What are the developments in Russian propaganda in October? Sergei Kurginyan, a Russian ultraconservative politician argued that Russia is the last bastion of the white race but he is not racist, how could you think that? This and other odd debates have been on Russian TV in October, starting from an absolute mental discussion that referendums to join Russia will be conducted all over the world to Anton Krasovsky (a former RT propagandist) calling for killing Ukrainian children. The level of conversations on Russian TV is hard to define these days as it seems to hover between wishful thinking and calls for extreme violence. The latest attempt of the Kremlin to convince anyone that Ukraine is planning to use a low-yield nuclear device (a dirty bomb) has been met with understandable disbelief and sometimes laughter. How this roller coaster of information coming from Russia can be processed and logically looked into?
First, it is important to remember that Russian propagandists have been saying things they apologised for, lied to and mislead their audience, and shouted at every person coming to their studios from the beginning of the war with Ukraine. It is their job so we should take their statements with a grain of salt. Anton Krasovsky apologised for his call for the Ukrainian children’s genocide but he was still fired from RT which gives me hope that there are lines that even RT is not ready to cross yet. It is promising to see some common sense in the midst of Russian TV these days. However, Maria Zakharova published a post on Telegram where she shows what she calls hate speech against Russia. Thus, it is possible to see how the regime is trying to counteract the negativity of its own propaganda machine. In this attempt, the regime works on the creation of the Other, which should represent everything that is “bad” in the West but at the same time, the propagandists spreading the word should succumb to the evils of the Other – the test that Krasovsky failed.
And, of course, I have to mention the escalation of violence and missile attacks from Russia in response to the explosion on the Kerch bridge and other Ukrainian military advances. Russian propagandists have been praising the new “proactive” plan of action of the Russian military in Ukraine, openly supporting leaving Ukrainians without electricity and opportunities to keep warm this winter. Quite often such support comes in the form of disgusting gloating, especially by Soloviev. Meanwhile, the Vagner group continues to recruit dangerous criminals, offering them to fight in Ukraine instead of their prison sentences. There are reports that many say yes. Undeniably, the trajectory of the escalation of the war that we have been seeing in October is alarming, especially considering the difficult winter months ahead for Ukraine.