In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the sad (but funny) state of Finnish vatniks. After Russia launched their full-scale invasion against Ukraine, the Finnish pro-Kremlin/conspiracy theorist scene experienced a dramatic devaluation and hasn’t been able to bounce back since.
1/20
I often get asked about the current state of the Finnish vatnik club, and there’s usually not much to report.
It’s not because these people have stopped, but because today their work has only comedic value.
So here’s the latest:
2/20
Master vatnik and traitor Johan Bäckman has relocated to Russia, and he was recently given a Russian citizenship. It’s obvious that Johan was recruited by Russia’s intelligence agencies a long time ago. He’s still producing videos on YouTube on his…
3/20
…Z-Studio channel, where he spreads Kremlin’s disinformation and propaganda. Most of this is revisionist bullshit glorifying the Soviet days.
One of the videos shows a “re-enactment” of Finnish soldiers surrendering and shot dead by the Soviet forces.
4/20
A few days ago, he also attended an event in Russia in which Russia’s intelligence agency SVR launched a massive disinformation campaign against Finland. The event was hosted by the Kremlin spy master Sergey Naryshkin…
5/20
…but Johan also had a role in this charade - he held a presentation that showed Finnish politicians like the former prime minister Sanna Marin criticizing Russia. Most of these clips were heavily edited and/or taken out of context.
6/20
Janus Putkonen is allegedly still in Donbas, and his propaganda outlet UMV-Lehti (renamed from MV-Lehti) is still pushing out digital diarrhea to all of its 8 readers. Occasionally, his “expertise” is presented by RT.
More on Putkonen here:
7/20
Bäckman and Putkonen are (literally) the “big dogs”, but there are a few, even more pathetic vatniks who still remain in Finland. One of them is Panu Huuhtanen, who bravely protested the video restrictions at a literary festival in Helsinki. After he was kindly asked to…
8/20
…stop filming @JessikkaAro's presentation and refused, he was removed from the premises. Huuhtanen was so badly injured, that he had to improvise a makeshift tourniquet to support his terribly wounded leg.
9/20
Huuhtanen is part of Toimittajaliitto (Journalist Association), a scam journalist association founded by Johan Bäckman in 2016. Its current chairman is Juha Korhonen, another sad Finnish vatnik veteran, whose projects ALWAYS fail miserably.
10/20
Korhonen is best-known for courageously burning the NATO flag and commenting Finland’s NATO membership for RT, but apparently he’s also responsible for creating the “press passes” for Toimittajaliitto. Being the creative guy he is…
11/20
…he used the Finnish postal services tracking codes as the barcodes for these passes - to be fair, they probably don't even understand what barcodes are used for. The background image of the pass, depicting a Canadian school, was stolen from stock photo services.
12/20
And this is not the first time this ragtag of losers have stalked Aro: Bäckman was even given a suspended sentence for stalking her, and Huuhtanen and Korhonen have also followed and recorded Aro’s movements and whereabouts. What a sad bunch of people.
13/20
Finally, a short story on how Russian information operations work in Finland and how Russia produces propaganda against foreign states:
Finnish old-school politician Kimmo Kiljunen recently attended an event organized by Russian organization…
14/20
…Aleksanterinliitto (Александровское Общество). The group members interviewed Mr. Kiljunen, whose wife is Russian, and who until today acted as the Finnish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs chair. During the interview, he said that the Finnish-Russian border…
15/20
…should be re-opened and that Finnish tabloids are conducting “hybrid influencing” and are “servants of Russian trolls”. He also criticized the ban on Russian land deals in Finland. After the interview was publicized by Finnish freelance journalist @OutiSalovaara…
16/20
…Kiljunen was harshly criticized by other MPs and his own party, and he later had to resign from his position.
The Kremlin often uses groups like Aleksanterinliitto (that was created to protest the border closure) as vessels for their propaganda.
17/20
It took Russian media only a few hours to start pushing out one-sided narrative out of the incident, and Aleksanterinliitto recently announced that they will organize four demonstrations in Finland to shed more attention on the border issue.
18/20
Of course Juha Korhonen also had to get involved in this mess - he interviewed the chairman of Aleksanterinliitto, Rostislav Vladimirskiy, who finally got the chance to spread Kremlin BS to a massive audience of around 20 people.
19/20
Aleksanterinliitto claims that they are independent and not in any way related to the Kremlin. Yet, this particular group has been previously in contact with the Russian MFA about the border, and they’ve been unable to condemn Russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine.
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.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Lithuanian far-right politician and Seimas member Remigijus Žemaitaitis. He’s best known for his extremist political views and for falling for a scam that convinced him he was flying to New York to meet Elon Musk.
1/17
Like many vatniks before him, Remigijus worked as a lawyer before entering the world of politics. Once just another politician, he gradually embraced far-right nationalism and populism, following a trend seen across Europe over the past 15 years.
2/17
Instead of real policies, he tapped into fear, resentment, and anger, turning 4chan talking points into a populist political strategy. His speeches became more extreme, targeting minorities, Western institutions, and Lithuania’s support for Ukraine.