In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an Italian sociologist, academic and talk show host, Alessandro Orsini (@orsiniufficiale). He's best-known for his pro-Kremlin & anti-NATO/Ukraine comments on the Russo-Ukrainian War on Italy's public broadcasting TV channel, @raitre.
1/18
Orsini hails from the academic world, and his currently working as the director and founder of the LUISS Observatory on International Security. His work has focused on the sociology of terrorism, an important topic that has absolute nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
2/18
Embarrassed by the Orsini's comments, LUISS University initially issued a statement on Mar 2022, reiterating its "full solidarity with the Ukrainian people" and distance itself from Orsini.
3/18
Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022, Alex was a minor character in the media world - you know, one of those experts that gets called on talk shows whenever his "expertise" is needed on a topic. But after the attack, his controversial, pro-Kremlin...
4/18
...polemic became extremely popular. The narrative was the same as every other vatnik expert: appeal to pacifism, antiwar attitude, denounce of NATO and calling them an aggressor, and criticism of Zelensky and Ukrainian politics.
5/18
The goal of Orsini's rhetoric is of course to sway the public opinion on Ukraine and the military and humanitarian aid they're receiving. They also heavily criticize NATO. This strategy has been simply copied to every Western country, and Italy is no exception.
6/18
In one episode of a show called "Cartabianca", Orsini stated that if Putin were to use nuclear bomb due to the war going badly for Russia, Europe would be "morally co-responsible". He then continued, that in order to avoid nuclear war, we should "let Putin win the war".
7/18
Some days later, he declared that "This is a losing war. Either we give Putin what he wants, or he takes it anyway," after which he continued that Russia will continue to advance & that instead of sending weapons,Italy should build "two huge hospitals" for Ukrainian children.8/18
He's also stated that he prefers to "children live in a dictatorship than die under bombs in the name of democracy". Basically his argument justifies the use of nuclear blackmail, making it a viable strategy for countries like North Korea and China.
9/18
Alex has spread the "genocide in Donbas" BS and on one occasion stated that "anyone who says that Russia should withdraw is an imbecile, an idiot," and that if they do, Ukraine will continue "slaughtering civilians in Donbas."
He even lied about being in contact with "the mothers from Mariupol", who allegedly told him they want Ukraine to surrender.
Orsini's called the conflict "a local confrontation" caused by NATO expansion.
11/18
When Russians fled Kherson, Alex was injecting vast amounts of copium, suggesting that Russia was actually "conducting a high-level organizational and logistical operation." "It was the Russian army itself that left the city without a fight," he then concluded.
12/18
He portrays Russia as the party that's constantly offering an olive branch, suggesting that they're the ones offering peace negotiations. Which is technically true, as Putin and most vatniks started talking about peace after Russia annexed the four Ukrainian oblasts.
13/18
Like so many others, Orsini was forecasting a "terrible Christmas" for Europeans as Russia turned off their gas pipes and stopped their oil deliveries. He blamed Zelensky for all this, stating that he's making "very serious mistakes" by not giving Putin what he wants.
14/18
Alessandro's main channel for propaganda is his YouTube channel. He spreads his BS to his 74 000 followers, posting his analysis around once a week. For some reason, he doesn't condemn Russia's genocidal invasion, but only talks about the "mistakes" made by the West.
15/18
Alessandro, wouldn't it be time condemn Putin and Russia for their illegal war? Why aren't you talking about Bucha massacre? Or the mass graves in Izium? Kramatorsk railway bombing? Torture chambers in Kherson? And why do you claim to be a Russia expert?
16/18
Finally, let's pay out a scenario: a man comes to your house, kills your wife and daughter, claims that he now owns your living room and kitchen, and suggests that you should "negotiate" over all this.
How would you respond?
17/18
Orsini has been doing all this on a publicly funded TV channel called @RaiTre, meaning that this Russian propaganda is currently being funded by Italian citizens.
Fortunately, Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni has shown her strong support to Ukraine.
18/18
Thank you to sous-Chef @PunishedRazzi for helping me to deliver this soup.
In today’s Vatnik Soup and the “Degenerate Russia” series, I’ll show you the brutal reality of Russian war crimes, in particular the horrific tortures and sexual abuses of children, women and men.
Buckle up, this one is not for the faint-hearted.
1/24
For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeted at right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional,family values.
In the previous “degenerate Russia” series we discussed Russia’s insanely high divorce rates, rampant domestic violence, high murder rates, thriving neo-Nazi culture, corruption of the Orthodox Church, and their massive demographic problem:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explore how Russia is working with Iran, and how the recent Israel–US strikes on Iran could affect the war in Ukraine. Iran has been one of Russia’s key allies in their genocidal war, but in reality the partnership is deeply one-sided.
1/21
Historically, Russia/USSR has been involved in numerous wars in the Middle East, invading Afghanistan for nearly a decade and desperately trying to keep Syria’s authoritarian leader, al-Assad, in power before his eventual downfall.
2/21
While initially supportive of Israel, the Soviet Union quickly pivoted to backing its enemies, fueling antisemitism, terrorism, and chaos in an already tense region. At times, this meant near-open war, like when Soviet Air Force MiG-21s were shot down by Israel over Egypt.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll re-introduce a Latvian politician and former MEP, Tatjana Ždanoka. She’s best-known for her history in the Communist Party of Latvia, for her pro-Russian politics in the country, and her connections to Russian intelligence.
1/22
Based on Ždanoka’s speeches and social media posts, she has a deep hatred towards the people of Latvia. The reason for this can only be speculated, but part of it could be due to her paternal family being killed by the Latvian Auxiliary Police,…
2/22
…a paramilitary force supported by the Nazis, during the early 1940s. Ždanoka became politically active in the late 80s. She was one of the leaders of Interfront, a political party that supported Latvia remaining part of the USSR.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce the main themes of Russian disinformation on TikTok. Each day, there are thousands of new videos promoting pro-Kremlin narratives and propaganda.
It’s worth noting that Russians can only access European TikTok via VPN.
1/10
There is currently a massive TikTok campaign aimed at promoting a positive image of Russia. The videos typically feature relatively attractive young women and focus on themes of nationalism and cultural heritage.
2/10
Ironically, many of these videos from Moscow or St. Petersburg are deceptively edited to portray Ukraine in a false light — claiming there is no war and that international aid is being funneled to corrupt elites.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about Finland and how pro-Kremlin propagandists have become more active in the Finnish political space since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the first time since 2022, they’ve gained some political power in Finland.
1/16
Russia’s political strategy in countries with Russian-speaking minorities (such as Finland and the Baltics) is typically quite similar: it seeks to rally these minorities around issues like language and minority rights, and then frames the situation as oppression.
2/16
At the same time, Russian speakers are extremely wary and skeptical of local media, and instead tend to follow Russian domestic outlets like Russia-1 and NTV, thereby reinforcing an almost impenetrable information bubble.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll discuss the Ukrainian SBU’s “Spiderweb” operation and the main disinformation narrative vatniks have been spreading during the afterfall. While domestic Russian media stays silent, the vatniks and Russian milbloggers have been extremely loud.
1/20
This operation was probably the most impactful strike since the drowning of the Moskva, massively reducing Russia’s capability to bomb Ukrainian cities (or anyone else’s). It involved smuggling 117 FPV drones hidden in trucks into Russia. Once near airbases,…
2/20
…the roofs opened remotely, launching drones in synchronized waves to strike targets up to 4,000 km away. The mission took 18 months to plan. The unsuspecting Russian truck drivers who transported them had no idea they were delivering weapons deep behind their own lines.