In today's #vatniksoup I'm going to talk about the "antiwar movement". After Putin organized the fake referendums in the four Ukrainian Oblasts,various pro-Kremlin parties started calling for immediate peace in Ukraine. Unsurprisingly, the movement was planned by the Kremlin.1/18
In Sep 2022, Russia organized referendums to join Ukrainian Oblasts of Kherson,Zaporizhzhia,Donetsk & Luhansk to the Russian Federation.The whole scenario was absurd - everyone knew that the referendums were totally fake & Russia didn't even control any of these areas fully.
2/18
And suddenly, hundreds of vatnik voices around the world started touting one thing, and one thing only: peace.
3/18
The same people who had spread lies about bioweapons labs, "Ukrainian neo-Nazis", "genocide in Donbas", had decided that it is time to forget all these atrocities, and called for immediate peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
4/18
On 25 Feb 2023, 13 000 demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, calling for an end to the weapons supplies to Ukraine and yelling slogans like "Lift the anti-Russian sanctions!" and "Launch Nord Stream 2 immediately!".
5/18
As you can already guess, this was no coincedence. On 21 Apr 2023, WaPo with @CatherineBelton published an article on how the Kremlin has been trying to build "antiwar coalition" in Germany. These plans were exposed by a European intelligence service and reviewed by WaPo.
6/18
In many ways, it proved something that has been theorized on Twitter for a long time: the Russians are trying to unite the political opposites on the far-left (die Linke) and on the far-right (AfD).
7/18
The so-called horseshoe theory suggests that, rather than being at opposing ends on the political continuum, they closely resemble each other.
Proponents of theory suggest that both extremes tend to support authoritarianism or totalitarianism.
8/18
The documents showed that the Russian political strategists had met with Kremlin officials, and that the officials ordered the strategists to focus on building antiwar sentiment in Europe in order to reduce the support for Ukraine with slogans like "Buy gas, not war" and ...
9/18
"Ukraine wants war, Germany want peace".
The documents also revealed that one person close to far-left politician Sahra Wagenknecht, and several AfD members were in contact with Russian officials while these plans were being laid out.
10/18
The plan even included highly detailed, anti-US graffiti that would be painted on the walls across Germany.
These rallies were organized throughout Germany, from a small town of Neustrelitz to Stuttgart, and it included demonstrations led by the Reichsbürger, a movement...
11/18
... that rejects the legitimacy of the modern German state. 25 members of the group were arrested in Dec 2022, for allegedly planning a coup d'état in Germany.
12/18
The AfD is full of Putin apologists like MEP Maximillian Krah, stating that the war in Ukraine was started by the US, and that Russia was only defending itself. Various AfD members have also been offered all-expenses-paid trips to Russia throughout the years.
13/18
Now, this is exactly what has been happening in the US. The so-called "far-left", including the grifters from @TheGrayzoneNews blog, organized the lackluster Rage Against the War Machine event. And boy oh boy, was it a one big horseshoe gathering.
14/18
It featured, among others, the CodePink movement, the communists, and far-right figures like the white supremacists Matthew Heimbach and RapeWaffen (TG group advocating white supremacy extremism, neo-Nazi Satanism and and rape against women) member Shandon Simpson.
15/18
Recently one of the main speakers at Rage, Jimmy Dore, declared his candidacy for the presidential election of 2024. In the US, they call this pro-Russian movement "anti-neocon" and "anti-globalist", whereas in other countries it's mostly referred as the latter.
16/18
The "anti-globalist" movement often spices up their rhetoric with conspiracy theories involving George Soros, Klaus Schwab and the like, stating that there's a "deep state" trying to take control of all of us.
17/18
Now, when talking with these "antiwar people", it is important to ask them: when did you start supporting for peace? If there's no sign of them calling for peace negotiations before Sep 2022, there's a high probability that they're rootin' for Putin.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Russian propagandist Sergei Tsaulin. He’s best-known for spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in Estonia, fleeing to Russia after breaking several laws in Estonia, and almost getting blown up by a bomb in St. Petersburg.
1/17
For years, Tsaulin was known for organizing marches and events glorifying the Soviet Union. Under the excuse of “remembering history,” these events were nothing more than Kremlin propaganda, wrapped in a red flag with a hammer and sickle.
2/17
One of his most infamous events was the “Immortal Regiment” march, held every 9th of May, where people carried portraits of Soviet soldiers. These marches are used by Russia to push the idea that the Baltics owe their existence to the Soviets.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan (@joerogan). He’s best-known for launching the biggest podcast in the world, promoting various conspiracy theories, his support for Donald Trump and his anti-Ukraine rhetoric.
1/22
Joe Rogan started as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, found fame on NewsRadio, and became a household name with Fear Factor. But his biggest impact came in 2009 when he launched The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the first major podcasts.
2/22
JRE started as casual but deep conversations, often covering countercultural topics like psychedelics, MMA & hunting. Joe’s podcasting style is largely non-confrontational, often allowing his guests to share their views without significant pushback or critical questioning.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce KOOS party leader and Estonian crypto businessman Oleg Ivanov. He’s best known for running shady businesses, spreading Russian false narratives in Estonia, and participating in the pro-Kremlin political party KOOS.
1/18
As a talented youngster, Oleg learned Estonian almost flawlessly, was a promising karate athlete, and landed a job at a law firm at just 20. He caught the eye of Estonian fuel entrepreneur Endel Siff, who quickly took him under his wing.
2/18
Oleg’s father, Vladimir Ivanov, was a longtime politician from the Russian-funded United People’s Party of Estonia. His career at the town hall ended abruptly when he was caught drunk at work. After that, he went into business with his son, Oleg.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about the takeover of social media by illiberal, populist influencers. For the last ten years, social media has been dominated by these voices and it is one of the main reasons for the political rise of people like Trump and Orban.
1/25
“Illiberal populists” like Trump reject democratic norms while claiming to speak for “the people.” They centralize power, attack institutions, and push nationalism over rights. Elections exist, but checks & balances erode. This is democracy in name, autocracy in action.
2/25
The media landscape has changed drastically over the past two decades. The Internet and social media have changed how we interact online & how we consume media,but it has also become our main source of news. In many ways,social media companies have control over information.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Lithuanian far-right politician and Seimas member Remigijus Žemaitaitis. He’s best known for his extremist political views and for falling for a scam that convinced him he was flying to New York to meet Elon Musk.
1/17
Like many vatniks before him, Remigijus worked as a lawyer before entering the world of politics. Once just another politician, he gradually embraced far-right nationalism and populism, following a trend seen across Europe over the past 15 years.
2/17
Instead of real policies, he tapped into fear, resentment, and anger, turning 4chan talking points into a populist political strategy. His speeches became more extreme, targeting minorities, Western institutions, and Lithuania’s support for Ukraine.