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.
3/17
May 9th AKA Victory Day and the “Immortal Regiment” are one of Russia’s biggest celebrations which commemorate the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany. Incidentally, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia while allied with the Nazis.
4/17
Rather than acknowledging the brutal Soviet occupation and deportations, these marches frame the USSR as “liberators.” For Estonia, which suffered under Soviet rule, this is an insult. But Tsaulin kept organizing them, pretending they were about “unity.”
5/17
Like all Estonian Kremlin puppets, Tsaulin also spreads anti-Estonian, anti-Western narratives, repeating Russian propaganda about NATO being an “occupier” and Estonia’s government being “Russophobic.” These people are so uncreative my soul hurts.
6/17
He’s also been in collaboration with Aivo Peterson and other pro-Kremlin vatniks involved in the creation of the KOOS party. He was already involved with the party in its early days. Like flies circling around shit, vatniks always seem to find each other.
7/17
Tsaulin has been arrested multiple times for violating public gathering laws and spreading extremist content, and he’s often mentioned in the State Security Police KAPO’s yearbook. After KAPO revoked his residence permit, Sergei ran away to Russia.
8/17
Once in Russia, he reinvented himself as a “persecuted activist.” Russian officials and propagandists were more than happy to use him as proof of the so-called “oppression” of Russian speakers in the Baltics. They even invited the chief propagandist Maria Butina to help!
9/17
Butina worked as a Russian spy in the US, infiltrating the country’s NRA gun lobby groups. In 2018, evidence of ties to the FSB was found in her home, and she confessed to being a Russian agent. After returning to Russia, she became a face for Kremlin’s propaganda.
10/17
Tsaulin, eager to be useful to the Kremlin, also positioned himself as a martyr. He claimed Estonia was “dangerous for Russians” and the West was behind attacks on Russian activists. Laughable, considering he was only arrested for breaking the law.
11/17
But in Russia, he was treated like a hero - a perfect tool for the Kremlin’s propaganda. Maria Zakharova and other officials showered him with sympathy, calling him a “victim of NATO-controlled Estonia.” Butina even organized a fundraiser for poor Mr. Tsaulin.
12/17
Moscow needed a new face to sell the lie that Russian speakers in the Baltics were oppressed. Tsaulin, desperate for relevance, happily played along, appearing on state TV with dramatic stories about life in Estonia.
13/17
For example, he attended a press conference for the Russian state news agency TASS. Another pro-Kremlin puppet, Maksim Reva was also present at this event. During the event, the director of the St. Petersburg Department of Foreign Relations, Sergei Markov, welcomed Tsaulin.
14/17
Remember when a bomb blew up in a cafe in St. Petersburg, killing Russian warblogger Vladlen Tatarsky? Well, Tsaulin was there and was hurt badly. But Tsaulin’s big break came in Jul 2023, when he was invited to the UN Security Council, a useless organization currently…
15/17
…presided by Russia. During his speech, Sergei complained about how horrible Estonia is & how traumatic it was when the “Ukrainian special services tried to kill him” in St Petersburg. After the event, Russia was criticized for “consuming resources” of the council.
16/17
Today, Tsaulin is still organizing propaganda events blaming Estonia and praising Russia’s “heroes,” apparently for their ability to kill, loot and rape in Ukraine. He’ll be used as long he’s useful, and eventually discarded - just like Russia does with most vatniks.
17/17
Big thanks goes to @Martinlaineolen for helping me brew this soup.
The 2nd edition of “Vatnik Soup — The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” is officially out!
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American national security policy professional and the current under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby (@ElbridgeColby). He’s best-known for fighting with cartoon dogs online and for halting military aid to Ukraine.
1/21
Elbridge "Cheese" Colby earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Before entering government, he worked at top think tanks and in the intelligence community, focusing on nuclear policy and strategic planning.
2/21
Cheese quickly became a key voice for a “China First” strategy, arguing the US must prioritize military buildup in Asia over commitments in Europe or the Middle East. He sees (or saw, rather) Taiwan as the core test of US credibility.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’m going to talk about… Vatnik Soup! As some of you know, we also have a website where you can find every soup ever published. The site also has other useful resources, making it the most comprehensive resource on Russian disinformation & vatniks.
1/15
Unfortunately, Elon has flagged the website as malware, as he might not be very happy about the soups I wrote about him - so far, they have garnered over 60 million views on X/Twitter.
The “freedom of speech” spokesperson doesn’t seem too keen on free speech, after all.
2/15
The heart & soul of the website is of course the soups page. There you can find all 360+ soups, which can be sorted chronologically, by popularity, etc. You can also search for soups by title or even in the soup text:
In today’s Wumao Soup, I’ll introduce how and where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) online propaganda and influence operations work. Due to China’s massive population and advances in AI, CCP-aligned online content has become increasingly visible.
1/20
Like Russia’s troll farms, China has its own troll army: the “50 Cent Party” or “Wumao” refers to state-linked online commentators who are reportedly paid ¥0.50 per post to steer discussions away from criticism and amplify CCP narratives on social media.
2/20
Back in 2017, a research paper estimated that the Wumao produced almost 500 million fabricated comments annually to distract readers and shift topics. In that sense, Wumao operates very similarly to the Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” model:
In today’s Vatnik Soup and the “Degenerate Russia” series, I’ll show you the brutal reality of Russian war crimes, in particular the horrific tortures and sexual abuses of children, women and men.
Buckle up, this one is not for the faint-hearted.
1/24
For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeted at right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional,family values.
In the previous “degenerate Russia” series we discussed Russia’s insanely high divorce rates, rampant domestic violence, high murder rates, thriving neo-Nazi culture, corruption of the Orthodox Church, and their massive demographic problem:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explore how Russia is working with Iran, and how the recent Israel–US strikes on Iran could affect the war in Ukraine. Iran has been one of Russia’s key allies in their genocidal war, but in reality the partnership is deeply one-sided.
1/21
Historically, Russia/USSR has been involved in numerous wars in the Middle East, invading Afghanistan for nearly a decade and desperately trying to keep Syria’s authoritarian leader, al-Assad, in power before his eventual downfall.
2/21
While initially supportive of Israel, the Soviet Union quickly pivoted to backing its enemies, fueling antisemitism, terrorism, and chaos in an already tense region. At times, this meant near-open war, like when Soviet Air Force MiG-21s were shot down by Israel over Egypt.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll re-introduce a Latvian politician and former MEP, Tatjana Ždanoka. She’s best-known for her history in the Communist Party of Latvia, for her pro-Russian politics in the country, and her connections to Russian intelligence.
1/22
Based on Ždanoka’s speeches and social media posts, she has a deep hatred towards the people of Latvia. The reason for this can only be speculated, but part of it could be due to her paternal family being killed by the Latvian Auxiliary Police,…
2/22
…a paramilitary force supported by the Nazis, during the early 1940s. Ždanoka became politically active in the late 80s. She was one of the leaders of Interfront, a political party that supported Latvia remaining part of the USSR.