In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a British musician and activist, Roger Waters (@rogerwaters). He's best-known for his involvement in Pink Floyd, and for his love for the totalitarian regimes and their lies around the world.
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It actually pains me to brew this soup, as Waters' music, especially the album titled Animals, has been among my favorites for a very long time.
But one should never meet their heroes, they say, so here goes.
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As with many pro-Kremlin propagandists, Waters has been heavily involved in support of Palestine in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He's supported an international campaign, BDS, that boycotts Israel. He visited the Israeli West Bank barrier for the first time in 2006.
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He's compared the Israeli treatment of Palestinians to Nazi Germany, by saying that "The parallels with what went on in the 1930s in Germany are so crushingly obvious." Water himself has said that he's anti-Zionist instead of antisemitist. Some of his gigs have been...
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...cancelled due to his staunch "anti-Zionist" takes. He also made the weirdest connection between Israeli Defense Force and the death of George Floyd, saying that the US police learned the technique that killed Floyd from the Israeli Army.
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Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Waters a "global hero", only to delete his tweet later, stating that he had "only recently learned about some of his other views, which I do not share." He then added that he supports Israel's right to exist within secure borders.
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Former Pink Floyd Lyricist Polly Samson tweeted that Waters is "antisemitic" to his "rotten core", also calling him Putin apologist and misogynist. David Gilmour, Roger's former band mate and Samson's husband, fully agreed with this assessment.
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Waters has also denied Bashar al-Assad's involvement in the chemical attacks around Syria. He's called the Syrian humanitarian aid NGO, White Helmets, who save civilians from disaster areas a "fake organisation" that produces propaganda for "jihadists and terrorists".
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When it comes to Russia, Roger has been lately digging himself deeper and deeper into the pro-Kremlin trenches. One week before Russia launched their full-scale invasion in Ukraine, Waters was interviewed by RT. In this interview, he claimed that any rumours...
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...about Russia attacking were "bullshit" and anti-Russian propaganda.
After Russia launched their attack, Waters blamed Joe Biden for "fueling the fire in the Ukraine... that is a huge crime," neatly putting 'the' in front of Ukraine to emphasize its assumed role as ...
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.."the borderlands" - a contested region and a part of the "buffer zone". Based on Roger, Russia had only attacked because it was provoked to do so by the NATO - the classic delusional view of uncontrollable "NATO expansion", which according to him "they promised they...
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...wouldn't do when Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the USSR from the whole of Eastern Europe." He's called the war in Ukraine "probably the most provoked invasion ever" and that won't look at Russia from the "current Russo-phobic perspective." After the First...
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Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska appeared on BBC in Sep 2022, Waters published an open letter where he called for the stop of military aid to Ukraine, since the Western countries were "prolonging the war with their support."
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He's also stated that Ukraine broke the Minsk agreements, but yet again forgets to mention that the treaties were broken by both parties, and Russia was funding and arming the separatist movement in Ukraine, as well as sending their own troops to instigate unrest in there.
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In 2022, in an interview by RT, he reminded the US of the "one China" policy, suggesting that Taiwan is actually part of China. He also called the ongoing Uyghur genocide in Xinjian, China, "absolute nonsense", telling the interviewer to "go away and read about it."
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He's also given an interview to Chinese state-controlled CTGN, calling all US media "propaganda".
In Sep 2022, he wrote an open letter to Putin, calling for peace in Ukraine. In the letter, he called Putin a "gangster", but basically stated that Russia has the right to...
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...take Crimea and the Donbas, but that Putin and his forces "want to overrun the whole of Europe, starting with Poland and the rest of the Baltic states", which would lead to a nuclear war.
In Feb 2023, he was asked to appear in front of the UN Security Council on...
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...behalf of Russia. In his speech, he condemned Russia's attack "in the strongest possible terms", but immediately "condemned the provocateurs [US and NATO] in the strongest possible terms". Few days before this, he was interviewed by Berliner Zeitung, in which he...
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...doubled-down on his previous statements regarding Ukraine and Russia. He blamed the US for orchetrating a "coup d'état" in Ukraine in 2014, and even went as far as blamed Zelensky for being a warmonger. As a cherry on top, he promotes the ridiculous Sy Hersh story,...
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...full of holes, on the US involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage. In the same interview, he also mentioned that the reason for Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine was launched because of a) the genocide in Donbas, and b) to denazify Ukraine.
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He'd exchanged letters with a Ukrainian girl that had written to Waters that "I am 200% certain there are no Nazis in Ukraine," to which he replied "I'm sorry Alina, but you are wrong about that. How can you live in Ukraine and not know?"
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Then he basically explains the script of the propaganda piece "Ukraine on Fire", with "evil genocidal Banderites" and the US staging a coup in Ukraine. Then he talks about how "huge majority" of Ukrainians in the Donbas and Crimea voted to join Russia. Of course he also...
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..mentions that the sanctions are hurting the West, that people in the UK have to choose between "eat or heat", and finally he called everyone who disagrees with him "brainwashed" and "idiots". He also gave The Telegraph an interview during that same month, in which he...
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..said that calling Putin "may have been unfair" and that he "changed his mind" on the matter after watching a podcast called "The Duran".He said that after watching the show,he's had more respect for Putin:"It may be that he’s leading his country to the benefit of all of..
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...the people of Russia."
Roger is a big fan of fake news blog @TheGrayzoneNews. He probably gets most of his information from this site, as his views are very much in line with the "journalists" like @aaronjmate and @MaxBlumenthal. He was also their guest in Oct 2022.
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Recently Waters wore an uniform similar to the ones that the SS war in Nazi Germany. This "antifascist" show has been part of his repertoire since 1982, but it's still absurd when it's done by someone who seems to love totalitarian regimes in Russia, Syria and in China.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
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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.