In today's #vatniksoup and another edition of "You pronounced this nonsense, not me", I'll go through some of the most common pro-Russian claims and tropes. I have discussed these in previous soups, but I feel like this type of general collection would be a helpful resource.
1/23
As many of you know, the Kremlin and other pro-Russian propagandists like to repeat the same old lies over and over again. This is part of the "Firehose of Falsehood" system that they have been using at least since 2013, probably even longer:
1) "Ukrainians shelled Donbas for 8 years, killing 14 000 Russian civilians" - This lie was promoted even by Putin himself. It is naturally not true, as Russians provoked the whole conflict in Donbas and the UN data tells us...
3/23
...that almost 11 000 deaths were actually Russian and Ukrainian soldies, and around 3500 casualties were civilians, of which 9% came from the shooting down of MH17. Read more here:
2) "Ukraine is ran by Nazis" - The far-right party, "Svoboda" got around 2% of the total vote, and didn't get any representatives to Verkhovna Rada.Most "evidence" for Ukrainian Nazis are anecdotal, and the far-right Azov Battalion has been disbanded: lens.monash.edu/@politics-soci…
5/23
There probably are some soldiers who have far-right views in the Ukrainian Army, but so does every other army, too. Russians, on the other hand, have a huge problem with far-right groups:
It's worth noting that this narrative is not even targeted so much at Western people. The rhetoric of "The Great Patriotic War" (meaning WW2 where the Soviets fought against the Nazis) is mainly targeted at Russians, as they see it as a great victory.
7/23
This war has been sold to them as a natural continuation of it, which is why they need the Nazi-angle: it allows them to make up a story of "we beat them once and now we have to beat them again".
8/23
3) "US started the war by supporting coup d'etat in 2014 on Maidan" - Not true. Maidan was an organic event, but it's still a very complex issue. The US supported Ukrainian democratic processes through an association called National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which...
9/23
...pro-Russian propagandists call it a "CIA-funded entity". They base this on individual quote, naturally taken out of context, by Allen Weinstein: "Much of NED's work involves doing what the CIA used to do". Weinstein refers to the change in US strategy of from covert...
10/23
...action (CIA-funded covert coup d'etats) to overt actions (support of democratic processes through overt and transparent organizations), stating that the latter strategy is much more efficient.
I will write more about Maidan, NED, etc. in the near future.
13/23
4) "Ukraine broke the Minsk agreement" - Ukraine and Russia both did, and the whole thing wasn't really going to work anyway. Neil Abrams (@neil_abrams) have written extensively about this topic, check his thread here:
5) "Russian-speaking Ukrainians are being oppressed in Ukraine" - First of all, it was the Soviets and Stalin who tried to destroy Ukrainian culture by transporting huge numbers of people to other parts of the USSR. This is how he tried to get rid of the Crimean Tatars.
15/23
He also tried to fill the Donbas Oblast with Russian miners and other workers, and denied local Ukrainians of their culture and language.
Second, no Russians are being oppressed, it's just a story developed by the Kremlin and by Vladislav Surkov:
6) "NATO provokes the war with its expansion" - Another issue that I have written about previously. No such promises were ever made beyond East Germany, and if James Baker had said it, nothing was ever put on paper.
17/23
Even if he did mean it and we follow this logic, Putin should retreat from Crimea because in 2008 he said that it is part of Ukraine - just watch this interview. More about NATO expansion here:
7) "Ukraine has banned the Orthodox Church in Ukraine" - This bullshit was spread by Donald Trump Jr., saying that Zelenskyy is "banning Ukrainian Orthodox Church", apparently trying to appeal to the American Christian population.
19/23
Of course he hasn't, as he only banned Kremlin-connected religious groups. This was done because there is solid evidence that these groups were spying on behalf of Russia.
20/23
8) "Zelenskyy is a drug addict money launderer who dances in drag" - Various bad actors have tried to make Zelenskyy a greedy drug-addict but the only prove for this are the deep fake videos and photoshopped images making rounds on social media.
21/23
Some even argue that because Zelenskyy was dancing in high heels and drag on music video, he's not fit to run the country. This is of course another version of the "Decadent West" trope, pushing for "traditional values" instead of things like LGBTQ+ rights.
22/23
But tell me: which country's leader is happily married with children, and which has illegitimate children, history of divorce, and at least one secret mistress? Read more about Zelenskyy disinfo here:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explain the Alaska Fiasco and how it marks the peak of Trump’s two-year betrayal of Ukraine. What was sold as “peace talks” turned into a spectacle of weakness, humiliation, empty promises, and photo-ops that handed Putin exactly what he wanted.
1/24
Let’s start with the obvious: Trump desperately wants the gold medal of the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly because Obama got one. That’s why he’s now LARPing as a “peace maker” in every conflict: Israel-Gaza, Azerbaijan-Armenia, India-Pakistan, and of course Ukraine-Russia.
2/24
Another theory is that Putin holds kompromat — compromising material such as videos or documents — that would put Trump in an extremely bad light. Some have suggested it could be tied to the Epstein files or Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about engagement farming: a cynical social media tactic to rack up likes, shares, and comments. From rage farming to AI-powered outrage factories, engagement farming is reshaping online discourse and turning division into profit.
1/23
Engagement farming is a social media tactic aimed at getting maximum likes, shares, and comments, with truth being optional. It thrives on provocative texts, images, or videos designed to spark strong reactions, boost reach, and turn online outrage into clicks and cash.
2/23
One subset of engagement farming is rage farming: a tactic built to provoke strong negative emotions through outrageous or inflammatory claims. By triggering anger or moral outrage, these posts often generate 100s or even 1,000s of heated comments, amplifying their reach.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the autocratic concept of “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars”: the idea that the leader is wise and just, but constantly sabotaged by corrupt advisors. This narrative shields the ruler from blame, and it’s used by both Putin and Trump today.
1/20
The phrase “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars” (Царь хороший, бояре плохие), also known as Naïve Monarchism, refers to a long-standing idea in Russian political culture: the ruler is good and benevolent, but his advisors are corrupt, incompetent and responsible for all failures.
2/20
From this perception, any positive action taken by the government is viewed as being an accomplishment of the benevolent leader, whereas any negative one is viewed as being caused by lower-level bureaucrats or “boyars”, without the approval of the leader.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. He’s best known for running both domestic and foreign disinformation and propaganda operations for the Kremlin.
1/20
On paper, and in photos, Kiriyenko is just as boring as most of the Kremlin’s “political technologists”: between 2005-2016 he headed the Rosatom nuclear energy company, but later played a leading role in the governance of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.
2/20
What is a political technologist? In Russia, they’re spin doctors & propaganda architects who shape opinion, control narratives, and manage elections — often by faking opposition, staging events, and spreading disinfo to maintain Putin’s power and the illusion of democracy.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.