In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce a KGB agent and a billionaire who disguises himself as a holy man.His name is Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev,but he's better known as Patriarch Kirill. Gundyayev is a close ally of Putin and he has called Putin's rule a "miracle of god" 1/8
Historian Felix Corley published a study titled "The Mikhailov Files: Patriarch Kirill and the KGB" in 2018. This document revealed that in his past life Gundyayev was actually a KGB agent: academia.edu/37152767/The_M…
2/8
Gundyayev, who has often said that religious people should live a modest life, is also a billionaire - his fortune is estimated to be around 4 billion USD. He owns a yacht and several luxurious real estates around Russia.
3/8
He likes to spend his vacations in a palace in
Gelendzhik. This place is estimated to be worth around 250 million EUR. Vladimir is also not too keen on nature preservation: during the construction several acres of forest, including a rare species of pine, was logged.
4/8
How did Gundyayev get so rich? Through corruption, of course. His church was given a privilege for duty-free importation of cigarettes in the 90s. The Orthodox church became the largest supplier of foreign cigarettes in Russia: digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol20/iss6…
5/8
In 2012 🇷🇺 state media photoshopped an image of Gundyayev wearing a 30000USD wristwatch but forgot to remove the watch from the reflection on a table. He stated that the device was edited on his hand, but later admitted that he actually owned this particular Breguet watch. 6/8
Gundyayev has weaponized religion effectively. He sees gay pride parades as a one reason behind the Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has called the war "metaphysical". Gundyayev parrots Putin's talking points about Ukraine... 7/8
... including stories such as "8 years of genocide in Donbass", "neo-nazis in Ukraine" and that "dying for your country brings you to heaven".
He was sanctioned by the EU states in May, 2022, but was later removed from this list due to Hungary's intervention.
8/8
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In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. He’s best known for running both domestic and foreign disinformation and propaganda operations for the Kremlin.
1/20
On paper, and in photos, Kiriyenko is just as boring as most of the Kremlin’s “political technologists”: between 2005-2016 he headed the Rosatom nuclear energy company, but later played a leading role in the governance of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.
2/20
What is a political technologist? In Russia, they’re spin doctors & propaganda architects who shape opinion, control narratives, and manage elections — often by faking opposition, staging events, and spreading disinfo to maintain Putin’s power and the illusion of democracy.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American national security policy professional and the current under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby (@ElbridgeColby). He’s best-known for fighting with cartoon dogs online and for halting military aid to Ukraine.
1/21
Elbridge "Cheese" Colby earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Before entering government, he worked at top think tanks and in the intelligence community, focusing on nuclear policy and strategic planning.
2/21
Cheese quickly became a key voice for a “China First” strategy, arguing the US must prioritize military buildup in Asia over commitments in Europe or the Middle East. He sees (or saw, rather) Taiwan as the core test of US credibility.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’m going to talk about… Vatnik Soup! As some of you know, we also have a website where you can find every soup ever published. The site also has other useful resources, making it the most comprehensive resource on Russian disinformation & vatniks.
1/15
Unfortunately, Elon has flagged the website as malware, as he might not be very happy about the soups I wrote about him - so far, they have garnered over 60 million views on X/Twitter.
The “freedom of speech” spokesperson doesn’t seem too keen on free speech, after all.
2/15
The heart & soul of the website is of course the soups page. There you can find all 360+ soups, which can be sorted chronologically, by popularity, etc. You can also search for soups by title or even in the soup text: