The Economist - USA (2022-05-21)

The EconomistMay21st 2022 International 57

Experience a day in the life of a Russian

mediaconsumer, with translated audio

andvideoclips, by visiting the digital

versionofthis piece at

http://www.economist.com/ThePutinShow

See online

A famous actor vows todefend Russia

from Nazism,likehisancestorsbeforehim(1).

Other storiescoverRussianheroisminUk-

raine (2) andthestrongperformanceofits

economy (3).A reportontheAzovBattalion,a

Ukrainianmilitaryunitwithfar-rightties,

says Britishtroopscreatedandtrainedit,fos-

tering its Naziideologyandadherencetoneo-

pagan cults(4).

A twistedmirror

State  mediahadinitiallyderidedWestern

warningsofanimminentinvasion,and

seemed stunnedtolearnofRussia’sattack.

“Many thoughtitwouldallremainwithin

the  boundsofinformationwarfare,”says

Maria  Borzunova, who hosted a pro­

gramme  aboutofficial mediaonDozhd.

Some  journalists made dramatic exits,

such  as  MarinaOvsyannikova,a producer

from  PerviyKanal(“ChannelOne”),Rus­

sia’s  maintelevisionnetwork,whoseon­

air  protestmadeheadlines intheWest.

Most  keptthemachinerunning,whether

out of allegiancetothesystem,colleagues

or  loved  ones.“Iwasdisgusted,” saysa

journalistata state­newsagency.“Icon­

stantly thought,‘I needtoleave’...butI have

a family, achildanda mortgage.”

Stunnedornot,mostoftheinitialre­

porting  wastriumphalist.Journalistsim­

plied the “specialoperation”wouldbecon­

cluded  withindaysorweeks.Commenta­

tors  questioned Ukraine’s statehood,

warned  ofWestern­backedNazisandin­

sisted theUkrainianswereawaitinglibera­

tion. ManyrepeatedoneofMrPutin’sfirst

explanations for theinvasion: if Russia

hadnotmadea preventivestrike,itwould

havebeenattacked.

Astheconflicthasdraggedon,thetone

hasbecomeincreasinglyhysterical.While

thefightinginUkraineisstillofficiallya

“specialmilitaryoperation”,itisportrayed

asonlyonefrontina warwiththeWest.

SanctionsareproofoftheWest’sintention

tobringdownRussia.MrPutinisoftenre­

ferredtoassupremecommander­in­chief,

rather thanhis peacetimetitle ofpresi­

dent.“Theytalkalotabouthowthey’re

buildingthenewworldorder,howthisis

theirmomentinhistorytoendushegemo­

ny,”saysFrancisScarr,whotracksRussian

mediaforthebbc’s monitoringservice.

Atrocitiesoccur,butasa mirrorofwhat

Westernaudiencessee.CiviliansinBucha,

a townnorthofKyiv,werenotmassacred

byRussianforces,butby Ukrainiansol­

diers.(Westernsecurityservicesthenar­

rangedthebodiesontheroadsforjournal­

iststofind.)“SometimesI havethesensa­

tionthatweliveontwodifferentplanets

withthesameobjects,”saysZhannaAgala­

kova, aformercorrespondentforPerviy

Kanalwhoquitinresponsetothewar.Rus­

sianmedia“tellaboutaMariupolwhere

Russiantanksaremetwithflowers”.West­

ernmedia“tellabouta destroyedcityand

aboutpeoplewhowalkstreetsfilledwith

chunksofhumanbodies”.

AudiencesaretoldthatRussiantroops

takeextracaretoavoidciviliandeaths—

supposedlyonereasonthe“specialopera­

tion”istakingsolong.Ifacknowledgedat

all,casualtiesareportrayedasheroes.The

sinkingoftheMoskva, theflagshipofRus­

sia’sBlackSeafleet,wasexplainedasan

unfortunate accident. Parallels withthe

GreatPatrioticWartapintomemoriesofan

existentialstruggleagainstNazism.Offi­

cialmediaspeakofcleansingthecountry,

evoking Stalin’sterror inthe1930s.The

rhetoricis laced witha newreligiosity.

Hostsevokea holywar,tellingviewersthat

Godis onRussia’s side againsttheevil

Westernforcesthatencircleit.

11:30am.Youscan yourphonewhile at

work. Thetrendingnewstabonvk, Russia’s

mostpopularsocialnetwork,pointsyoutoa

channelonthe“situationaroundUkraine”.

Onepostquotesthevice-premierofCrimea,

whichRussiaregainedin2014.Hesayspeo-

pleinsouthernUkrainearekeentore-jointhe

Russianmotherland.(5).

“Whatonebaseoftheinfamous‘Azov’reveals.”

ThestoryisabouttheUkrainianAzovBattalion,

itsfar-rightties,andthewarcrimesandmurders

itsmembersareallegedtohavecommitted.

"The south of Ukraine will

become Russian," says the

vice-premier of Crimea.

“Minuses and a plus”. Russia’s budget surplus has

reached 800bn roubles, thanks to rising oil prices.

So much for Western sanctions.