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Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
@P_Kallioniemi
Nov 11, 2022 • 9 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
In today's #vatnik soup I'll continue discussing Prigozhin,and focus on his mercenary group Wagner. It's a paramilitary organization that deals with Putin's "dirty problems". Private military contractors are forbidden by law in 🇷🇺,and the group operates mostly beyond the law. 1/9 Image
Wagner doesn't have any central ideology, but it has ties to neo-nazi movements in Russia. (Ex-)Wagner leader Dmitry Utkin even has nazi symbols tattooed on his body and neo-nazi groups such as the Rusich work under Wagner. (see my previous report: ). 2/9 Image
Wagner has been involved in the 🇷🇺-🇺🇦 conflict since 2014 when it aided separatist forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas. The group has also been involved in other conflicts around the world, including Syria, Libya and Mali. 3/9 Image
Wagner has a tendency to bring war crimes such as rapes, torturing and robberies where ever they go: Raping women in Mali, (theafricareport.com/239790/mali-in…) and killing civilians in Ukraine (theguardian.com/world/2022/may…) are just for examples of this kind of activity. 4/9
Before the war in 🇺🇦, Wagner mostly employed retired servicemen aged between 35 to 55. This all changed after Russia started getting their ass kicked in Ukraine, and now they are going through Russian prisons, looking for anyone who's interested in joining the meat grinder. 5/9
Allegedly cannibals and serial killers have joined the fold, and many of these prisoners also have serious infectious diseases, including hepathisis and HIV. These "soldiers" are marked with approriate bracelets.
theins.ru/en/news/255084
6/9 Image
Recruitment of serious criminals will no doubt lead to increase of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. By Russian standards, the group pays really well - monthly salary is estimated to be something between 670 and 2100 USD. 7/9
The company shares bases with 🇷🇺 military and they train its personnel in 🇷🇺 MoD facility masked as a "children's vacation camp": reuters.com/article/us-mid…

🇺🇦's Security Service (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak said that, in their opinion, Wagner was in essence "a private army of Putin". 8/9
Prizoghin has sued Bellingcat, Meduza and EoM for reporting his links to Wagner. Finally, in Sept 2022, he finally admitted to finding the group: theguardian.com/world/2022/sep…
Prigozhin was filmed during a recruit process in 🇷🇺 prison on 14th of Sept, 2022:
9/9

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More from @P_Kallioniemi

Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
May 6
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll discuss the state of X in May 2025. Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, this platform has rapidly transformed into his personal political tool and a breeding ground for hate speech and disinformation.

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Not everyone is following this shitshow as closely as I am, so I thought it would be good to write a summary of all the changes that have happened on this forum and outside of it. These changes have drastically changed how the platform operates and who gets “a voice” here.

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Elon’s team has been tweaking the algorithm many times after the takeover. One of these tweaks happened already around Nov 2022, when the platform heavily suppressed the visibility of pro-Ukraine accounts. This change was then noticed & reported by many pro-Ukraine accounts.
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Read 23 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
May 2
In today’s 350th Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American comedian and podcaster, Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith). He’s best-known for his numerous appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience and for his unhinged takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War.

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Smith has a massive megaphone - he’s a good friend of Joe Rogan, and he’s appeared on Joe’s podcast a whopping 16 times. Naturally, he’s also visited Lex Fridman’s podcast and frequently appears on Fox News’ Kennedy and The Greg Gutfeld Show.

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Dave is part of the Kremlintarian section of the Libertarian Party called Mises Caucus. They took control of the party in May 2022, and with the help of their new leader, Angela McArdle, turned it into an extension of the MAGA Republicans:

3/22

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Read 24 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 29
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian journalist, Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin). He’s best-known for posing as a Russian dissident, while at the same time sneakily promoting the Kremlin’s narratives about the Russo-Ukrainian War.

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On paper, Leonid doesn’t look like your typical Kremlin apologist - he’s written and worked for prestigious Western outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, and he’s even written some Lonely Planet guides for the Baltic countries!

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But Ragozin’s public commentary often seems to walk a fine line: condemning the war while pushing narratives that shift blame, dilute responsibility, or quietly carry the same old imperial baggage Russia - or its opposition - has never truly forgotten.

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Read 21 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 28
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a bank that is well-known in both Austria and Russia: Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and its Russian subsidiary, AO Raiffeisen. It is one of the few foreign banks that still does business in Russia.

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Raiffeisen’s Russian branch was founded in 1996 and expanded dramatically after the acquisition of Russia’s Impexbank in 2006. A year later, it was the largest bank trading in foreign capital (seventh in size) in Russia.

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In the early 2000s, Raiffeisen opened new branches in Russia, including in Saint Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Krasnodar. After 2018, it focused on digital expansion and by 2021 it had a digital presence in more than 300 cities.

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Read 22 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 24
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian lawyer, social activist, politician, and useful idiot for the Kremlin, Varro Vooglaid (@varrovooglaid). He’s best-known for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints under the guise of “traditional family values.”

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Vooglaid has an academic background, which usually gives people plenty of credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin. Most of his academic career was spent at the University of Tartu, but he was also a researcher between 2007 and 2011 at the University of Helsinki.

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Varro is likely the most influential vatnik in Estonia. His academic credentials provide him credibility, while his religious image appeals to “traditionalists” - many of whom oddly admire Russia and its imperialistic nature.

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Read 21 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 4
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.

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In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.

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Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.

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Read 18 tweets

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