Keypoints of Mrs. Turnbull’s Analysis and Presentation
Everything they are saying is the complete opposite of the truth.
They have given up on trying to gain the respect of the outside world.
The goal now is to keep the Russian people on their side, keep them obidient.
Lies don’t need to be believable, if you create conditions in which people volontarily choose to believe lies.
The propaganda apparatus has three main qualities.
It is based on emotion.
It is contradictory rather than affirmative.
It is enforced.
Emotion-based
Mostly they produce abstract emotional rants and they are only three topics.
Russia is special and great.
Everyone hates us.
We will show them.
Solovyov brings these points over with perfection.
They portray themselves as being one with the people.
The essense of Russian propaganda is gaslighting.
Take what your critics are saying about you, and say it back to them.
Russian propaganda is like if an ideology could have full blown narcistic personality disorder.
Grandiosity, deep insecurity and viciousness.
Poor and older people are primary target for the propaganda. They love Putin the most, even when they suffer the most from the cleptocracy. The propaganda serves them people to blame – LGBT, the West, Nazis, Ukrainians.
Still those are not attacking Russia, but Russia is attacking them. Putin insists that these groups are attacking Russians just by existing.
People make incredible mental gymnastics to make that true.
Underlying emotional basis
If you are scared and angry, and the reason for this is with your government, than it is you against Putin, your chances are zero.
But – if the reason for your suffering are these enemies that big, strong Putin is fighting for you, than your chances are much higher.
Contradictory Propaganda
When a war crime is reported the Kremlin immediately denies everything and then spits out as many counter-arguments as it possibly can. Their strategy is not trying to convince people that they are telling the truth, but to convince as many people as possible that the other side might be lying.
Bucha – late April 2022
After withdrawal of Russians many killed civilians were found laying openly on the street. Immediate denial from the Kremlin.
Then they presented “evidence” in the form of several statements that indirectly implied that Ukrainians killed the civilians after the withdrawal of the Russian forces, in order to make them look bad.
The statements can be debunked in six ways.
After that the propagandists pick up the Kremlin strategy and add their own sauce.
The continue to produce counter-arguments – as many as possible – does not matter how insane.
If you support Putin you will grab onto any of those lies like a drowning person, rather than to believe that your government did this.
Enforced propaganda
No objective government media in decades.
News outlets spout all the same emotion-based propaganda.
Four good media outlets are all outside of Russia now – Mediazona, Medusa, TV Rain, Xolod.
People are in jail now for calling the invasion a war. It is forbidden.
People ask from Russians – how could it get that far?
The regime created apathy in Russian society. The protests led to small incremental tightening.
In that sense, it teaches you that struggle is counter-effective.
How did you go banktrupt? Gradually, then suddenly.
The facsim was brewing slowly, slowly and then it just erupted like a pastule.
Got to be careful – the gradual worsening is as dangerous as the sudden worsening.
My personal shame. Not the time to ask for forgiveness. Now is the time to help.