In today's #vatnik soup I'll continue introducing Russian propagandists, and I'll talk about a man named Dmitry Kiselyov. Kiselyov has been the head of Rossiya Segodnya, a Russian state-controlled media group,since 2013 & has a very big role in Russian propaganda narratives.
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In addition to directing Rossiya Segodnya, Kiselyov serves as the deputy director of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. Dmitry started working for TV and radio during the late 80's. In the early 90's he worked as a host for the program called...
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..."Television News Service", but due to his refusal to read prepared texts regarding Soviet repression of protests in Vilnius, he was sacked.
During the mid-90's, Kiselyov even hosted a program called "Window to Europe" and received an European Commission grant...
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...for "supporting democratic institutions in Russia". From the early 2000's, he worked both in Russia and in Ukraine, and was heavily involved in supporting the Moscow-favorite Viktor Yanukovych for presidency during the 2004 election.
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In Apr, 2016, hackers stole contents of two mailboxes and Whatsapp messages of Kiselyov and his then-wife. These messages covered the time period between 2009 and 2016. These messages included a 2 million USD real estate purchase on the Tsvetnoy Boulevard,...
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...challenging of the EU sanctions imposed on him and purchase of a diploma thesis and research articles for his wife. That's right, Dmitry bought a diploma for his wife, and the discussion revolving around the issue included Valentina Fedotova,...
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...head of the social philosophy sector of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and then-Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky.
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Kiselyov has ultra-conservative views, and he is a stout proponent of homosexuality. He's said that gays should be banned from "distributing propaganda to children", but also from donating blood and sperm. He's also stated that gay people's internal organs aren't...
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...suitable as transplants, and their hearts "should be burnt or buried in the ground as unsuitable for the continuation of life". He's said that homosexuality is "simply global practice [...] everywhere except Russia".
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When Russia was supporting al-Assad regime in Syria, he said that "America stands on the side of the terrorist caliphate [referring to ISIS]. Together they are trying to destroy Syria as a secular state." He also warned the US troops from interfering in Russian activities.
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Regarding Ukraine, Dmitry has been quite straightforward: "There is no Ukraine. That is only a virtual concept, a virtual country. If you want to live in a virtual world, please do." He's also called Ukraine a "failed state". He never fails to praise Putin's speeches,either.11/15
He's the propagandist who first talked about the "Ukrainian Nazi unit Edelweiss". He's also blamed the Ukrainians for what the Russians have done in the East of Ukraine - abducting Russian-speaking men and sending them to the front to fight.
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He's called for the "denazification" in Ukraine, threatened the West and especially the US and the UK with nuclear weapons on many occasions, and even used fake documents to defame a Ukrainian officer Roman Kolia, suggesting that he volunteered in a SS-division.
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Dmitry is a religious man and a big fan of Patriarch Kirill. He even does the Christmas interviews with this old KGB agent-turned-holy man. Kiselyov also loves holy ceremonies - he loves them so much that he's been married at least eight times.
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Kiselyov was in 2014 one of the first people sanctioned by the EU, which came ″the biggest surprise″ to many international media.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
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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.
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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.
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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.