In today's #vatnik soup and the edition of "You pronounced this nonsense, not me", I'll discuss the rather novel "Edelweiss neo-Nazi unit" narrative that was also repeated in Putin's speech of 21 Feb, 2023.
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It's worth noting that this part of the speech was borrowed from one of Putin's propagandist, Dmitry Kiselyov, who claimed on state TV that Ukraine is "legalizing the fascist Edelweiss [unit]". He's a propagandist that deserves his own soup entry in the near future.
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But let's review what Putin said in his speech:
"Recently, one of the brigades of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, I'm ashamed to say, was named Edelweiss, same as a Hitler's division that participated in the deportation of Jews, executions of prisoners of war, and punitive...
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... operations against partisans in Yugoslavia, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Greece. Neo-Nazis do not hide whose heirs they consider themselves to be. It is strange that no one in the West notices this."
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Here Putin refers to the Ukrainian 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade unit specialized in mountain warfare. They have a long history of defending Ukraine: already in 2016 they were defending Donbas, and later they helped the Ukrainian war effort in Marinka, ...
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Popasna, Mariupol and Bakhmut. On 14 Feb 2023, president Zelenskyy awarded the unit with a honorary title "Edelweiss". This immediately got the attention of Russia's propagandists, trying desperately to connect it to Nazi Germany.
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There was a unit in the Wehrmacht (the armed forces of Nazi Germany), 1st Mountain Division, that really used the Edelweiss, a mountain flower, as their insignia. But the unit itself was never named that, unlike many other units around Europe. Some examples include the ...
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...Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, Swiss Army generals and the 21st Rifles Brigade of Poland. Edelweiss was first adapted in Germany as an emblem already in 1907 and yet again in 1915. Incidentally, Edelweiss Group is also the name of an (evil neo-Nazi?) Indian company.
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And here comes the funny part: Russia's 17th special purpose detachment of Rosgvardia was named the Edelweiss (later changed to Avanguard) until 2018. Another Russian Edelweiss unit was the special forces of the Altai Republic in Southern Siberia, which also changed its name.9/11
Yet again, Russian propaganda doesn't hold up against scrutiny. Of course their target audience resides in Russia, where this type of rhetoric will be very effective, as it is yet another "evidence" that they are fighting the "evil Nazis" again, ...
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...like they did during the "The Great Patriotic War". So, now that Putin has materialized this trope, one can expect more of "Edelweiss neo-Nazis" BS in the future, too.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and disbarred lawyer, Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani). He’s best-known for meddling with the pro-Kremlin forces in Ukraine, and for organizing the infamous Four Seasons Landscaping press conference.
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Giuliani rose to fame as the mayor of NYC between 1994 and 2001. He adopted an aggressive enforcement strategy and organized crackdowns on relatively minor offenses like graffiti and cannabis possession. His role in the 9/11 aftermath made him a global superstar.
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This fame gave Rudy new opportunities, and in 2006 he was invited to the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group (ISG), a group that assessed the situation in Iraq. He was soon kicked out of the group due to being more interested in making money by public speaking gigs.
In today’s 300th #vatniksoup, I’ll go through some of the most heroic feats that Ukrainians have achieved since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
In the last 900 days, under-equipped underdog Ukraine has fared well against the imperialist and genocidal Russia.
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As in most conflicts, Ukraine relies heavily on leadership. For this reason, the Kremlin first focused their main propaganda efforts on Zelenskyy, even claiming that he had already fled from Ukraine to Poland. Soon after these allegations, Zelenskyy and his cabinet…
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… published a video from the streets of Kyiv to fight this propaganda campaign. This video quickly became one of the biggest morale boosters for Ukraine, and it has become one of the most legendary and symbolic videos of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a British far-right activist, Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra). He’s best-known for his role in the far-right, Islamophobic organizations like the English Defence League (EDL) and his close connections to the Kremlin.
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Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was born in Luton and during his youth delved into a life of crime, serving four prison terms between 2005 and 2019. He used several pseudonyms to hide his criminal past, finally sticking to Tommy Robinson.
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Tommy joined the fascist and far-right British National Party (BNP) in 2004 but left a year later. The party didn’t allow non-whites to join and was then led by Nick Griffin, who today is better known for sharing video game footage while claiming it’s real.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and author, JD Vance (@JDVance). He’s best-known for his strong stance against US aid to Ukraine, and for being the Republican party’s nominee for vice president in the 2024 election.
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Vance hails from the small town of Middletown, Ohio. His parents divorced when he was a toddler, JD’s mother struggled with drug addiction, and he was raised primarily by his grandparents. Later he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and spent 6 months as a PR guy in Iraq.
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In 2016, Harper published JD’s book, Hillbilly Elegy, in which he described his life and hardships, and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown. The book was very successful, and it was even adapted into a shitty Netflix movie. It also made JD famous.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the Wagner Group, its founders Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, and the mutiny they started on 23 Jun 2023. The event marked the climax of the Wagner Group–Russian MoD conflict, and finally led to the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin.
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Wagner has been used in many conflicts around the world, but they came to global prominence during the war in Donbas in 2014-2015. Wagnerites helped the Donbas separatists fight against the Ukrainians during the conflict, which helped Putin to “outsource” the insurrection.
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The group doesn’t have any central ideology, but many of its members and leaders have ties to various neo—Nazi movements in Russia. For example, Wagner leader Dmitry Utkin had several Nazi symbols tattooed on his body. Neo—nazi group Rusich has also fights as part of Wagner.
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