In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce a British euroskeptic, pro-Russian and anti-American author, John Laughland. He's best-known for his work for the Russia-funded Institute of Democracy and Cooperation and for Thierry Baudet's political party, Forum voor Democratie.
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He worked at the French Institute of Democracy and Cooperation from 2008 until 2018. It is an association founded by a Russian attorney Anatoly Kucherena. Kucherena is probably best-known for acting as a lawyer for both Viktor Yanukovych and Edward Snowden.
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The think tank aims to provide a"symmetrical response" to the human rights violation allegations that organizations like Freedom House introduce,meaning that they'll explain these scenarios from the Russian point of view.The institute is funded by Russian Presidential grants.3/16
Laughland has written articles and publications on The American Conservative (known for "trustworthy" authors such as Douglas Macgregor and Scott Ritter) and Antiwar.com (with pro-Russian Scott Horton, among others).
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Already back in 1997, John published a critique on the EU, suggesting that it shares ideological affinity with fascism, Nazism and communism. He's also a stout critic of the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, stating that it was established illegitimately.
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Laughland's criticized the trial of Slobodan Milošević and condemned the West's support of his opposition.
At the wake of the Orange Revolution in 2004, Laughland wrote a column in The Guardian, claiming that Viktor Yuschenko's coalition was linked to "neo-Nazis", ...
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...and based on him, Yuschenko was mostly supported by "druggy skinheads from Lviv". In reality, most of this "neo-Nazi" movement was a false flag operation funded by pro-Russian actors such as Putin's oligarch buddy Viktor Medvedchuk:
Laughland currently works as the director of the international department of conspiracy theorist Thierry Baudet's political party, Forum voor Democratie. Since then Baudet has organized several events with Laughland as a guest, for example the "China Symposium" in Aug, 2022.
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Baudet also visited John's YouTube show "The Laughland Report" and they discussed the matter of the "COVID conspiracy". Baudet seems to think highly of Laughland's academic work, as he referred Laughland's work several times on his doctoral thesis. He even invited John to...
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...address the Dutch Parliament about judicial independence. In addition to his work for Baudet, Laughland was a visiting Research Fellow at the Orbán-connected Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest between Sep 2022 and Feb 2023.
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John's also been listed as an "expert" for the Russian propaganda channel Valdai Discussion Club, and he's participated in the academic board of the Ron Paul Institute.
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In an interview by Sky News Arabia, in Sep, 2022, Laughland stated that Ukraine allegedly broke the Minsk agreement, that there "absolute is a Nazi element in Ukraine", that the war is between Russia and NATO & the US, that the sanctions are hurting the West more than ...
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... they are hurting Russia, and that they are actually helping Russia. When asked about Kosovo, Bosnia and Ukraine,he claimed that they aren't sovereign states and they wouldn't exist without Western military presence. You can see his overview on the war in the video below.13/16
In his upcoming book, "Endgame Ukraine", he argues that the "current war in Ukraine is the 'endgame' of American hegemonic aspirations", and that it'll eventually end being their "imperial overstretch" and "the brink of its downfall - as it was for Napoleon and Hitler."
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Laughland could be described as an academic with strong pro-Russian and anti-American views. He represents the intellectual section of the pro-Russian actors, working through think tanks, universities and associations, providing him the extra layer of credibility.
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But in the end, he's just another paid Kremlin actor, parroting the same narratives than all the other pro-Russian propagandists. What separates him from most other pro-Russian agents is that he's been playing this game at least since the late 90's.
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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In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an Amsterdam-based propaganda channel, Bonanza Media (@bonanzamedia2). It’s best-known for producing & spreading online pro-Kremlin propaganda videos while closely coordinating & collaborating with the Russian intelligence agency GRU.
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Russian intelligence has been extremely active in the Netherlands for a long time. For example in 2018, four GRU agents were caught while trying to hack into OPCW,an organization that monitors the use of chemical weapons. In addition, the International Criminal Court (ICC)…
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…and the MH17 investigation have become targets for the Russian intelligence and propaganda operations. These operations are often complemented with “investigative journalism” media outlets, that often echo the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation.