In today's #vatnik soup, I'll introduce a Russian TV presenter and propagandist, Olga "Iron Doll of Putin" Skabeyeva. She's best-known for her hot takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War on Russian TV.
1/16
Skabeyeva rose to fame while covering the Pussy Riot trial during 2012 and 2013. She was also covering the Russian anti-government rallies provoked by various Russian opposition figures, including Boris Nemtsov, Mikhail Kasyanov and Alexei Navalny.
2/16
Since 2016 Skabeyeva and her husband Yevgeny Popov have been hosting together a show on Russia-1 called 60 Minut. The whole show is basically a pro-Putin propaganda show broadcasting outrageous lies and disinformation to support the official Russian narratives.
3/16
If there's a narrative that supports Russian point of view, Olga has probably spread it. Along with her husband, she has spread lies and conspiracy theories about "evil Nazis in Ukraine", threatened the West with nuclear weapons...
4/16
...and gloated over the death sentences given to two British fighters captured by the Russians in Ukraine.
Here's some of "Iron Doll's" greatest moments:
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In Sep 2022, Olga suggested that Russia should've bombed the UK during the queen's funeral, as "all the best people" are there.
6/16
Olga and husband called the Skripal poisonings "an elaborate British plot to smear Russia". In their show, they played a fake phone call between Yulia Skripal and her cousin, Viktoria: bbc.com/news/world-eur…
7/16
During the 2019 presidential election in Ukraine, Olga thought that their live coverage wasn't running and told her husband and co-host, Yevgeny that "We're not on TV right now — we don't have to lie".
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She's also claimed that Bucha was a false flag operation done by the "Ukrainian Nazis". She said that the West is trying to create a hybrid, "Srebrenica-like" event.
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She also suggested that Bucha was chosen for its name: "Biden said that Putin is a butcher. Bucha sounds like 'butcher' - how could they not take advantage of such a town?"
10/16
Olga has said that "Ukrainian women are lying about being raped by Russian soldiers". She continued: "It is known for a fact that no one was raped. [...] not a single name, place or time of the rape has been mentioned by anyone accusing Russian soldiers of this so far."
11/16
During the World Economic Meeting in Davos, she made a propaganda piece about "prostitutes who sell themselves to the elite".
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She was also one of the first people to say that "WW3 has started" after the Ukrainians sink the warship Moskva in Apr, 2022.
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In Feb, 2013, an interesting interview was seen when Skabeyeva was interviewing the Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, who was holding a loaded pistol during the interview.
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Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation published their investigation on Skabeyeva and her husband, Popov, stating that they own real estate in Moscow worth over 4 million USD. Their yearly earnings are around 170 000 USD, ...
15/16
...but these estimates are probably lot less than their actual income. It's worth noting, that at least in 2020 they both earned more than Sergei Shoigu did.
US State Department sanctioned Skabeyeva on 24 Feb, 2023.
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.
1/22
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.
2/22
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.
3/22
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.
1/19
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)…
2/19
…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.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about the recent EU elections and what are their implications for both the Kremlin and Ukraine. Right-wing political parties, some pro-Kremlin, won a lot of seats around Europe, and this result can also change the EU’s stance on Ukraine.
1/19
But before we start, I want to promote a truck fundraiser I'm doing together with the fantastic @ArturRehi and @69thSB.
Our goal is 20 000 USD, and you can contribute to this important fundraiser here:
EU’s support of Ukraine is essential for their survival against genocidal Russia. So far,this support has been delayed mostly by Orban’s Hungary (& to some degree, Fico’s Slovakia). Now, this support will probably be challenged by many new members of the European Parliament.
3/19
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss a specific propaganda/disinformation that the Kremlin likes to use – antisemitism. I also talk about how the Russian society itself has become riddled with antisemitism & how this has led to a decrease in Jewish population in the country.
1/19
Russian antisemitism works on many levels, and their narratives vary depending whether they’re targeting a local audience or people in Europe and the US. For example for the latter, Russia attempts to create a false narrative of Ukraine being an antisemitic “Nazi state”.
2/19
But before diving deeper, let’s look at a survey data of Russians in 2023: Nearly 30 million Russians harbour antisemitic attitudes, and 15% of those surveyed believed that “Jews were responsible for most of the world’s wars.” 38% think that the Jews have...
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Ukrainian media personality and propagandist, Diana Panchenko (@Panchenko_X). She’s best-known for betraying her own country by peddling anti-Zelenskyy and anti-Ukraine propaganda and disinformation for the Kremlin.
1/22
Panchenko was born in 1988 in the Mykolaev Oblast in Ukrainian SSR in 1988. She studied publishing and editing at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and later graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in law.
2/22
After graduating, Diana worked briefly for the news site . Between 2010 and 2015, Panchenko was a presenter for KyivTV, but she found her true calling as a pro-Kremlin propagandist after she was hired by a national “news channel” called NewsOne.