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...
2/16
...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 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.
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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!").
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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.