Dietmar Pichler Profile picture
Jun 1 22 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Was the Kremlin really "afraid" that NATO might attack Russia, or was it more about not being able to imperialistically invade and subjugate neighbors anymore?

Let's see what Russian officials and their propagandists say themselves 🧵
Let's start with the Russian dictator Putin: He called the dissolution of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century." Further, on many occasions, he denied the legitimacy of Ukrainian statehood, speaks about "de-Nazification," and "helping Donbas."
We all remember his article about the "Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians." Medvedev also wrote about this issue, agreeing with it and stating that there can't be any negotiations until the Ukrainian government is "replaced."
Medvedev, former President and Prime Minister, now Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, is an interesting source to learn about the Russian position. He dreams about a 'Micro Ukraine' and is using the imperialistic term 'Malorossiya' (Little Russia). Image
He also said that Ukrainians even have a 'choice': join Russia or die. About useful idiots in the West, he said: 'Our task is to actively support such politicians and their parties in the West, helping them achieve worthy results in elections.'"
His outbursts of hate are notorious: 'We must not stop until the current, inherently terrorist Ukrainian state is completely dismantled. It must be destroyed to the ground.'" Look at the map... Image
Deputy Speaker of the Russian Duma, Petr Tolstoy, recently said that if they 'will not solve the issue with Ukraine,' there will be problems in Kazakhstan and Armenia, criticizing Kazakh policy. He called the Almaty a 'Russian fortress.' Is this someone who is afraid of NATO?
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Another member of Putin's party in the Duma is Aleksander Borodai, former 'prime minister' of the 'People's Republic of Donetsk.' Borodai explained that he left his post in Donetsk in August 2014 to support the Kremlin’s fictional claims of a 'Ukrainian civil war.' Image
In 2022 Duma-MP Yevgeny Fyodorov questions the recognition of independence of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Ukraine too of course). Fyodorov is also a member of Putin's party and the coordinator of NOD (National Liberation Movement), a far-right extremist organization.
Oh, back to Medvedev, he also said: "Ukraine is definitely Russia!" Well, that is definitely something someone would say if they were concerned about "security" and "evil NATO," or is it perhaps blatant imperialism? Image
Also, the state-controlled media is very active in promoting imperialism and hatred against Ukraine. RT Head Editor Simonyan said about Ukrainians: "They are dirty and we need to wash them clean. Those who do not accept this will have a terrible fate."...and brainwash of course Image
...by the way, if a country is genuinely concerned about its security, why does its leadership invent ridiculous but dangerous stories, like the claim that Ukrainians are 'crucifying kids,' as was reported in a RT headline in 2014?" Image
In 2020, RT head editor Simonyan said about Armenia: 'After all you have done, Russia has the moral right to spit on you and wipe you off the face of the earth." Just because Armenia attempted some reforms..
Simonyan also does not hesitate to express her nostalgia for the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire, reminiscing about how nice it is to be feared and to 'give a f...' about smaller nations.
About Odesa, she said: "Russia needs to take Odesa to make it 'normal.'" What does she consider "normal"?
These imperialistic views are not only expressed by leading propagandists. Putin also claims 'Odesa is a Russian city,' , for instance. Is that a 'security concern' or imperialism? Image
Another mouthpiece of Putin is TV host and warmonger Vladimir Solovyov, who stated that 'Russia’s borders do not end anywhere.' In one show, Solovyov said, 'We can't allow them to exist,' while MP Tolstoy added, 'We need to kill them all.
btw ©️ follow @JuliaDavisNews ⬇️
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These were only a few examples of Solovyov's "work". I suggest following @JuliaDavisNews on Twitter and the channel 'Russian Media Monitor' on YouTube to see more, for instance about Olga Skabeyeva who said already in 2020 that "🇷🇺 will destroy Ukraine"
Oh, I forgot one 'highlight' of Vladimir Solovyov: he also claimed that 'Ukraine needs to be destroyed because satanists live there.' Does that sound like a TV host from a country that is concerned about security? Image
Not only politicians and state propagandists openly express their intentions for Ukraine, but also 'academics' are very vocal on this issue. One of them is fascist philosopher Aleksander Dugin. n.
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Igor Korotchenko, "journalist and military expert", is also prominent for his 'insightful' statements. He said that 'Russia wants to erase Ukraine off the map, because it never really existed in the first place.' Oh, did he forget it was all because of evil NATO? Image
There many other examples, and I would welcome it if you add more quotes. I want to finish the first chapter with a person who calls himself a Nazi and has been fighting against Ukraine since 2014: "Ukraine must not exist," "there has to be de-Ukrainization.", Alexey Milchakov Image

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More from @DietmarPichler1

May 25
Russia's "useful idiots" and agents of influence in the West: some are paid, some are just radicals, and some are looking for fame. They speak about "peace" often, but they don't mean it.

Here are five categories of them🧵
Formerly respected academics: They often have a nostalgic soft spot for the Soviet Union but hate the West and NATO, which they criticize harshly (instead of Russia)

For them, it is not a problem to give interviews to propaganda channels and to visit the most obscure conferences
These academics can be particularly useful for Russian propaganda and lobbying because they still have an influence on public opinion and even government decisions in some cases. They are also invited to mainstream media for the (false) balanced view...
Read 10 tweets
Apr 1
Breaking: In Wien werden zwei Friedenskonferenzen stattfinden im April:

Betont wird die Solidarität mit der Ukraine und ihr Selbstverteidigungsrecht, thematisiert werden soll explizit der russische Imperialismus und das Leiden unter russischer Besatzung.🧵
Friedensforscher österreichischer Universitäten in einer gemeinsamen Stellungnahme: "Besatzung ist kein Frieden, Folter und Deportationen durch 🇷🇺Kräfte müssen enden" und "Zwischen einem Eroberungskrieg und Befreiung liegt klarer Unterschied"
Politikwissenschaftler Prof. Heinz Pflanzer stimmt dem zu: "der Kreml rechtfertigt die völkerrechtswidrige, imperialistisch-motivierte und unprovozierte Invasion mit unzähligen Lügengeschichten" und weiters: "nein, nicht die NATO-Absicht der Ukraine ist der Grund für Invasion"..
Read 12 tweets
Mar 29
Myths about Russian propaganda influence 🧵

Russian propaganda comes only from the right: No, very often also from the left.

Russian propaganda is only on social media: No, it also appears in panel discussions, newspaper comments, TV-talk shows, at universities, in schools...
Russian propaganda is only about fake images, videos, biolab stories, or "EU brothels with animals" - no, it also works much more subtly, under the pretext of "peace"; take a look at Solovyov's guests from the West...
Russian propaganda reports are exclusively fake, fabricated information:

no, it can also involve information with a kernel of truth, but in a certain context, using false proportions it becomes an effective propaganda narrartive ---> #Whataboutism.
Read 8 tweets
Mar 29
Mythen zur russischen Propaganda-Einflussnahme🧵

- Russische Propaganda kommt nur von rechts: nein, sehr oft auch von links

- Russische Propaganda spielt sich nur auf Social Media ab: Nein, auch auf Podiumsdiskussionen, in Zeitungskommentaren und Talkshows, auf Universitäten...
Russische Propaganda sind nur gefälschte Bilder, Videos, Biolaborgeschichten oder "Bordelle mit Tieren in der EU" - nein, sie läuft auch viel subtiler ab, unter dem Deckmantel "Frieden", man weiss, dass dies aus Moskau geschätzt wird, siehe Solovyov Gäste aus dem Westen...
Russische Propagandameldungen sind ausschließlich gefälschte, fabrizierte Informationen: nein, es können auch Informationen mit wahren Kern in einem gewissem Kontext, mit falschen Relationen so verwendet werden, dass es Propaganda ist, siehe #Whataboutism
Read 8 tweets
Mar 10
"I condemn the invasion, but..."🧵

These are the 15 most favored talking points of the Kremlin's agents of influence and "useful idiots"

Maybe helpful to identify and expose them.
No, it is not 'peace' what they have in mind, let's take a look⬇️
"Russia reacted to NATO expansion" or Russia was "worried about NATO." Well, worried about not being able to invade all of its neighbors maybe, but not about being attacked.

This narrative has been debunked by reality a long time ago. By the way: 🇫🇮🇸🇪welcome to NATO;-)
Again about NATO: "If Ukraine would not have had the desire to join NATO, Russia would not have attacked." I see, was the skirt too short? A little bit of victim blaming anyone? By the way, it is wrong; the Kremlin presented several other "reasons" for his attack...
Read 16 tweets
Mar 2
We need to talk about 'Agents of Influence' and 'useful idiots' when discussing foreign information interference. These individuals not only have a significant reach but also operate undetected by anti-disinformation measures that primarily focus on social media & troll farms🧵
Who are they? They can be parts of (in many cases, former) politics, diplomacy, journalism, activism, business, and academia. What unites them: They propagate (more or less subtly) the narratives of authoritarian regimes like Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, and many others.
In some cases, they spread their narratives quite subtly; in other cases, it is obvious and ridiculous propaganda. In my opinion, the subtle propagandistic, anti-Western narratives are even more dangerous because they reach the center of society as well.
Read 12 tweets

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