In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Swiss social media personality, investment banker and journalist, Vadim Loskutov (@runews). He's best-known for praising Russia and its politics, and criticizing the West while living comfortably in Switzerland.
1/16
This research was conducted in collaboration with the Swiss NAFO fellas and The Unintelligence Agency.
Loskutov allegedly originally hails from the Republic of Kalmykia, located in the North Caucasus region of Southern Russia.
2/16
According to some Wikibin entries, Vadim was allegedly building a career as a media personality in Russia. Based on the text, he worked as a presenter and video jockey on various Russian music shows during the 90s, and he allegedly also voiced radio advertisements.
3/16
The whole biography seems extremely sketchy, as he would've been just 13-years old when he was working as a music presenter on Russian national TV, and 18-years old when was a video jockey, producer and a host on Russian MTV.
4/16
There is hardly any proof of this, and the whole career history could be completely made up to hide his intelligence background or to help him getting employed in Switzerland. Whatever the truth is, we couldn't locate any evidence that a man named Vadim Loskutov ever...
5/16
...worked in the Russian music business. But we do know that Vadim had a show called RussenRadio! in Swiss alternative radio channel called LoRa. The show featured Russian music, news and comedy sketches for German and English speaking audiences.
6/16
According to Loskutov, he is a "seasoned journalist" with over 20 years of experience on "reporting on Investments, Cryptos, and Geopolitics". He also allegedly worked as a senior trader at Glencore, one of worlds biggest commodity trading and mining companies.
7/16
His public commercial records reveal that between 2012-2020 he was approved to make signatures (and from 2015 acted as the VC of their Zürich branch) for CBH, a Swiss private bank. The company has been involved in many alleged controversies, including money laundering.
8/16
Loskutov is also a big fanboy of Elon, and he's also a strong proponent of his "free speech absolutism" on X. It would be interesting to hear what Vadim has to say about specific search terms in relation to the conflict in Middle East that are now censored on this platform.
9/16
When it comes to Ukraine, Vadim's propaganda focuses on the Kremlin's main narratives: money laundering in Ukraine, Ukraine must negotiate truce, the US is falling apart whereas Russia is thriving.. & all this from the comfort of his allegedly nice apartment in Switzerland.
10/16
He seems to be a strong opponent of the "woke culture", often using the common phrase "go woke, go broke" whenever any big brand tries a marketing strategy involving "woke" elements like trans people or men wearing pink clothes. He also seems to hate the "woke" Swiss media.
11/16
Once the story about Donbass Devuska came out, he created a theory that WSJ was taking revenge on Russia after one of WSJ's journalists, Evan Gershkovich was arrested. He's also called WaPo a "NATO propaganda machine".
Vadim's favorite Swiss media seems to be Weltwoche.
12/16
In Apr 2023, the @runews account informed that he starts writing for pro-Kremlin outlet called Die Weltwöche. This connects the @runews account to Vadim Loskutov.
Weltwoche is a media project launched by the Swiss grand-vatnik Roger Köppel:
Ironically,he's complained about the lack of press freedom in Europe,while in his home country anyone who criticizes the Kremlin gets either murdered or imprisoned.He also supports German politician Sahra Wagenknecht's populist, pro-Kremlin policies:
14/16
Vadim also seems to be a raging antisemite. He called the 30 Oct 2023 pogrom of mob storming the Makhachkala airport in search of Jewish passengers from Israel a "protest". The term 'pogrom' refers to violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in Russia.
15/16
In Feb 2023, Vadim tweeted that he was allegedly "charged" by the Swiss police & he called for @RusEmbSwiss to help him. It's a perfect example of how the 5th column lives in the West: they enjoy its luxuries, but whenever they run into trouble,they call for Russia to help.
16/16
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian-Estonian businessman, Oleg Ossinovski. He is best-known for his deep ties to Russian rail and energy networks, shady cross-border dealings, and for channeling his wealth into Estonian politics.
1/14
Oleg made his fortune via Spacecom Trans & Skinest Rail, both deeply tied to Russia’s rail system. Most of this is through Globaltrans Investments PLC, a Cyprus-based firm with 62% held via Spacecom and tens of millions in yearly profits.
2/14
Ossinovski’s Russian-linked ventures made him Estonia’s richest man in 2014, with an estimated fortune of ~€300M. His business empire stretched across railways, oil via Alexela shares, and Russian bitumen imports from Help-Oil, a supplier to the Defense Ministry.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Swiss/French writer, Alain Bonnet, aka Alain Soral (@officielsoral). He’s best known for his rabid antisemitism and for his pathetic support for all the worst authoritarian regimes from Russia to North Korea.
1/22
Alain’s childhood was problematic, as his father has been characterized as a “narcissistic pervert” who beat his children and did jail time for fraud. Alain himself has said he was “programmed to be a monster.” Born Alain Bonnet, he took the stage name of his sister,…
2/22
… actress Agnès Soral. She wasn’t too happy about this, commenting “How would you like to be called Agnès Hitler?”. Like many grifters, he became a pick-up/seduction artist writer, à la late Gonzalo Lira, writing books and even making a B-movie, “Confessions d’un dragueur”.
3/22
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.