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 cover the agenda-setting and flood of disinformation that spread on X and other platforms right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It’s far from the first or last time a tragedy has been weaponized for political purposes.
1/18
Every major political event, especially those involving violence, attracts massive attention. In the immediate aftermath, reliable information is scarce, making it highly vulnerable to both coordinated and improvised disinformation campaigns.
2/18
As I’ve mentioned in my previous soups and lectures, in disinformation campaigns, being first with a narrative is crucial, as people often remember the first version best — psychology studies show it sets the mental schema, and later updates rarely overwrite it.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American social media personality David Freeman, AKA Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman). He’s best known for spreading political disinformation on X and shamelessly sucking up to Trump, Putin, and other authoritarian leaders.
1/22
David is a textbook example of someone profiting from MAGA grievance politics. He uses extreme, provocative language to farm engagement on X and never hesitates to flatter anyone who might give him more exposure — or money.
2/22
But David wasn’t always like this. At some point, in his mid-40s, he even tried a real job: he trained to become a cop. He spent three years with the Metro Transit PD, but after that he either got fired or quit, and never looked back.
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.