During Friday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most popular political talk shows in Russia, Kira Sazonova of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration said: “I have thought a lot about the ongoing situation with Ukraine. as to what modern Ukraine stands for in the West. It took me a long time to find the right word, but I think I finally found it. It’s “Gollum”. “Ukraine is Gollum.” This reference to a fictitious creature from the novel Lord of the Rings is fully in line with the latest propaganda strategy in the Russian state media. In an apparent attempt to dehumanize their opponents, state television experts and hosts described the Ukrainians as “unclean” – the same word for swindlers, demons and witches in Russian fairy tales. During Friday’s episode of The Big Game on Channel One, State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov claimed: “In the modern world, we are the embodiment of the forces of good. This is a metaphysical conflict between the forces of good and evil … We are on the side of good against absolute evil, represented by the Ukrainian nationalist battalions … and the American Temple of Satan, located in Salem, expressed the his support for Ukraine. “This is really a holy war, a holy war that we are waging and we must win.” Earlier in April, on Solovyov’s show, political scientist Sergei Mikheev went even further, claiming that “the Ukrainian God is the devil.” He added: “Ukraine is being cut like a pig on a pagan altar of sacrifice.” The same week on state television’s 60 Minutes program, political scientist Alexei Martynov described as “satanic” the responsibility attributed to Russia for its massacres in Ukraine. While the Ukrainians are systematically degraded, presented as an unholy nation that does not deserve to exist, Russian propagandists and state media lawmakers are urging the Russians to abandon their personal needs in favor of the Moscow crusade. During his show on Friday, Solovyov preached to his audience the importance of choosing morality over prosperity. This approach was appropriate to alleviate the frustrations caused by Western sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Economists predict that Russians are likely to face inflation of 20% or more by the end of the year. Solovyov is a young lover of austerity, having recently lost access to his multimillion-dollar Italian villas. Speaking to the camera, he asked the audience at home: “What is more important: a prosperous life, when everything is simple or when you go to the unknown? But you believe and your faith works wonders. “ Solovyov urged Russians not to worry about inflation, but to focus on the positive: “There is no civil war, no intervention; and war is not fought on our territory.” To sweeten the pot, he pointed out how much better Russia is compared to Ukraine: “I did not even mention the victims that Ukraine is hiding, but to be polite, I am afraid we are talking about more than 50,000 dead. Ukrainians. “And a specific criminal named Zelensky is to blame for all this.” The alarming number of alleged Ukrainian casualties is nowhere near the official or predicted figures, which means that it was probably made by Solovyov, perhaps in view of Russia’s escalating atrocities. As for the victims of Russia itself, the official number of 1,351 released in March is far from the numbers estimated by experts. It has not been updated since, but the Federal Security Service (FSB) request to increase funding for funeral services and gravestones speaks volumes. During Solovyov’s show on Friday, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee Andrei Kartapolov tried to get excited by presenting Russia’s war against Ukraine as a fascinating challenge. He said, “We are entering a very interesting period in the evolution of modern history. We are all incredibly lucky to be witnessing these great events. ” Kartapolov predicted pompously: “Historians will study this period later, to talk about its role, its significance as the turning point that defined the coming world order for many years to come. And we see it first hand! More than that, we participate in it! We should be proud of that alone. But most importantly, we must – and must be – proud of our president and our military, who created this turning point. “ Kartapolov turned to sacrilegious comparisons of Putin’s assassination, looting and rape troops in Ukraine with World War II veterans: “Every day we lose veterans of the Great Patriotic War … New veterans and young must which we have many … I fully support the idea of conducting the course of the Immortal Regiment, but I am deeply convinced that next to the photos of veterans of the Great Patriotic War we should bring the photos of our children who carried out targets in Ukraine, all of them ! Those who were lost there, as well as those who continue to serve. They are the real heroes, they are the foundations of the future of our country “. The difficulty of selling everyday Russians with the idea that the impending torment was worth it and that Ukraine had to come, pervades every state television channel. Appearing on state-funded Channel One on Time Will Tell on Thursday, State Duma Vice President Pyotr Tolstoy complained: “The realization that things will never be the same comes slowly and hard … This is a war for justice. . “This is a war for freedom. This is the national ideology of Russia.” During the same program, Duma Deputy Oleg Morozov noted that Moscow’s agenda is unlikely to end in Ukraine: “Today’s world is very dangerous for us, but it is also dangerous for the Americans, for the Chinese, for the Europeans, for the Poles and first and foremost, for the Baltic. “Let them remember that de-depopulation is a long, endless process and will most likely not end with Ukraine.” Morozov admitted: “This new world is extremely uncomfortable for us. We do not even know all the difficulties we are going to encounter in the process of building this world … Every person will encounter these difficulties. “Someone will lose a job … Someone will lose a business.” The host, Artyom Sheynin, asked author Zakhar Prilepin what he would like to say to the Russian people. The outraged author turned his message into childish simplification: “No one loves us and our own salvation is in our hands.”
