In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Finnish academic and political scientist, Heikki Patomäki. He's best-known for his euroskepticism, anti-NATO stance, and for his complete misunderstanding of Vladimir Putin and his regime.
1/16
Patomäki currently works at the Helsinki University as a Professor of Political Science, and he's also a supervisor of the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Change.
2/16
Previously, he was involved in politics as a member of a Finnish left-wing party Vasemmistoliitto, but resigned in May 2022 after Finland applied to join NATO.
3/16
Patomäki started his political career in the right-wing Youth of the National Coalition Party, but eventually shifted towards the environmentalist greens with strong emphasis on advocating peace.
(text translated from Finnish to English)
4/16
In 2007 he published a book "Uusliberalismi Suomessa" ("Neoliberalism in Finland"), in which he compared neoliberalism to fascism. Incidentally, in his book Patomäki called former Finnish PM Paavo Lipponen, who was involved in the development of Nord Stream, a neoliberal.
5/16
In Sep 2014, he wrote an op-ed on Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, in which he criticised the sanctions set against Russia after the annexation of Crimea. He also blamed NATO expansion and EU's collaboration offers to Ukraine for the conflict.
6/16
In 2015, he stated that Putin's Russia "completely lacks Hitler's racist ideology, which led to genocide." In retrospect, we can clearly see that Professor Patomäki was dead wrong on this.
7/16
In the same interview, he also stated that Russia under Putin is "still a liberal democracy that respects human rights". At this point, Putin had already murdered and imprisoned several journalists in Russia and assassinated many of its own citizens abroad.
8/16
To me it seems like Patomäki observes geopolitics through a Mearsheimerian lense of offensive realism, where empires have their "spheres of influence," and smaller, sovereign nations just have to obey their "masters":
In an interview on 5 Jan 2024, Patomäki stated that peace in Ukraine can only be achieved if they give up their goals of joining NATO. He also stated that the regions invaded by Russia should be controlled by the UN, and that their fate should be decided through...
10/16
..diplomacy & by holding a referendum. By his view, Ukraine's willingness to join NATO was the "red line" that started the war.He also repeated the myth over the West "sabotaging the peace talks",even though Russia controlled large area of Ukraine & had no desire for peace.
11/16
Accord to Patomäki, Ukraine can't win even if they got full support from the West, even though Ukraine has been defending bravely against Russia's meat waves for almost 700 days now, and even re-captured several areas like Kharkiv and Kherson.
12/16
He admits, that even if there is an agreement on truce, there are no guarantees for permanent peace. Many have speculated, that Russia would use this time to re-group and eventually attack Ukraine again.
As a reminder, there was a SECOND Chechen War, after all.
13/16
Finally, the Professor criticises the Finnish discussion culture revolving around the Russo-Ukrainian War. He claims that the "public debate in Finland is not in a very good place at the moment," suggesting that you're not allowed to "disagree with the mainstream opinion".
14/16
In my view, Mr. Patomäki just has difficulties to see Russia as it is: an authoritarian and genocidal empire trying to expand its borders slowly but surely:
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.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Lithuanian far-right politician and Seimas member Remigijus Žemaitaitis. He’s best known for his extremist political views and for falling for a scam that convinced him he was flying to New York to meet Elon Musk.
1/17
Like many vatniks before him, Remigijus worked as a lawyer before entering the world of politics. Once just another politician, he gradually embraced far-right nationalism and populism, following a trend seen across Europe over the past 15 years.
2/17
Instead of real policies, he tapped into fear, resentment, and anger, turning 4chan talking points into a populist political strategy. His speeches became more extreme, targeting minorities, Western institutions, and Lithuania’s support for Ukraine.