In today's #vatnik soup I'll discuss nazis. I'll introduce some famous 🇷🇺 neo-nazi movements and figures and also discuss why the "de-nazification" project of Ukraine is simply absurd.
First, let's discuss the similarities between Russian regime and Hitler's nazi Germany. 1/12
Both of these countries share attributes that are commonly seen in totalitarian regimes: full state control of media, murdering and jailing of dissidents and opposition and powerful propaganda machinery that demonizes the enemy.
2/12
Like Hitler's regime did with Jews, Putin's gang has been trying to wipe out the Ukrainian identity and culture. This rhretoric has been visible in many of Putin's speeches but also in op-eds and articles such as Timofey Sergeytsev's ...
3/12
... "What should Russia do with Ukraine?" that was published in Kremlin-controlled RIA Novosti in April, 2022. Russians are also committing genocide in Ukraine:
In addition to Putin's totalitarian regime having similarities to Hitler's 3rd Reich, there are also a rampant far-right and neo-nazi problem in Russia. Far-right political violence in 🇷🇺between 2000-2017 was 7 times higher than in Western Europe during the same time period. 5/12
It's worth noting that Putin rose to power in 1999 and since then, Russian police, FSB and GRU have tolerated violence and terrorism coming from the far-right as long as it's not anti-Putin and/or pro-Ukraine.
A neo-nazi group Russkii Obraz has received official government support. Russkii Obraz also has ties to far-right terrorist group BORN. A far-right motorcycle gang Night Wolves have been in close relations with Putin, and they have even appeared on a children's TV show.
7/12
This is all a part of Kremlin funded "managed nationalism" program which supports actual
far-right actors and organizations. Robert Horvath (@RG_Horvath) has written an excellent book on the subject: routledge.com/Putins-Fascist…
8/12
🇷🇺 army is also infested with actual neo-nazis.Rusich group that was fighting in Donbas in '14-'15 was led by Alexei Milchakov:
Prigozhin's mercenary army was led by Dmitry Utkin who has Waffen SS and other nazi symbols tattooed on his body.
9/12
So how big is the "nazi problem" in Ukraine?It's actually miniscule. Far-right parties had 2% of the vote in the 2019 parliamentary elections. In comparison, this figure is much higher in many EU countries. Of course, the definition of far-right is debated and ever-changing.10/12
In the Russian propaganda "Neo-Nazis" are a synonym with the ZSU, volunteer battalions, and territorial defense forces. The goal with this rhetoric is to dehumanize the enemy: everybody hates nazis, and they SHOULD be treated badly and even killed.
11/12
It's kind of ironic, that in the future the Z troops and Putin will be considered exactly the same as Hitler and his nazis in the past. If there's one country that needs de-nazification, it's Russia.
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In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Russian businessman and financier, Yury Kovalchuk. He’s best-known for being a close friend, confidant and "personal banker" of Putin's, and for strongly supporting the Kremlin's genocidal war against Ukraine.
1/21
Kovalchuk was born in 1951 in St. Petersburg. He started his career during the 80s at the Loffe Physico Technical Institute, eventually becoming the institute's first deputy director. But Yury aspired for more & the fall of the iron curtain gave room for his business plans.
2/21
Kovalchuk quickly learned that one didn't have to play fair to become rich in Russia during the 90s. He joined the board of directors of the Joint Ventures Committee, a government body involved with restructuring companies and finding (foreign) partners.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Georgian politician &oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili. He’s best-known launching the pro-Kremlin Georgian Dream party, and for running the government from behind the scenes, slowly shifting Georgia’s course from the West back to Russia.
1/25
Ivanishvili was born and raised in a small village in Georgia. Their family was poor but he showed a business mindset from a young age. In 1988, he moved to Moscow and began his first business, importing and selling computers with Vitaly Malkin, a Russian-Israeli oligarch.
2/25
The rapid growth of Ivanishvili’s businesses can be attributed to his close ties with government officials. In 1996, he joined Seven Bankers (семибанкирщина), a group of influential Russian bankers who supported Boris Yeltsin’s re-election.
In today´s #vatniksoup REBREW, I´ll introduce a Hungarian lawyer and politician, Viktor Orbán (@PM_ViktorOrban). He´s best-known for turning Hungary into an authoritarian state, and for cooperating with other authoritarian regimes like the Kremlin, the CCP and Iran.
1/24
Orbán has been Hungary´s Prime Minister since 2010, and under his leadership the country has basically become the first nondemocracy in the EU. Orbán himself has described Hungary as an "illiberal state", and he´s used the Kremlin playbook to create it.
2/24
He created a nationwide right-wing media network and interfering with independent media has plummeted Hungary´s Press Freedom Index into 67th place, one of the worst in the EU. The state has also spied on Hungarian journalists by using the infamous Pegasus spyware.
In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Russian social media personality and vatnik archetype, Mr. G (@Wagnersfamily). He's best-known for sharing the most outrageous Kremlin lies, albeit previously being extremely anti-Putin and Kremlin, even coining the term "vatnik".
1/19
It's worth noting, that G is an extremely irrelevant account and person, but his almost comical descent from an anti-Putin, fully fledged Russian Liberal, to full blown vatnik, who doesn't hesitate to lie and naturally lives outside of Russia, is worth demonstrating.
2/19
In his liberal days G was dedicated to popularizing the vatnik meme. He ran the site together with his friend, and also the @trueVATNIK Twitter account, which went inactive in 2015, but was popular in circles opposed to Putin's imperialist ambitions.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll intoduce an Italian propagandist, Vittorio Nicola Rangeloni. He’s best-known for producing pro-Kremlin propaganda from Donbas for the Italian-speaking audience, and for breaking the Geneve conventions by interviewing prisoners of war.
1/19
Rango grew up in Lecco, Italy. His mother was Russian, and because of this young Vittorio was told about the virtues and wonders of Russkiy Mir and the superiority of the communist system.
2/19
In his early 20s, Rango was yet to discover his role in this world. He enjoyed traveling, and decided to take his humble savings of 3000 EUR to relocate to his dream destination in the newly formed and completely made-up Donetsk People’s Republic.
I've actually noticed this trend on TikTok with our videos - they do relatively well on YouTube, Instagram and X, but fail miserably on CCP's spying app. In the second photo you can see views for our videos, on other platforms these ranged from 500 to 120 000.
"TikTok is more focused on entertainment, dance videos and such" - Well, not really. According to a study, account registered as a 13 year old was quickly served with conflict-related content, and the account quickly delved deep into the conflict rabbit hole.
I decided to do a little non-scientific test: I created an account, used VPN to relocate myself to the US, and just watched what the TikTok algorithm offered me. I didn't like or comment any videos and finished every video that was shown. My age was set to 18.
1/4
At first, the algorithm seemed to show me some of the most popular videos on the platform, mostly consisting of cute animals, comedy and babies.
Then, after 30 or so videos, I was shown this video demonstrating the "superiority" of Chinese kindergartens.
2/4
Then, a few more cute animals and a relatively attractive girl dancing. Then, again video about Chinese kindergartens. This time I wanted to see what happens if I interact with the post, and I liked the video.