In today's #vatniksoup, I'll talk about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and how pro-Kremlin propagandists, oligarchs and lawyers are using its "persecution" as a tool to reduce support for Ukraine and its government.
1/20
In Oct 2023, @tuckercarlson published an episode on Joe Biden "backing the Ukrainian government as it throws priests in jail," in which he interviewed Bob Amsterdam, a lawyer representing the UOC-MP. He was hired by a Russian oligarch, Vadym Novynskyi, for the job.
2/20
The case is related to so called Draft Law 8371, a bill that would give Ukrainian authorities power to investigate the connection of religious groups in Ukraine to the Russian Federation and to ban those that have leadership under the control of the Kremlin.
3/20
Amsterdam's client, Novynskyi is one of the Russian businessmen who got rich during the early 90s in Russia. He later obtained a Ukrainian citizenship from Viktor Yanukovych & was involved in politics in Yanukovych's Party of Regions & later in anti-Maidan Opposition Bloc.
4/20
Novynskyi has been sanctioned by Ukraine (thus, it violates Ukrainian law to be paid by him) and his assets were seized by the Ukrainian authorities for "aiding the aggressor country [Russia]". He is said to be seeking to avoid the sanctions by transferring his assets.
5/20
Novynskyi is also a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) of the Holy Resurrection in Zürich, Switzerland (Incidentally, Kirill also worked for the KGB in Switzerland). According to official records, he also still holds a Russian passport.
6/20
As this rather thick soup has quite a lot of names and abbreviations, here's a handy cheat sheet that you can check whenever you have trouble remember them all:
7/20
Amsterdam has falsely claimed that UOC-MP has been "completely separated from Moscow in May of last year [2022]". Canonical unity, even subordination of the UOC-MP to the ROC is actually hidden in the UOC-MP's statute and UOC-MP never declared full independence from ROC.
8/20
Actually, there are some priests within the UOC-MP who have been persecuted: a number of UOC-MP priests were banned from liturgies because of their criticism of the church's pro-Kremlin leadership, so they started their own NGO called St. Sophia Brotherhood.
9/20
As many of you know, Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies have used the Orthodox Church extensively for intel operations and propaganda, as the West fears harassing churches as it looks like an attack on freedom/democracy. This allows these spies to fly under the radar.
10/20
While invading Ukraine, Russia has also actively and forcibly closed, seized and investigated most (but not the UOC-MP) Ukrainian religious organizations in the captured regions. Religious leaders are then tortured, killed and/or deported by Russia's intelligence services.
11/20
Also, the idea about "persecuted Christians" probably originated from pro-Kremlin Telegram sources like "Pravblog" and Alex Voznesensky (who's collaborating with Russian intel), who theorized about using religion to attack the Ukrainian government already back in Apr 2023.
12/20
This "persecution" is being pushed not due to religious freedom, but because Russia hopes it will split the Western and US support for Ukraine. The reason the Draft Law 8371 is being considered is that the Russian Orthodox Church is a key tool of influence of the Kremlin.
13/20
Amsterdam has been positioned as a "human rights activist", but he's a hired and paid lawyer who basically acts as a lobbyist for the Kremlin's causes. He spoke to Strana, media site under Ukrainian sanctions and gave an interview to pro-Kremlin blogger Alexandr Shelest.
14/20
Now, some (including Bob himself) will claim that Amsterdam can't be pro-Kremlin because in 2003 he defended Russian oligarch and dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky. So, instead of calling him pro-Kremlin, I'll just call Mr. Amsterdam pro-money. Naturally, he's claimed...
15/20
...that neither him nor his firm has any contacts or relationships with the Russian Orthodox Church or Patriarch Kirill, but forgets to mention that his client does: Novynskyi met with KGB priest Kirill in 2019, after which he was excluded from the Russian sanction list.
16/20
Now Bob, if you were genuinely interested in defending priests against persecution, why haven't you commented on the atrocities the Russian troops have conducted in the temporarily occupied territories since 2014? You know, torture, murder, exile & other inhuman activities.
17/20
Is it because your client is actually a Russian citizen who is working as an active priest in the Russian Orthodox Church? Or because you try to stir things politically in the US by promoting a pro-Kremlin narrative of "religious persecution" in Ukraine? Maybe both?
18/20
To conclude: pro-Kremlin actors, together with Mr. Amsterdam, are trying to create an illusion of persecution of religious groups in Ukraine to reduce the Western support for Ukraine. The church that they are defending is closely related, canonically and otherwise,...
19/20
...to Russian Orthodox church that is itself connected to Russian intelligence and the Kremlin.
At the same time, Russian invaders are actually persecuting, torturing and murdering clergymen of Ukrainian origin in the temporarily occupied regions.
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.
1/5
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!").
2/5
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.