Russian propaganda turns to Lord of the Rings to stir up hatred in Ukraine

With Russia’s growing losses in the war against Ukraine, in addition to Western sanctions that threaten the country’s fragile economy, state TV propagandists are resorting to mythical claims about religion. Since asserting that the Ukrainian government is a “Nazi regime” that does not hold the country, Kremlin statements have described Moscow’s aggressors as modern-day crusaders and their opponents as modern-day crusaders. devil and satan.

During the Friday broadcast of 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 argues: “I have thought a lot about the situation that is happening with Ukraine, about what modern Ukraine represents to 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”.

The mention of a hideous fictional creature in the “Lord of the Rings” novel fits perfectly with the latest propaganda strategy in Russia’s state media. In an apparent attempt to dehumanize their opponents, state TV experts and presenters have put describe Ukrainians are “unclean”—also the word used to refer to demons, demons, and witches in Russian fairy tales.

In the sixth version of the program Big game above Channel one, Deputy State Duma Vyacheslav Nikonov declared: “In the modern world, we embody the force of good. This is a metaphysical clash between the forces of good and evil … We stand for good against absolute evil, represented by Ukrainian nationalist battalions … and the temple Satan of America, located in Salem, expressed support for Ukraine. This is really a jihad, a jihad that we are waging and we have to win.”

In early April on Solovyov’s program, political scientist Sergey Mikheev went even further, claim that “Lord of Ukraine is the devil.” He added, “Ukraine is being cut into pigs at a pagan sacrificial altar.” Same week on state TV show 60 minutes political scientist Alexei Martynov describe People blame Russia for the massacres in Ukraine as “satanicism.”

While Ukrainians are regularly lower, portrayed as an evil nation that does not deserve to exist, state media propagandists and legislators are calling on Russians to give up their personal needs in support of Moscow’s crusade. On his Friday show, presenter Vladimir Solovyov lectured his audience on the importance of making moral choices for prosperity. This approach was taken as a convenience to ease frustration caused by Western sanctions prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Economists predict that Russians are likely to cope with inflation of 20% or more by the end of the year.

Solovyov is an austerity beginner who recently lost access to his multi-million dollar Italian mansions. Speaking in front of the camera, he asked the audience in his hometown: “What is more important: a life of abundance, when everything is simple, or when you are entering the unknown? But you believe, and your beliefs work wonders.”

Solovyov urged the Russians not to worry about inflation, but instead to focus on the positives: “There is no civil war, no intervention … and war is not fought on our territory. ” To sweeten the pot, he points out how Russia is doing better than Ukraine: “I’m not even giving the number of casualties Ukraine is hiding, but politely speaking, I’m afraid we I’m talking about more than fifty thousand. Ukrainians who died. And it was all the fault of some criminal named Zelensky.” The disturbing numbers of Ukrainian casualties are said to be disproportionate to the numbers. whether official or tentative, meaning it could have been fabricated by Solovyov, possibly in anticipation of further escalation of Russian atrocities.

As for Russia’s own casualties, the official figure of 1,351 announced in March is far from experts’ estimates. It hasn’t been updated since, but a request by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to increase funding for military funeral services and tombstones speaks volumes.

During Solovyov’s performance on Friday, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, tried to spark excitement by presenting Russia’s war against Ukraine as an exhilarating challenge. “We are entering a very interesting period in the development of modern history,” he said. We are all extremely fortunate to be able to witness these momentous events. ”

Kartapolov pompously predicted: “Historians will later study this period, to talk about its role, its significance as the defining turning point of the world order to come for many years. next. And we are witnessing it first-hand! What’s more, we are engaged in it! We should be proud of that alone. But more importantly, we must – and should – be proud of our president and our military, for making this turning point. ”

Kartapolov drew economic comparisons of Putin’s killing, pillaging, raping army in Ukraine with veterans of World War II: “Every day we lose veterans of the Patriotic War. Great Nation… New veterans and new heroes should replace them, whom we have in abundance. .. I fully support the idea of ​​marching the Immortal Regiment, but I deeply believe that besides the photos of veterans of the Great Patriotic War, we should bring along photos of people who have accomplished our goals in Ukraine. : All of them! Those who died there, as well as those who continued to serve. They are true heroes, they are the foundation of our country’s future.”

The difficulty of selling everyday Russians with the thought that the suffering to come was worth it and Ukraine has to face it is seeping into every state television channel. On Thursday, appeared on the show Time will answer funded by the state Channel one, Vice President of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy complained: “The realization that things will never be the same is slow and difficult… This is a fight for justice. This is the fight for freedom… This is the national ideology of Russia.”

In a similar program, Deputy Duma Deputy Minister Oleg Morozov pointed out that Moscow’s agenda may not end in Ukraine: “The world today is very dangerous for us, but it is also dangerous for people. America, to the Chinese, to the Europeans, to the Poles and, first and foremost, to the Baltics. Let them remember that denuclearization is a long, endless process and will most likely not end for Ukraine.”

“This new world is extremely uncomfortable for us,” admitted Morozov. We don’t even know all the difficulties we are about to face in the process of building this world… Everyone will encounter these difficulties. Someone will lose a job… Someone will lose a business. The host, Artyom Sheynin, asked writer Zakhar Prilepin what he wanted to say to the Russian people. The exasperated writer distilled his message into childish oversimplification: “No one loves us. and it’s up to us to save ourselves.”