In today's Holiday #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an American social media personality and fifth columnist, @Zagonel85. He's best-known for his strong anti-Ukraine rhetoric, and hosting Spaces on X featuring prominent vatniks like convicted sex offender Scott Ritter.
1/18
This investigation was done in collaboration with @UnintelAgency.
Looking at the description, you can clearly see that he's just your typical social media vatnik, spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda.
What you probably didn't know is that he's also a Tolstoy.
2/18
Let's start with the rather interesting bit - Mr. Tolstoy is, as a matter of fact, the great grandnephew of author Leo Tolstoy, and son of the late Count Vladimir Tolstoy. Vladimir was influential figure in Russian emigree circles in Washington DC until his death in 2020.
3/18
Count Tolstoy helped with the development of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, and organized the Annual Russian Ball popular in the "White Russian" (exiled Tsarists) community.
The Tsarist community are by and large not fans of Communists or Putin's fascist regime.
4/18
Tolstoy even worked briefly an Office Manager at the Cathedral where his father was Sub-Deacon, a job his father no doubt got for him.
Incidentally, the Cathedral is currently collecting donations for Ukraine.
5/18
Tolstoy really doesn’t like the "decadent West" and its values, often complaining about LGBT+ issues and calling Ukraine’s supporters "f**gots" when the identity of @vonClownsewitz was revealed.
Incidentally, Tolstoy's brother regularly attends Pride parades.
6/18
For obvious reasons, Tolstoy has been extremely hostile against many published investigations conducted by @UnintelAgency and yours truly, saying that there's "a cold place in hell" for us. In his case, he probably wants to protect the family name.
7/18
It probably goes without saying, but Tolstoy is very anti-Ukraine. Interestingly, his views contrast with public statements made by The Russian Ball of Washington.
But we all should be entitled for our own opinion, even when it has no basis in reality.
8/18
He's claimed that "there's zero evidence of Russian genocide [in Ukraine]", and that Bucha was fabricated by the SBU. According to him, the shoot down of MH17 was "propaganda", and that Euromaidan and the following Revolution of Dignity were an "illegal coup".
9/18
He's also supported various false claims, including the one where Zelenskyy allegedly bought a 5 million USD villa in Egypt. Then there are the "Ukrainian Nazis" - according to Tolstoy, Ukraine is simply full of them!
10/18
In addition, he's called the January 6 Capitol Attack a "democrat BlueAnon conspiracy theory", said that "white supremacist militias aren't real", and that the West is constantly attempting to "provoke Russia". He also thinks Zelenskyy is a drug addict.
11/18
According to Tolstoy, Ukrainian soldiers are "holed up" in civilian buildings, and that this strategy was actually recommended to the Ukrainians by NATO. Apparently, the Russians can do no harm and have not targeted any civilian targets in Ukraine, Syria or Chechnya.
12/18
As is the case with many of these extremely hostile accounts, there's an infinite amount of examples like this. In addition, he's made fun of Ukrainian PoW's, compared Hamas with Zelenskyy, and used plenty of ethnic slurs against Ukrainians.
13/18
Tolstoy's also commented on conflict in the Middle East, calling Oct 7 terrorist attack a "military action against Israel". He's also called Israel a "Russian cuck".
14/18
There have been some hints about Tolstoy's connections to Russian power figures: he once even claimed to have met Putin himself, continuing that he has "extensive Russian connections". These family connections have been to Tolstoy's personal advantage,...
15/18
...although given he lived with his mother until recently, it doesn't seem he took advantage of them. His employment history contains a series of internships followed by an attempt at launching an app. These days, he averages ~17 hours on social media.
16/18
Most of this time is spent on X's Spaces, where he hangs out with like-minded people like the decadent Westerner and sexual deviant Scott Ritter, X's biggest liar @ShaykhSulaiman, neo-Nazi Richard Spencer, and Malaysian US expert and RT columnist @stillgray.
17/18
To conclude: Tolstoy is a great example of a "kid" (to be fair he's almost 40) who tries too hard to distance themselves from their parents and their heritage, and hangs out with fellow communists like @vonClownsewitz.
Ironically, he's also a Lockheed Martin share owner.
18/18
I have paused personal donations for now, please support @U24_gov_ua by donating to the #HopakChallenge and sending me the receipt:
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.
1/17
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.
2/17
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.
1/22
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.
2/22
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.
1/18
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.
2/18
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.
1/25
“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.
2/25
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.