Interesting article from Moscow times about a Russian paratrooper's funeral.

[Sapient Donkey]

I find it both disturbing and fascinating how this war is presented to the Russia people by the Russian government.

An officer in his 30s from Ulyshev's airborne brigade showed up and re-told the circumstances of the young man's death to the gathered mourners. “Kirill died in the village of Bucha near Kyiv. Their group carried out a combat mission and encountered the Nazis. The soldiers completed their task in full. Unfortunately, in this battle we lost our paratrooper brother, our comrade. His name will be immortalized. By presidential decree, for courage and bravery shown in battle, Kirill Alexandrovich has been awarded the Order of Courage, posthumously,” the officer said.

Such a waste of life.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/23/at-a-young-russian-soldiers-funeral-denunciations-of-ukrainian-nazis-soviet-dissolution-a77038

[The Unmitigated Gall]

1. Despicable rhetoric, but if Pootler

knows one word only to stir the average Russian citizen, it's THAT word.

[lagomorph777]

2. The only Fascists in Ukraine are Poo Tin's war criminals.

[Sapient Donkey]

4. A lot of people seem to accept it without much question

Not just in Russia either. We obviously hear certain republican politicians and pundits over here repeating it. There are also plenty of pundits on the left (usually on the fat left side of spectrum) who are repeating it. One can head over to that one site where a bunch of former DUers live to see that the main narrative pushed is identical what comes from the Kremlin.

No doubt Ukraine does have some nationalist elements, but this attempt to conflate all of Ukraine with it those groups has been successful amongst certain groups on the right and left that are opposed to liberalism and willing to accept such dishonest criticism in defense of illiberal authoritarianism and an unjust war.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

5. The dark web of lies and gaslighting choking the world

has it's black center in Pootler's Kremlin.

[dem4decades]

3. What type of communications do the Russian people have with the rest of the world?

And if they do communicate, how do they respond?

[Sapient Donkey]

6. Propaganda and nationalism combined have an awful affect on people

Thinking back to the Iraq war, the rhetoric isn't all that much different. We just have to replace nazi with terrorists. Remember having discussions with people about this back then? Some would call you an unamerican terrorist communist jihadist supporter if you questioned the narrative at all. Then there was the whole freedom fries thing. Grant you, the Russia variant of this seems far less polished and kind of half-assed, but they probably don't have to be as "good" at it because it's easier for them to control the narrative that most Russians see and hear.

I get a sense that the younger generations of Russians have the ability/desire to seek outside information, but they seem scared to discuss it. Which makes sense given the way Putin is cracking down on dissent.

[Crunchy Frog]

7. Many of them have Ukrainian relatives or family members.

There have been parents who have rejected the accounts of their own children in favor of Putin's alternate reality.

I think in many cases, as with MAGATs, they believe what they want to believe.

[brooklynite]

8. They recycled a press release from 1943?