Thread by @P_Kallioniemi

In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American propagandist Alexandra Jost, aka “Sasha” (@sashameetsrus). She’s best known for being paid by the Russian state to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda — and for doing it with a big smile.

1/23

Alexandra, now 26, was born in Hong Kong. Her father is from Texas, and her mother is from Siberia. According to her, she has “dreamed of living in Russia since childhood.” Sasha's mother runs a dance studio in Moscow and her younger brother is avoiding mobilization.

2/23

Since the beginning of her creator career, Sasha has been adamant about one thing: that she’s “never had to be paid” to speak of her “love” for Russia. But, as always with Russia, this turned out to be nothing but vranyo — a Russian “tactical lie.”

3/23

According to the Russian investigative outlet iStories, Jost has been on the payroll of Russian state media TV Novosti. Her 2023 tax data showed she was paid about $2,000 per month, though there’s a good chance she also received bonuses (“nadbavki”).

4/23

Alexandra’s content has high production value, and her videos have performed relatively well across various platforms. Most of her social media output revolves around one idea: portraying Russia in a positive light for foreigners while encouraging them to emigrate there.

5/23

At first, she claimed to be “apolitical” and mostly produced romanticized videos about life in Russia and the “Russian soul” — you know, the kind that conveniently avoid showing the poverty, violence, and other grim realities deeply embedded in Russian society.

6/23

After being exposed as a paid propagandist, Jost’s social media channels disappeared from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. As is tradition, the fan of the authoritarian dictatorship complained about “censorship,” even though these platforms clearly prohibit state propaganda.

7/23

Banned on most platforms, Sasha finally found her home on Elon Musk’s X. She quickly garnered a fervent following — and even started talking politics! Suddenly, the “apolitical” travel vlogger had plenty to say about Ukraine and Ukrainians.

8/23

Over time — perhaps following instructions from her handlers — she began addressing geopolitics and especially the Russo-Ukrainian War, mainly targeting American audiences by suggesting that their “tax money” is being wasted in Ukraine.

9/23

In that sense, Sasha is like any other online vatnik, offering an extremely biased, one-sided view of current and past events. But what’s more relevant than her commentary is the soft-power propaganda she’s been producing in recent years.

10/23

With Russia, everything is a lie — a Potemkin façade. Her job is to sell this façade to naive English-speaking audiences, creating the illusion of a conservative, spiritual, and traditional country that values family. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

11/23

As we saw with Tucker Carlson’s trip to Moscow, Russia maintains a few polished urban centers, often featured in propaganda shots of metro stations, churches & other fancy buildings. These are then contrasted with poorer or unrestful regions of the West — especially the US.
12/23

Of course, this framing is completely unreal. Russia is the worst of the developed world in poor sanitation: about 23% of Russians live without a centralized sewage system, and 6% lack any sewage system at all. In rural areas, roughly two-thirds have no indoor toilets.

13/23

Alexandra promotes Russian “family values,” often showcasing photos of her own close-knit family — yet Russia has one of the highest divorce rates in the world. Domestic violence is rampant, but the problem was conveniently “solved” by decriminalizing it.

14/23

When it comes to spirituality, the picture is equally bleak: only about 9% of Russians attend church monthly, the Russian Orthodox Church has been entangled with intelligence services since Soviet times (it’s even led by a “former” KGB agent), and Russia bombs churches.

15/23

Sasha also likes to depict Russia as a multicultural country that welcomes foreigners. In reality, Russia is deeply racis: over 30% of Russians express negative attitudes toward ethnic minorities, and authorities often tolerate or even exploit racism for political purposes.
16/23

Human trafficking is rampant in Russia, ranked in the lowest Tier 3 in the Trafficking in Persons Report. The epidemic includes child sexual exploitation, while Russian law conveniently fails to criminalize possession of child pornography.

17/23

Sasha has also criticized the state of free speech in the UK — while failing to mention that in Russia, you can be arrested for holding a blank piece of paper. The state has murdered hundreds of journalists, and Russia now ranks 155th out of 180 in the Press Freedom Index.

18/23

While Sasha smiles about the charms of rural Russia, the same Russia is sending wave after wave of men, especially from minorities, to die in muddy trenches in Ukraine. Those who survive often return traumatized and violent, committing serious crimes upon their return.

19/23

While Sasha praises “multicultural” Russia, she ignores how many of these peoples were victims of imperial conquest — forced to adopt Russian language and culture or face exile or death.

Today, the state also lures in foreign workers to build its weapons.

20/23

When Sasha roams fancy supermarkets in Moscow claiming that “Western sanctions have no effect,” she forgets that a significant share of Russians live in poverty, and many mothers send their sons to die in pointless wars just so that their families can afford food.

21/23

Sasha insists “Russians are not the enemy.” Yet since 1990, Russia has invaded Moldova, Chechnya (twice), Georgia, and Ukraine, all while waging hybrid war on the West. In reality, Russia is the greatest threat to liberal democracy today.

22/23

To conclude: Sasha’s main mission is to whitewash Russia’s genocidal war on Ukraine & its grim reality of war crimes & brutal occupation with state-funded, feel-good videos.

She may fool a few gullible viewers, but no amount of smiling and dancing can hide the ugly truth.

23/23

The 2nd edition of “Vatnik Soup — The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” is officially out!

You can order your copy here:
vatniksoup.com/en/books/