In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian lawyer, social activist, politician, and useful idiot for the Kremlin, Varro Vooglaid (@varrovooglaid). He’s best-known for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints under the guise of “traditional family values.”
1/20
Vooglaid has an academic background, which usually gives people plenty of credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin. Most of his academic career was spent at the University of Tartu, but he was also a researcher between 2007 and 2011 at the University of Helsinki.
2/20
Varro is likely the most influential vatnik in Estonia. His academic credentials provide him credibility, while his religious image appeals to “traditionalists” - many of whom oddly admire Russia and its imperialistic nature.
3/20
In 2011, Varro established the Foundation for the Protection of Family and Tradition (SAPTK), with an ideology allegedly “based on Christian teaching,” basically opposing Estonian progressive legislation (“Kooseluseadus”) which allowed same sex marriage.
4/20
As the chairman of the board of SAPTK, Vooglaid is no stranger to pushing narratives that align with Kremlin interests. His main channel for propaganda is Objektiiv - a media outlet run by SAPTK. Basically, it’s like any other “independent” fake news blog out there.
5/20
Objektiiv pushes anti-NATO, anti-EU, and pro-“traditional values” messaging fully aligned with Moscow’s interests. For example, there’s plenty of attacks against Klaus Schwab from the World Economic Forum, and von der Leyen from the EU Commission.
6/20
Objektiiv’s narratives come wrapped in cozy conservative packaging promoting family, faith, sovereignty. But as you scratch the surface, you’ll quickly notice that it’s a soft glove covering the iron fist of Russian-style authoritarianism.
7/20
In 2023, Vooglaid was elected as an independent candidate to the Riigikogu on EKRE’s list. He’s been publicly advocating for Estonia to “improve” ties with Russia. His main go-to line is “we must not irritate Russia, or else it will attack.”
8/20
In Varro’s delusional world, the 2014 Euromaidan protests were part of the “color revolution” series “organized by the CIA.” He also promoted a bizarre, unsourced story claiming that Turkey and former Ukrainian president Poroshenko attempted to take Crimea “with Jihad.”
9/20
Another gem from Varro: NATO forces are more dangerous to Estonia than what they might fear from Russia. He’s also criticized Estonia’s support for Ukraine, claiming military aid depletes defense and escalates tensions.
10/20
Vooglaid’s SAPTK is loosely connected to Russian “conservative” organizations like Konstantin Malofeev’s and Vladimir Yakunin’s Congress of World Familes. No financial ties between the two have been confirmed, but this wouldn’t be the first club these oligarchs support.
11/20
Vooglaid also has an unhealthy, borderline romantic fascination with Putin. For example in 2017, he shared to his followers a message claiming that “President Putin presented orders of parental honor to large families.”
12/20
In 2018 he praised Putin again—“Russians are building their self-determination on a much more permanent basis.” He's also praised Lavrov & other Russian politicians as more capable than Estonian ones.
Naturally, he denied the invasion would happen in 2022.
13/20
During COVID mandates, Varro admired the Russian policy over Estonian, and suggested that if Russia’s policy was better and more freedom loving and with less restrictions he would rather live under Russian rule. Yet, he’s still trying to backpedal from this statement.
14/20
For Varro, the reason for Russian invasion (he previously denied would even happen) was clear - it was of course that pesky NATO for daring to accept countries begging to join, afraid Russia would invade them again! And as always, there’s zero blame on Russia.
15/20
Vooglaid is ready to throw Estonia under the bus in order to get some good boy points from the Kremlin. For example, after the Ukrainian drone assault against Pskov airbase, Russian propaganda claimed the drones came from Estonia. Varro didn’t rule this out.
16/20
Varro doesn’t hide his admiration for other dictators either. He’s praised Assad, denied the Syrian chemical attacks, and even edited an interview with Assad himself. He’s also quoted biased Russian outlets like the New East Outlook.
17/20
He’s backed legislation like Russia’s “foreign agents” law. Varro questioned criticism of such laws, hinting they “could be beneficial.” I think we all already know who benefits from them, and why they were so aggressively pushed by the Kremlin in Russia & Georgia.
18/20
Back in 2018, Varro strongly opposed the sanctions imposed against Russia after the Skripal poisonings. He said the sanctions were set “without ensuring whether the accusations under which sanctions are being applied are true.”
19/20
To conclude,Varro is a classic “traditionalist” vatnik promoting the Kremlin under the guise of family values- you know, “won’t someone think of the children?” type of approach. His academic background makes him a valuable asset for Moscow & the pro-Kremlin bloc in Estonia.
20/20
The 2nd edition of “Vatnik Soup — The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” is officially out!
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the autocratic concept of “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars”: the idea that the leader is wise and just, but constantly sabotaged by corrupt advisors. This narrative shields the ruler from blame, and it’s used by both Putin and Trump today.
1/20
The phrase “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars” (Царь хороший, бояре плохие), also known as Naïve Monarchism, refers to a long-standing idea in Russian political culture: the ruler is good and benevolent, but his advisors are corrupt, incompetent and responsible for all failures.
2/20
From this perception, any positive action taken by the government is viewed as being an accomplishment of the benevolent leader, whereas any negative one is viewed as being caused by lower-level bureaucrats or “boyars”, without the approval of the leader.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. He’s best known for running both domestic and foreign disinformation and propaganda operations for the Kremlin.
1/20
On paper, and in photos, Kiriyenko is just as boring as most of the Kremlin’s “political technologists”: between 2005-2016 he headed the Rosatom nuclear energy company, but later played a leading role in the governance of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.
2/20
What is a political technologist? In Russia, they’re spin doctors & propaganda architects who shape opinion, control narratives, and manage elections — often by faking opposition, staging events, and spreading disinfo to maintain Putin’s power and the illusion of democracy.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.
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.