The propaganda attack on the brains of Western citizens under the guise of Putin’s interview with the American blogger Tucker Carlson on February 6, 2024, the so-called message to the Federal Assembly on 29 February 2024, against the background of permanent alcoholic and apocalyptic delusions of Dmitry Medvedev, is a carefully directed information and psychological operation of Russia, first of all against their strategic enemies in the west.
Every dosed and tightly censored speech of Putin to people through the mass media is viewed by him through the prism of the deformed consciousness of a former failed intelligence officer and a long-time representative of the special services. The pseudo-historical stream of imperial delusions, and outright lies, are richly intertwined with hidden threats to destroy humanity through the use of nuclear weapons by Putin and undisguised nuclear blackmail from the mouth of Medvedev. The latter plays the background role of a deranged emperor, aggressive without limits, against the background of which Tsar Vladimir looks almost like a balanced strategist. Considering what Putin says with the aim of not informing, but misinforming the public, it is still worth dwelling on certain moments of this huge informational and psychological operation, which the Russian aggressive empire is conducting with Putin’s voice and Medvedev’s backing vocals.
The main goal is to confuse, divide and intimidate public opinion in the West, whose political elites are sensitive to public sentiment.
Second, to make it impossible for the West to understand the true goals and depth of the aggression. To which the West reacts gradually and piecemeal, and therefore always late.
Third, to leave the illusion of the possibility of solving the global confrontation through negotiations. Actively using time to strengthen their offensive capabilities.
Fourth, to show the West monolithic support for its policy, to smear the political class and society with collective responsibility.
And fifth, to testify that there is a demand in Russia for a much more aggressive position towards the West, which, for example, is articulated by Medvedev.
In essence, Putin is trying to convince the West, using a wide range of arguments – from large pseudo-historical excursions to aggressive actions “on the ground”, that the goals of the so-called “special military operation” are the complete destruction of the subjectivity of the Ukrainian State and the identity of the Ukrainian nation – which will be achieved not by “washing but by rolling”. And the more Ukraine resists, the worse the consequences will be.
Given that Russia has already suffered colossal losses on the battlefield, and has undermined for decades its ability to have a modern high-tech army, an operational pause to restore the combat capability of its troops with the establishment of a real line of demarcation as a temporary dividing line, forcing Ukraine to make significant concessions, is considered an acceptable minimum option in this phase of the war. At the same time, the appeal to the heroic “Russian Spring” (by the way, the completely unsuccessful special operation in the spring of 2014), the constant articulation of the illegality of the so-called Novorossia joining Ukraine, the inclusion in the Constitution of regions that are still mostly or partially controlled by the Ukrainian state, indicate the use of old tactics of gradual aggression to further prepare the legality of aggressive expansion and not give up maximalist goals (“Russia on both banks of the Dnieper”, as Medvedev declares).
Putin’s every statement is unanimously articulated by his clientele in the West. And there are not only representatives of marginal far-left or far-right groups but also respectable politicians, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán or Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. He said that it is necessary to immediately stop the war, stop pumping up Ukraine with weapons and immediately sit down at the negotiating table. The purpose of such actions is obvious: to make the most of the pause in the supply of Western aid in order to occupy as much territory as possible, a fact which will be recorded at the time of hypothetical negotiations.
Statements about the possibility of using nuclear weapons are the next stage in the continuation of the “red line” game, the crossing of which must inevitably trigger a nuclear attack on the West by Russia, which will ultimately end in a global nuclear catastrophe for humanity. Despite bluffing and constantly retreating from its own red lines, Russia is actively working with the brains of the predominantly pacifist population of the West and their political elites, who therefore chose the tactic of incrementally increasing aid to Ukraine and expanding the range only after another escalation by Russia. This tactic gives results. Even though Western weapons significantly affect the course of events at the front, the delay in its delivery, non-fulfillment of the set deadlines, narrowing of the assortment and a long public discussion before providing the next batch of new weapons, allow Russia to prepare for this step and minimize its results. And that is just on the surface. One can only guess what arguments are being made in the backroom negotiations, but their real manifestation is the timeliness, speed and relevance of aid to Ukraine, because no socio-political discussions stopped Russian aggression in the field for a moment, on the contrary – every delay was effectively used by Russia.
Undermining trust in current politicians and their policies to weaken the unity of the EU countries as much as possible, drawing them into political turbulence is Russia’s long-term strategic game against the West.
Another task of such a game, through the spread of first-hand narratives, is to divide the West, to put Europe and the United States at odds. That is why Putin is verbally leaving a window of opportunity for negotiations with the US, publicly reducing the role of European countries to obedient servants of the US. Here the goal is the same. To draw into the discussion the expediency of aid to Ukraine in order to stop or make it as difficult as possible and delay military aid. Also, knowing the traditional US fear of the strengthening of China, propose an agreement that provides for the geopolitical dependence of Ukraine on Russia while maintaining neutrality towards China.
At the same time, the mythologem about the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv, which is easy to plant due to the state propaganda monopoly in Russia, does not work in the United States. Accusing the leadership of a country led by a Jew of Nazism looks extremely unfounded and causes nothing but Homeric laughter. That is why Tucker Carlson, who allowed Putin to constantly broadcast this nonsense into the heads of Western citizens, is now trying to find other grounds for the objectivity and legality of Russia’s aggression. Such as, it wasn’t Russia that attacked (“Russia didn’t start this war” is Putin’s Orwellian phrase that stuns anyone), on the contrary, it is forced to defend itself. Moreover, it has an imperial right to the zone of its geopolitical interests, and the West and disobedient Ukrainians have only provoked Russia to take appropriate actions. Since Poland allegedly provoked Hitler with its intransigence and disobedience. Forgetting about the post-war rules and norms of the UN (Ukraine, by the way, was one of the founding countries), and the fact that Ukraine possessed the world’s third nuclear stockpile, which it voluntarily surrendered in exchange for security guarantees. Therefore, Tucker Carlson, for example, uses the sensitive topic of political corruption for the West.
Interestingly, Putin has nothing to offer his fellow citizens. Proposing five new national projects during the annual message, which supposedly provide for the growth of welfare and social standards of Russians, Putin does not even bother about where to get the huge money for this, because he insists that it is only possible after the successful completion of the so-called special operation, which to complete successfully is impossible. The statement about social elevators to SVO participants also looks comical. What elevators are we talking about, for those whose choice is only when and for which landing will they be sent to the slaughter? Therefore, you can promise a lot, for example, a bridge across the Lena River or a promise not to raise the retirement age. There will simply be no one to fulfill the promise.
Simply analysing Putin’s speech and Medvedev’s statements through the prism of logic and rationality is the biggest mistake. The purpose of these communications is to confuse, cover up real plans, misinform and disarm. That is why the statements of the Kremlin elder, who is convinced that he will outlive everyone and deceive everyone, should be treated precisely as subversive and information-psychological operations. 71-year-old Stalin, who went to hell on this day in 1953, also thought that way.
Only the military defeat of Russia, the collapse of the empire and the criminal trial of criminals can correct the situation. For this, we do not need negotiations but the daily strengthening of Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
