In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce an American, pro-Russian politician and a conspiracy theorist, Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG). She's also a US representative for Georgia and member of the Republican Party, and is best known for her love of guns and QAnon.
1/15
She started her political career after the 2016 Republican Party primaries, and in 2017 she was writing dozens of articles for fake news blogs such as the American Truth Seekers and Law Enforcement Today. In 2018 she was also "moderating" a FB page for the Family America...
2/15
... Project, an organization known for posting death threats against Democrats, racist post against the Obama's and generally supporting the wackiest conspiracy theories out there.
Greene knows her audience and campaigns accordingly: ...
3/15
... she's shared a meme of herself holding a AR-15 rifle next to collage of various Democratic politicians. Nancy Pelosi called this a "threat of violence" and the post was removed, after which Marjorie said that she was being the victim of "cancel culture".
4/15
Later on she went and called Pelosi a "hypocrite" & a "bitch". She's also expressed support for execution of FBI agents & some leading Democrats, including Pelosi, Obama and H. Clinton. When asked about their hangings, she said "Stage is being set. [...] We must be patient."
5/15
In the eyes of Trump, Andy Biggs, Matt Gaetz, Charlie Kirk, and L. Lin Wood, she was apparently the perfect candidate to represent the US demographic who loved guns, conspiracy theories (and possibly opiates, too).
Marjorie is also a stout supporter of Russia and Putin.
6/15
In Mar, 2022, she said that "Ukraine just kept poking the bear, poking the bear which is Russia, and Russia invaded" and that "There is no win for Ukraine here". She concluded that "Russia is being very successful in their invasion."
7/15
She also declared that "NATO has been supplying the neo-Nazis in Ukraine with powerful weapons and extensive training" and concluded her message with the hashtag #NATONazis. She has also voted against every sanctions proposal against Russia and aid package for Ukraine.
8/15
Greene identifies as a "Christian nationalist", which may also explain the close relation with the Russians: Putin has been described as a global leader of the Christian nationalist movement.
9/15
Marjorie has supported many, many conspiracy theories in the past, including white genocide, Great Replacement, Sandy Hook school shooting, Camp Fire space solar generators and of course QAnon.
10/15
Greene hasn't only supported existing conspiracy theories, she's also made her own - she has suggested, that to make Republicans go along with gun control, 4th of July Highland Park mass shooting was organized to happen during "MAGA month".
11/15
Marjorie has suggested that there are links between Hillary Clinton, pedophilia and human sacrifice, and she has stated that the Pizzagate is real. She discovered QAnon through Liz Crokin, and said that many of Q's prophecies "have really proven to be true".
12/15
In her famous quote, she said that "There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president [referring to Donald Trump] to do it."
She later distanced herself from the QAnon movement.
13/15
Marjorie was condemned and criticized by several representatives, which eventually made her to delete some of her old social media posts. She was also removed from House Committee assignments. Greene might also be the first person to be condemned by the CrossFit community.
14/15
She's also referred the US Capitol police as "gazpacho police", confusing the delicious Spanish soup gazpacho with the secret police of the Nazi Germany, Gestapo.
Greene's personal Twitter account was reinstated by Musk in Nov, 2022.
In today’s May 9th Vatnik Soup, we discuss the ambiguous relationship of the Kremlin with Nazism and explain why so many vatniks can be outright Nazis, and promote or excuse them while at the same time being so hysterical about alleged “Nazis in Ukraine”.
1/23
Of course, Kremlin propaganda employs the Firehose of Falsehood and often lacks any consistent ideology other than spreading chaos and seeking power, so such contradictions can be commonplace. However in this case there is a certain cynical consistency there.
2/23
To understand modern Russia, we need to go back a hundred years to the beginnings of Soviet Russia/Soviet Union — a genocidal terror regime under dictators Lenin and Stalin, whose totalitarian and imperialist legacy Putin’s Russia fully embraces.
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.
1/22
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.
2/22
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.
3/22
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.
1/22
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.
2/22
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:
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.
1/20
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!
2/20
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.
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.
1/21
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.
2/21
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.
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.”
1/20
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.
2/20
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.