In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce a Russian politician, spin doctor and one of the most popular Russian bloggers, Oleg Matveychev. But just as much as this soup is about Oleg, it is also about her daughter Danila Ivanov, also known as Lidia Sloutskovski.
1/11
Matveychev has an academic background, and he has PhD in the philosophy of politics and law. He's currently a professor at Financial University in Moscow. In 2021 he was elected as a member of the Russian State Duma.
2/11
Even though he's a superstar in Russia, Matveychev is quite unknown in the West. He's mostly known for his brazen statements about the US "paying reparations" to Russia in form of Alaska and Fort Ross, California.
3/11
He's also suggested that the West is wholly totalitarian and riddled with censorship, and that families will bathe once a week and in winter sleep in their fur coats (do these still exist in Western Europe?).
4/11
In Nov, 2010 while advertising his new book, Matveychev suggested that any kind of opposition in Russia should be "crushed with tanks" and added that "like after Tiananmen in China, we would also have 10% annual economic growth after 20 or 30 years".
5/11
Three days after the invasion had started, Oleg predicted that "three days remain before the capture of Kyiv" and that "Ukraine will not be able to resist for 10 days, [...] Three days remain before the capture of Kiev, Odessa, Zaporozhye, Mykolaiv and other key cities."
6/11
In one of his interviews in 2022,he called NATO a "a cancerous tumor on the body of the planet". In Jan, 2023, he visited Soloyvov's TV show and started judging Germany according to Russia's criminal law, completely forgetting that there are also international laws in place.
7/11
Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation did some thorough digging, and found out that Matveychev's daughter recently got married in Barcelona, and Oleg was naturally there. Her Russian name is Danila Ivanov, but in the West she goes by the name Lidia Sloutskovski.
8/11
Lidia works in an international organization that deals with - believe it or not - ethical issues.Her salary is paid through the Vremya Foundation, founded by one Oleg Matveychev and led by his 74-year old mother. In 2020-2021, Oleg has funneled over 4 million USD to Vremya.
9/11
As of 3rd Feb, 2023, Lidia's profile and information has been removed from the organization's website, but several documents show that she's been involved in its activities in the past. Also, the YouTube video from the wedding has been made private.
10/11
Ironically Matveychev himself has called all Russians who leave Russia "Judases" - apparently this doesn't apply to his own daughter. Here's some travel photos from his trip to the "cancerous tumor".
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.
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.
1/17
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.
2/17
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.