pressure. The war in Eastern Ukraine is a consequence of Russian military aggression. Russian TV shows claim West is waging new type against Russia In the Vremya Pokazhet show of Russia's TV1 at 22:58, it is claimed that the West is waging a new type of war against Russia. Its purpose is to impose control of the Russian elite, and to plunge Kurdistan, Latvia and Poland into chaos. No evidence is given. |
3) To link all internal problems to external factors |
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| The supposedly all-present enemy can be used to deflect criticism away from Russia's rulers. Problems and political opposition are caused by external conspirators.By adopting the official foreign policy rhetoric, the average person compensates for his or her own helplessness through the illusion of involvement in historical events and a link to the abstraction called “Russia.” Understanding the essence of foreign problems is far more complicated for the average person than understanding domestic issues. More often than not, such Russians have never been abroad, and do not know the actual attitudes of western countries. For this reason, such Russians are easily subject to manipulation, in this case leading them to blame external enemies for their own problems. | Russia's budget is dependent on a high oil price. When the price goes down, as it had recently, Russian propagandists reach for the story of an "American conspiracy."
Panama papers showcasing major corruption scandal dismissed as attempt to destabilize Russia The Panama papers which exposed extensive corruption connections to Vladimir Putin, were described by him as “one more attempt to destabilise the internal situation [and] make us [Russia] more accommodating.” Dmitri Kiselyov's "Vesti Nedeli" asserted that by publishing the Panama Papers, the US wants to drive off-shore money from all over the world to the US. In reality, the Panama Papers were published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a global network of more than 190 investigative journalists in more than 65 countries who collaborate on in-depth investigative stories
Thanks to the spotty coverage of the scandal in the Russian media and the influence of propaganda, the Russian population chose to believe the version of the scandal being a provocation of the West. Human rights are a tool to destabilize Russia, ombudswoman claims Russia's new ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova has asserted that the West and US use the issue of human rights as a tool to blackmail, abuse, threaten, pressurize and destabilize Russia. According to her, an ombudswoman's role is to resist this phenomena. In reality, international organizations have condemned Russia's abuse of human rights in Crimea, particularly of the Crimean Tatars, and the illegal imprisonment and unfair trials of political prisoners. Propaganda claims that the international community decided to destroy Russia through isolation, oil, and sanctions In the show Voskresnyi vecher s Vladimirom Solovyovym running on Rossiya 1, it is claimed that the international community has decided to destroy Russia via international isolation, fall of oil prices, and financial sanctions. In reality, the international community applied sanctions to Russia in response to its military aggression towards Ukraine and occupation of Crimea. Russian video describing 'the technology of coups' This video reminds viewers that any sign of internal dissent in Russia is probably part of a evil US plot to cause a coup in Russia.
Starting with a quote from the Biblical prophet Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge," the video in dramatic footage goes on to suggest that all public uprisings powered by social media are part of an evil plot of unknown forces seeking to upset the world order. Russian opposition figures organizing protests in Russia are also part of the plot seeking to subjugate Russia to external powers. |
4) To emphasize the consolidation of society in the face of a military threat |
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| Russian propaganda exaggerates the importance of preparing for a supposed war with the West. Of course, this means that anyone pro-Western is a potential 5th column.Call for consolidation are done at different levels and with different connotations, ranging from aggressive calls to fight against the “national traitors” to constructive attempts to unite people in order to solve problems, but only in the case of their total approval of the foreign policy of the authorities. The necessity to consolidate is enhanced with repeated messages of supposed danger emanating from foreign secret services and their agents, the Russian opposition. | Russian animation celebrating Russia's rearmament This video celebrate's Putin's military reform and the re-armament of Russia to face a supposed American military threat to the whole world.
Opposition leader Navalny is a secret agent of the CIA, according to Russian media If we are to believe Kiselyov's Vesti Nedeli show, the CIA is conducting a secret operation entitled "Quake" with the aim of destroying Russia. In this operation, the West relies on its Russian agent, Alexei Navalny. Vesti.ru claims that according to MI6 and CIA internal documents, Alexei Navalny had been recruited to work for MI6 by UK hedge fund manager Bill Browder. His task is to carry out operation "Quake" which aims to undermine the existing constitutional order of the Russian Federation. He is being paid handsomely for his services via the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) human rights organisation. In reality, the documents on which these accusations are based are confirmed to be fake. Navalny has dismissed the accusations as "fantasy" and "deliberate slander" and has said he will sue Rossiya 1 which ran a 15- minute report about the "case". MHG head Lyudmila Alekseyeva said the group had never given money to Mr Navalny.
West is allegedly planning a 'Belarusian Maidan' The Russian Institute for Strategic Studies claims without any evidence that "Lukashenka's illegal opposition", financed by the West, acquires weapons via Ukraine. The West is planning a "Belarusian Maidan", it supports nationalism and Russophobia in the country. Russian video describing 'the technology of coups' This video reminds viewers that any sign of internal dissent in Russia is probably part of a evil US plot to cause a coup in Russia.
Starting with a quote from the Biblical prophet Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge," the video in dramatic footage goes on to suggest that all public uprisings powered by social media are part of an evil plot of unknown forces seeking to upset the world order. Russian opposition figures organizing protests in Russia are also part of the plot seeking to subjugate Russia to external powers. |
5) To create the image of Vladimir Putin as the only leader capable of withstanding the military threat |
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| Putin is presented as a strong leader who is solely capable of stopping the evil conspiracies of the enemy. Commentators have called the cult of personality surrounding him to "exceed Stalin's by every measure." The endless militaristic dangers and threats shown to be emanating from all directions create the need of a strong leader that will save the populace from the impending catastrophe. In reality, it is Russia that invaded Georgia and Ukraine, and which is supporting aggression in Ukraine with weapons and personnel for Russian-backed separatists in Donbas. Despite these facts, Russian media manages to cover events in a light which make Russia appear as the victim and not the aggressor. | Russian Propaganda: The opposition is controlled by our enemy An important part of Russian political propaganda is to not only emphasize Putin's excellence but also to present any Russian alternatives as controlled by Russia's enemy. This video alleges that Russian opposition figures secretly meet with US diplomats, presumably to receive orders.
Russian propaganda video titled: Russia Without Putin? an Apocalypse Tomorrow! This video was probably created in preparation for the 2012 Russian presidential election. It depicts a scenario of what Russian propaganda says would have happened if Putin was not re-elected. Russia is torn apart by foreign corporations and led into political and economic collapse.
Allegedly, Putin helped destroy a US-created pseudoIslamic state in Syria Russian Propaganda claims Crimean illegal annexation was actually Putin's peace plan The "Voskresnyi vecher s Vladimirom Solovyevym" political talk show claimed that Vladimir Putin decided to "let" Ukraine's Crimean peninsula become part of Russia in 2014 in order to avoid war spreading to Crimea in 2014, and that the role of the Russian army was limited to the protection of the voters of Crimea during the referendum in 2014. In reality, the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation took place in February 2014, almost two months before the pro-Russian protests in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts escalated into an armed separatist insurgency. . Russian Propaganda: Anti-Putin statements are a US plan against Putin This video asserts that accusations of corruption against Putin are nothing more than a western plot to get rid of the man they know is the only one capable of opposing them.
In Sergey Minaev's political talk show "Bolshinstvo" (at 57:33), it is claimed that the West is waging an ideological war against Russia to discredit the authorities of the country and President Putin. Once again, no evidence is given. Russia is allegedly making attempts to stop arms race started by EU & US In Gordon's "Politika" political talk show (at 13:31) it is stated that Russia is making enormous attempts to stop the arms race that has been started by the US and the EU. This includes talks with NATO. In reality, Russia's military expenditure was 5.4% in 2015 (as percentage of GDP), which is the highest share of its gross national product devoted to military spending since its independence. It is also greater than the US's (3.3.% in 2015) or any EU member states'. Following Russia’s illegal military intervention in Ukraine and its violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in April 2014 the Alliance suspended all practical cooperation between NATO and Russia including in the NATO Russia Council (NRC). |
6) To prepare for the inevitable hardships of “wartime” |
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| Plunging the consciousness of the population into an endless militaristic hell and frightened them with the constant specter of imminent war (including nuclear war) makes it possible to justify any hardship or deterioration in the economic situation in the eyes of the population. The threat of an impending nightmare will make people accept any other deprivation as a “lesser evil,” or as a sacrifice that must be made to avoid war. | Russian Television: The Americans are Pushing Europe into a Great War This item from one of Russia's main news channels presents the limited help that the US has extended to Ukraine as an element of a plan to start a big war.
Propaganda showing the West is preparing for war In the Vremya Pokazhet show run on Russia's main TV channel, Pervyi kanal, it is claimed that the West is preparing its populations for a nuclear war with Russia with no evidence given. In another show called "The great mysteries of the world", again with no evidence, viewers are told that the US government has begun to prepare for the nuclear apocalypse, Obama has ordered underwater cities, and fortified bunkers in the rocks that can withstand a nuclear attack.
Propaganda showing the West is provoking Russia to start military action According to Russia's Pervyi kanal, the West, Ukraine and Türkiye are constantly provoking Russia into aggressive actions. However, it was Russia that annexed Crimea and triggered the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine. They were not triggered off by military provocation from Ukraine, Türkiye or the West.
Multiple Russian outlets (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) spread disinformation that NATO threatens security in Europe, tries to enlarge towards Russian borders, and is moving in the direction of containing and deterring Russia. This is untrue and debunked by Russia itself numerous times. Russian TV show threatens to invade and bomb Europe The Sunday roundup show of TV5 featured Russian forces invading and bombing Warsaw, the Baltic States, Berlin, London, planning to reach Washington DC. This was a reaction to news about the Polish President's initiative to hold ceremonies marking the ending of WWII on Poland’s Westerplatte, which was attacked on 1 September 1939, instead of Moscow. What Will Happen if Putin Sends in the Troops This video from Okeyam Net presents the hardships of a possible war as part of an American economic plan. (Be sure to get English captions by clicking the "cc" button at the bottom of the video.
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7) To create an image for the West of a united Russia ready for war |
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| The West is given the impression that Russia is united and prepared to fight. This improves Russia's ability to engage in brinksmanship. | Military Marches Russia's impressively-produced military march events are designed not only for internal, but external consumption. They project an image of a united Russia prepared for war.
The 'United Russia' party projects an image of incredible support inside Russia The party of power in Russia is "United Russia" and it projects an image of having incredible support inside Russia. This is Putin addressing a party conference in 2011.
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Related:
- Seven strategies of domestic Russian propaganda (Infographic)
- 15-point checklist of Putin regime’s propaganda techniques
- Propaganda stereotypes paralyze Russia’s potential for change
- How Russian Church serves Kremlin propaganda
- Internet, not TV, now Moscow’s main propaganda channel for Baltic countries, Lithuanian expert says
- Kremlin disinformation and Ukraine: The language of propaganda
- How Russia’s worst propaganda myths about Ukraine seep into media language
- Top 10 fakes of Russian propaganda about Ukraine in 2015
