ANATOMY OF PROPAGANDA: TOP 3 EVENTS OF THE WEEK

Russian propaganda continues to inspire Russian society with fakes about the unreal ratio of losses between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Federation, even involving Vladimir Putin for credibility. Moreover, they are actively creating a virtual picture of positive economic trends.

Vladimir Putin has raised the topic of the fantastic (10 to 1) ratio of losses between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces twice last week. The first mention happened during a meeting with war correspondents and the media, and the second was during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Despite the apparent absurdity of such statements, the official interpreter of the Kremlin's messages, Dmitry Peskov, concluded that "demilitarisation" has largely been accomplished.

Putin showed footage from World War II newsreels, as an illustration of the reasons that prompted Russia to start the war. The 70-year-old newsreel about the "atrocities of Bandera followers" voiced by propagandist Kiselyov was offered to the public for this purpose. Such propaganda pieces may impress the unpretentious part of the Russian population, but they look ridiculous to the international community.

The stability of the economic situation was supposed to be emphasised by the pomp of the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held from June 14 to 17. One way or another, all profile panels addressed the central propagandist theme of "sovereign development" today. The Kremlin opposes Russia globally, not only in the political but also in the economic spheres. This ideological superstructure should explain why Russians lose access to their usual imported goods.