In today’s #vatniksoup I’ll introduce a Russian filmmaker, Anastasia Trofimova. She’s best-known for her latest controversial documentary “Russians at War”, and for working as a producer for Russian state-funded media outlet RT.
1/19
Soft power has been part of the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare for a long time. It refers to the “ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion” and which can “be cultivated through relations with allies, economic assistance, and cultural exchanges.”
2/19
Russia has been using soft power to sow division and distrust in the West for decades. Documentaries like Ukraine on Fire offer a revisionist and pro-Kremlin view on what happened in Kyiv and in Ukraine in 2014. It was directed by the Russian master…
3/19
…propagandist and LA resident Igor Lopatonok and also featured Oliver Stone. The film was premiered at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy. GRU-connected Dutch Bonanza Media has also produced several documentaries whitewashing Russia’s crimes against humanity.
4/19
Latest addition to Russia’s soft power propaganda is Anastasia Trofimova’s documentary, “Russians at War”. The film’s public premiere was at the Venice International Film Festival, which caused a huge backlash in the West and especially in the Ukrainian community.
5/19
Trofimova is an experienced filmmaker, and she worked as a producer for Russia’s state-controlled RT for 7 years.
"Russians at War" was funded with both public and private Canadian funding, and in total it received at least 260,000 USD from these sources.
6/19
In the film, Trofimova enters Eastern Ukraine illegally and interviews Russian soldiers 180 km behind the front lines. According to The Moscow Times, the Russian soldiers were motivated by “vague patriotism”, “avenging fallen friends”, and, of course, money.
7/19
Most of the soldiers Trofimova interviewed were sent to the Bakhmut meat grinder, but somehow she missed all the violent criminals & forcibly drafted foreigners from countries such as Nepal, who were then used as meat walls by the more experienced Russian units like Wagner.
8/19
The filmmaker gave an interview to local Russian media, which provides some insights on the filmmaking process and her worldview. These excerpts were translated and published by @TriggerLRSSG, and their thread on the topic can be found here:
First of all, the Russian authorities and intelligence services have heavily cracked down on any video or audio recordings in the temporarily occupied regions. Recently, they’ve made dramatic gestures and demonstrations against any cell phone use.
10/19
Second, it is nearly impossible to go to the temporarily occupied territories in Eastern Ukraine, alone spending seven months relatively close to the front line and interviewing Russian soldiers freely about the war, without the knowledge of Russian intelligence agencies.
11/19
Trofimova also said that all of the footage she recorded passed through the authorities of the made-up state of Luhansk People’s Republic, whom Anastasia described as “very nice” and “funny”, and that she learned a lot about “political life in Ukraine”.
12/19
Trofimova also claimed that she didn’t witness any war crimes while doing the film. The main reason for this was probably that she was far away from the front lines. According to Kyiv Independent, the Russians have committed over 150,000 documented war crimes.
13/19
It also seems that Anastasia is not immune to propaganda - she’s claimed that Russia “hasn’t participated in wars for many years,” neatly forgetting wars & occupations in Transnistria (1992-93), Abkhazia (1994-96), Chechnya (1999-2009), Georgia (2008) & Syria (2015-2022).
14/19
In Venice, Trofimova also took the time to criticize Olha Zhurba’s documentary Songs of Slow Burning Earth about the war in Ukraine. According to Anastasia, she wasn’t “that much of a fan” of the ending, as it “contrasted Ukrainian kids and Russian kids,…
15/19
…with Ukrainian kids thinking about what they can do to build a better Ukraine for the future, and Russian kids were just shown as marching and singing war songs.” According to her, the film depicted Russians as ”aggressive and awful people".
16/19
I personally find Trofimova’s “both sides” narrative problematic, because in this genocidal war we can clearly name the invader (Russia) and the defender (Ukraine).
Perhaps this is due to Trofimova’s willingness to return to Russia one day.
17/19
Toronto Film Festival eventually had to cancel the screening of “Russians at War” (which they described as “a spellbinding tale of sacrifice and disillusionment in which soldiers resemble pawns in a nefarious game”) due to massive backlash from the Ukrainian community.
18/19
Trofimova has described her documentary as an “anti-war” film, which should land her around seven years in prison in Russia. So far, the Kremlin or Russian authorities haven’t made any comments on the documentary.
I personally see it as a whitewashing propaganda.
19/19
My book titled “Vatnik Soup - The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” will be published on 20 Sep 2024, you can now pre-order it from here (comes with extra goodies!):
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.
1/17
In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.
2/17
Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
“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
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.