In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an Italian sociologist, academic and talk show host, Alessandro Orsini (@orsiniufficiale). He's best-known for his pro-Kremlin & anti-NATO/Ukraine comments on the Russo-Ukrainian War on Italy's public broadcasting TV channel, @raitre.
1/18
Orsini hails from the academic world, and his currently working as the director and founder of the LUISS Observatory on International Security. His work has focused on the sociology of terrorism, an important topic that has absolute nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
2/18
Embarrassed by the Orsini's comments, LUISS University initially issued a statement on Mar 2022, reiterating its "full solidarity with the Ukrainian people" and distance itself from Orsini.
3/18
Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022, Alex was a minor character in the media world - you know, one of those experts that gets called on talk shows whenever his "expertise" is needed on a topic. But after the attack, his controversial, pro-Kremlin...
4/18
...polemic became extremely popular. The narrative was the same as every other vatnik expert: appeal to pacifism, antiwar attitude, denounce of NATO and calling them an aggressor, and criticism of Zelensky and Ukrainian politics.
5/18
The goal of Orsini's rhetoric is of course to sway the public opinion on Ukraine and the military and humanitarian aid they're receiving. They also heavily criticize NATO. This strategy has been simply copied to every Western country, and Italy is no exception.
6/18
In one episode of a show called "Cartabianca", Orsini stated that if Putin were to use nuclear bomb due to the war going badly for Russia, Europe would be "morally co-responsible". He then continued, that in order to avoid nuclear war, we should "let Putin win the war".
7/18
Some days later, he declared that "This is a losing war. Either we give Putin what he wants, or he takes it anyway," after which he continued that Russia will continue to advance & that instead of sending weapons,Italy should build "two huge hospitals" for Ukrainian children.8/18
He's also stated that he prefers to "children live in a dictatorship than die under bombs in the name of democracy". Basically his argument justifies the use of nuclear blackmail, making it a viable strategy for countries like North Korea and China.
9/18
Alex has spread the "genocide in Donbas" BS and on one occasion stated that "anyone who says that Russia should withdraw is an imbecile, an idiot," and that if they do, Ukraine will continue "slaughtering civilians in Donbas."
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He even lied about being in contact with "the mothers from Mariupol", who allegedly told him they want Ukraine to surrender.
Orsini's called the conflict "a local confrontation" caused by NATO expansion.
11/18
When Russians fled Kherson, Alex was injecting vast amounts of copium, suggesting that Russia was actually "conducting a high-level organizational and logistical operation." "It was the Russian army itself that left the city without a fight," he then concluded.
12/18
He portrays Russia as the party that's constantly offering an olive branch, suggesting that they're the ones offering peace negotiations. Which is technically true, as Putin and most vatniks started talking about peace after Russia annexed the four Ukrainian oblasts.
13/18
Like so many others, Orsini was forecasting a "terrible Christmas" for Europeans as Russia turned off their gas pipes and stopped their oil deliveries. He blamed Zelensky for all this, stating that he's making "very serious mistakes" by not giving Putin what he wants.
14/18
Alessandro's main channel for propaganda is his YouTube channel. He spreads his BS to his 74 000 followers, posting his analysis around once a week. For some reason, he doesn't condemn Russia's genocidal invasion, but only talks about the "mistakes" made by the West.
15/18
Alessandro, wouldn't it be time condemn Putin and Russia for their illegal war? Why aren't you talking about Bucha massacre? Or the mass graves in Izium? Kramatorsk railway bombing? Torture chambers in Kherson? And why do you claim to be a Russia expert?
16/18
Finally, let's pay out a scenario: a man comes to your house, kills your wife and daughter, claims that he now owns your living room and kitchen, and suggests that you should "negotiate" over all this.
How would you respond?
17/18
Orsini has been doing all this on a publicly funded TV channel called @RaiTre, meaning that this Russian propaganda is currently being funded by Italian citizens.
Fortunately, Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni has shown her strong support to Ukraine.
18/18
Thank you to sous-Chef @PunishedRazzi for helping me to deliver this soup.
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APPENDIX: Apparently Orsini is no longer in charge of the department of Observatory on International Security at LUISS.
As of today, his profile on LUISS's website has also been removed.
@trinityaudiobot
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