Russian politician in Putin’s party threatens to use a nuclear bomb against Britain. “We had to do it,” replies one of the most famous talk-show hosts when heads of state were meeting at the Queen’s funeral.
Data has become in Russian TV shows more extreme Recently – especially after Ukraine’s successful counterattack.
– It has become hotter and more screeching than before after the setbacks on the battlefield, says Inna Sangadzhieva of the Helsinki Committee, who is Russian herself.
– It looks like sheer despair. There are signs that society is disintegrating, says Christian Gerner, professor of history and Russian expert at Lund University.
One of the parliamentarians, Andrei Gorolev, has appeared on several talk shows in recent days. In one, with Putin’s propagandist Vladimir Solovgov, Gorolev, among others, said this in a clip posted on Twitter By Russian Media Monitor:
– Today I heard someone talking about “If we don’t win…”. It is not an option, we will win. We will win at any cost.
Gorolyov says he doesn’t really like crushing Ukrainians (“many of us have friends and relatives there”), but claims that there is no choice but to “crush” Ukrainians.
He also spoke of President Joe Biden’s condemnation of whether Russia would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. It is not viable, Gorolev says, because it is their own people who will eventually live there. A long-serving officer allows her to shine through that NATO is the enemy. Talking about Berlin as the most important decision-making center, Gorolev nevertheless believes that Russia should strike Great Britain first – with nuclear weapons:
– Biden says they will respond, under Article 5 of NATO, but if we turn the British Isles into a Martian desert in three minutes with tactical rather than strategic nuclear weapons, who are they going to use Article 5 because then? asks the Russian politician.
– It will be a country that does not exist, it will turn into a Martian desert. They will not answer.
Article 5 states that if one or more NATO countries are subjected to an armed attack, this is considered an attack on all NATO members.
On another talk show, With Olga Skapjeeva as a prelude, also on the main channel Rossija-1, where the mass graves in Izyum are dismissed as “fake news”. Gorolev also talks here about nuclear weapons:
Why should we bomb Ukraine or Germany when we have Great Britain, the root of evil?
– We should have done it the day when all the old people had gathered for the funeral, Skapjeeva interjected.
– They have 245 nuclear warheads that we can easily deploy, Andrei Gorolev continues.
Intrepid journalist Andrej Sidorczyk was also a guest on Skabejeva’s. He says:
– It is not only the power structures in Ukraine that are Nazism. Joe Biden is a Nazi, Olaf Schulz is a Nazi, Ursula von der Leyen is a Nazi – because what they do and what they say is actually Nazi. It is pure Nazism.
History Professor Christian Gerner at Lund University put forward the ancient expression “a regime facing perdition”:
The propaganda on Russian television was that Russia was the one under threat and that Putin was waging a defensive war. But what is emerging now is unreasonable, and many Russians have gained knowledge of how bad the war was. This indicates a society in disarray. Gerner says it indicates desperation, and therefore is annoying.
– What is the reaction of most Russians?
It’s hard to conclude, but it’s probably common. However, it reflects a society in disintegration and despair. On the one hand, it is completely unrealistic, and on the other hand it is unpleasant to have an irrational general culture.
Ina Sangadzhieva of the Helsinki Committee says the propaganda for TV channels continues – at least as long as they get paid.
They should give what they pay for – the publicity. They are hot, sentimental, conspiracy theories, and outright lies, she says.
Sangadzhieva says that the main TV channels cut off entertainment programs and let discussions take place after the outbreak of the war.
– They had declining viewing numbers for several years, but the war brought them back a lot of viewers – and they only broadcast debates and analysis programmes. But during the summer, people are clearly tired of it, viewing numbers are down – and now they’re putting entertainment back into the broadcast schedule, says Inna Sangadzhieva.
– Skabejeva and other TV profiles are repeating somewhat the same thing they’ve been saying since 2014, but recent big losses mean they have to scream more and make tougher statements.
“Coffee trailblazer. Certified pop culture lover. Infuriatingly humble gamer.”
