Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Jun 12, 2024 20 tweets 11 min read Read on X
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss a specific propaganda/disinformation that the Kremlin likes to use – antisemitism. I also talk about how the Russian society itself has become riddled with antisemitism & how this has led to a decrease in Jewish population in the country.
1/19 Image
Russian antisemitism works on many levels, and their narratives vary depending whether they’re targeting a local audience or people in Europe and the US. For example for the latter, Russia attempts to create a false narrative of Ukraine being an antisemitic “Nazi state”.

2/19 Image
But before diving deeper, let’s look at a survey data of Russians in 2023: Nearly 30 million Russians harbour antisemitic attitudes, and 15% of those surveyed believed that “Jews were responsible for most of the world’s wars.” 38% think that the Jews have...

3/19
Image
Image
...“too much power in the business world”. There were around 2 million Jews in the USSR, approximately 880,000 of those were based in Russia. Half a million Jews had left the country by the time of its collapse, and by 2021, there were just 83,000 Jews remaining in Russia.

4/19

Image
Image
Image
In 2018, Russian Levada Center noted that Russian Jews believed open antisemitism was falling in the country, but that it was artificially suppressed by the senior leadership openly pursuing a more pro-Israel position. They also felt that antisemitism…

5/19 Image
…would become more open if Russia’s senior leadership changed its public position on Israel. After the Oct 2023 Hamas terrorist attack, the Kremlin did exactly this: they labelled Israel and the US as an aggressor instead, even welcoming Hamas leaders to visit Moscow.

6/19
Image
Image
After Oct 2023, Russia also had a surge in antisemitic attacks. For example, in Oct 2023, Russians attacked Jewish people at the Makhachkala airport. The pogrom was naturally later blamed on “foreign actors”, “miscreants” and - you guessed that right - Ukrainians.

7/19 Image
All this didn’t go unnoticed in Israel – prominent politician and Likud member Amir Weitmann blamed Russia for supporting Hamas during an interview on RT, stating that “Russia will pay the price” for “supporting the enemies of Israel”.

8/19
But at the same time, the Kremlin is actively spreading age old antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories of “Zionist globalist elites taking over the world”. These tropes and stories, like the Protocols of the Elders of the Zion and Golden Billion, originate from Russia.

9/19

Image
Image
Image
After Feb 2022, Russia has tried to undermine Western aid to Ukraine by vilifying the Ukrainian leadership, and especially Zelenskyy. Several high-ranking Russian officials have portrayed Zelenskyy as an “inauthentic Jew”, and the whole invasion was justified with…

10/19 Image
…the need to “denazify” Ukraine. Putin has called Zelenskyy “a disgrace to the Jewish people”, drunk Medvedev stated he’d “lost his Jewish identity”, and, when asked about Zelenskyy’s Jewish identity, Lavrov even stated that Hitler “had Jewish blood, too”.

11/19

Image
Image
Image
Putin even went as far as attempting to diminish the Nazi role in the murder of Jews in Ukraine during the Holocaust, by claiming it was done by the Ukrainians and “Banderites”, and that “even the SS troops didn’t consider it [the mass killings] possible.”

12/19 Image
In Russia, the “Zionists” have been vilified by the genocidal Russian philosopher, Alexander Dugin, who claimed that the Crocus Hall attacks could’ve been “Zionists’ revenge” for Russia’s position on Gaza, while urging his followers to look for “Mossad’s fingerprints”.

13/19 Image
But long before that, Russia’s massive disinformation and hybrid operation machinery started spreading antisemitism online to sow unrest and polarize societies in the West. For example, the FSB-controlled SouthFront fake news blog has spread several antisemitic tropes.

14/19 Image
In Europe, the Kremlin has complemented these narratives by conducting hybrid operations, such as the antisemitic graffiti campaign in France, further provoking online discussions on “European antisemitism”.

15/19
Image
Image
As we’ve seen, the conflict in the Middle-East has polarized even the pro-Kremlin bloc, and this type of division is ideal for any kind of online propaganda and disinformation campaign. Now, it’s worth mentioning that the conflict is very real and should be addressed,…

16/19 Image
…but the Kremlin is cynically using this dire situation to do what they do best – spreading false narratives and half-truths, thus dividing societies, who instead of focusing on foreign policy issues like the war in Ukraine, resort to infighting.

17/19
Image
Image
It’s also worth mentioning,that not everything comes from the Kremlin spin doctors. First of all, Iran and the CCP are also very active in spreading disinformation with their massive troll and bot farms. Second,many of these narratives are created by conspiracy theorists,…
18/19
Image
Image
…which are then amplified by the troll & bot farms. We should also remember that people have real concerns for example over inflation, identity politics, antisemitism, and immigration in both Europe and in the US, and that Russia uses them cynically to polarize societies.

19/19


Image
Image
Image
Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Pekka Kallioniemi

Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @P_Kallioniemi

Apr 3
Tariffs memes are the hottest thing right now, so post your favorites👇🏻 Image
Image
Image
Read 5 tweets
Apr 1
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 Image
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 Image
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.

3/17 Image
Read 18 tweets
Mar 28
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 Image
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 Image
Image
Image
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.

3/22 Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 23 tweets
Mar 27
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 Image
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 Image
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.

3/18 Image
Read 19 tweets
Mar 26
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 Image
“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 Image
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.

3/25 Image
Image
Image
Read 26 tweets
Mar 25
Ladies and gents, it's time for some "Houthi PC small group" memes!

I'll start with my favorites, post yours below 👊🇺🇸🔥 Image
Image
Image
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(