In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a German politician, Sahra Wagenknecht (@SWagenknecht). She's best-known for her praise of Russia, fighting against the them on Russia, and for her attempts to stop the military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
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Wagenknecht started her political career at a young age, and she eventually became a prominent member of the Party of Democratic Socialism during the early 90s. After the foundation of the far-left party Die Linke, she joined the party and became a leader of its...
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...Marxist-Leninist sub-faction called the Communist Platform. Sahra has been referred as the 3rd most popular politician in Germany, but throughout her career, she has also been a controversial figure due to her populist takes on DDR, immigration and Russia.
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Even though she's been spending most of her political career in leftist parties,her political views & statements don't really fit this shoe. As a matter of fact, her statements on immigration,comments on Russia & even her economical views fit better to the far-right mindset.
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One could even say, that with Wagenknecht we see the horseshoe theory in action. In Germany, there is even a term for this: querfront (cross-front).
It originates from the Weimar politics referring to the cooperation between the far-right and far-left.
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When it comes to NATO and Russia, Sahra has a clear stance. In 2017, she called for the dissolution of NATO. Throughout her career as a politician, she's called for closer relations with Russia, and in 1992 she published an essay praising Stalinist Russia.
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Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she argued that the US were trying to "conjure up" an invasion, "Russia has in fact no interest in marching into Ukraine". During the same speech, she also stated that NATO has forced Moscow into a corner with their expansion.
7/16
She still opposed the sanctions imposed on Russia, stating that the German government had launched "an unprecedented economic war against our most important energy supplier."
After the speech, she was applauded by members of the far-right party AfD:
Back in Feb 2023, Wagenknecht, together with AfD, organized large rallies in many German cities. These protests called to end any military aid to Ukraine. Few months later, WaPo exposed that the Kremlin had been trying to create an "antiwar coalition" in Germany,..
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...and Russian officials had allegedly met with AfD members on the issue, suggesting that the rallies weren't as organic as they appeared. Unsurprisingly, similar protests like the "Rage Against the War Machine" were organized in the United States:
Few weeks before the rallies, Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer had collected signatures for "peace manifesto", calling for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and halting the arms deliveries to Ukraine. They manifesto has almost 900 000 signatures.
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According to her, weapon supplies to Ukraine are "highly dangerous" and they "escalate the conflict". Mrs Wagenknecht seems completely oblivious to the fact that Putin's Russia has been waging imperialistic wars since the start of the 2nd Chechen War in 1999.
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In one interview, Sahra claimed that the war isn't about "Putin's nationalism", rather than about the neutrality of Ukraine. We should of course remember that Russia started the war already back in 2014 by annexing Crimea and fueling pro-Russia protests all around Ukraine.
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In Oct 2023, Wagenknecht announced her intention to start a new political far-left party. One survey put the new party at 12% nationally, a pretty significant number in German politics. As a populist pro-Kremlin party, it will probably also steal some votes from AfD.
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In Jul 2022, Sahra's ex-husband Ralph T. Niemeyer founded a "shadow government" in Russia and adressed Putin directly about this. In Feb 2022 Niemeyer suggested that Sahra should become the "Präsidal-Kanzlerin" of Germany and called her "incorruptible".
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To conclude: Sahra has positioned herself as the Kremlin's friend since the beginning of her political career. She's always been supportive of Russo-German collaboration (and Russian imperialism) & she's ready to throw Ukraine under the bus for cheap Russian energy.
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.
2/22
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.
3/22
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.
1/19
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)…
2/19
…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.
1/19
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.
3/19
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.
1/19
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”.
2/19
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.