Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 29, 2024 20 tweets 14 min read Read on X
In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Russian social media personality and vatnik archetype, Mr. G (@Wagnersfamily). He's best-known for sharing the most outrageous Kremlin lies, albeit previously being extremely anti-Putin and Kremlin, even coining the term "vatnik".

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It's worth noting, that G is an extremely irrelevant account and person, but his almost comical descent from an anti-Putin, fully fledged Russian Liberal, to full blown vatnik, who doesn't hesitate to lie and naturally lives outside of Russia, is worth demonstrating.

2/19


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In his liberal days G was dedicated to popularizing the vatnik meme. He ran the site together with his friend, and also the @trueVATNIK Twitter account, which went inactive in 2015, but was popular in circles opposed to Putin's imperialist ambitions.

3/19 vatnik.today



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G's online activities attracted criticism from the Russian authorities, and drew attention from a local news site in Omsk. He was described as a traitor, & in defending himself he somewhat ironically described the "Russian" mindset that he himself would later fall into.

4/19
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A far cry from his current views, G once believed that Russia was an imperialist power that was illegally occupying its neighbors, & that Russia should be broken into 14 parts. These views brought him to the attention of nationalists & attracted the attention of the FSB.

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After the FSB issued a notice for his arrest, he fled to Mexico, where despite claims to be in Siberia, he resides today. According to Russian news articles at the time, G supposedly adopted surname from his American wife, as opposed to his original, Russian one.

6/19

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Once in Mexico, Mr. G took an illegal 3 month excursion into the US, calling the "three month adventure" an "unforgettable one". Only he can say why he wanted to visit the capital of western Satanism and LGBT degeneracy.

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Mr. G even supposedly flew from Mexico to assist Maidan, making Molotovs and bringing tires to barricades. He was at one point in his life firmly in the pro-Ukrainian camp, and saw the Russian intervention in the Donbas for what it was - thinly veiled imperialism.

8/19
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Sadly, since then, he has descended into the typical vatnik behaviour he once opposed. Without any sense of self irony, he now parrots the Kremlin party line about neo-Nazis in Ukraine, while unironically having become a white supremacist who rants about Zionists.

9/19
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Ironically, G's past means that the original About page describing the character of Vatnik was likely written by G himself. So, let's take a moment to compare what is probably G's own description of a Vatnik with his own behavior to see how far he has fallen.

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"Conservative traditionalist who loves Putin" ✅

G describes himself as a right wing conservative. He considers feminism the origin of "western degradation", even running an anti-feminist group on VK. He proudly declares he voted for Putin, describing him as a great man.

11/19

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"Wants to revive the USSR. Hates the USA, Europe and Allies." ✅

G now wishes for the return of the USSR, expressing his sadness at how impossible it seems. He considers the US and allies satanic, being willing to accept nuclear war and the end of Russia to wipe them out.

12/19
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"Terrible homophobe." ✅

G expresses his terrible homophobia in his tweets, considering a single pride parade to have caused the "fall" of Serbia, and celebrating the attitudes of the Kremlin towards LGBT.

13/19
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"Prone to lies and violence, but actually very cowardly" ✅

G pretends that he's served in the Russian military, which is an outright lie. He's been hiding out in Mexico & considers himself banned from going home. He did reach level 3 as a Local Guide on Google, though!

14/19

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"Believes in a conspiracy of the whole world against Russia" ✅

G believes that the US government is controlled by "Zionists" as some kind of satanic ring. He considers that Russia is currently trying to save the world from this "satanic evil".

15/19
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"Dreams of a Leader who will rule Russia with a harsh hand" ✅

G considers Russia lucky to have a "strong leader" in Putin. He considers beating up liberals "not even assault", because allowing them to speak "threatens Russian independence and integrity".

16/19
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"Lacks self irony. Hypocrite" ✅

G definitely lacks self irony having become the very archetype of the vatniks that he once mocked. His hypocrisy is on constant display as he rails against Russian liberals & those who've fled Russia, from the safety of his home in Mexico.

17/19


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But I also have another theory - maybe Mr. G is afraid of his home country's intelligence agencies and tries to make amends by doing this over-the-top anti-Western persona? Either way, G's online antics have reached a comical level.

18/19


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For this soup, I decided to do something I should do more - I asked G for a comment. Soon after I told him about the upcoming soup, there was talk on Z spaces that people are "looking for info on me". Maybe you wanted all this liberal stuff to stay a secret, @Wagnersfamily?
19/19

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This soup was brewed in collaboration with the @UnintelAgency.

Find us also on other socials:

instagram.com/vatniksoup/
youtube.com/@TheSoupCentra…
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More from @P_Kallioniemi

Aug 18
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 25 tweets
Aug 11
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 Photo by JULIE OLIVER /Postmedia
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.

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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.

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Read 24 tweets
Aug 6
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 21 tweets
Jul 28
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 21 tweets
Jul 27
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.

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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!").

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Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.

Country code for the phone number is in Pakistan.

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Read 5 tweets
Jul 15
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 23 tweets

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