EUvsDisinfo: The persistent chant about “the wars of the West” (Wars of ‘the West’, Kumbaya of the Kremlin)
When the Kremlin presents its worldview, it often talks about wars – especially those the causes of which he attributes to other countries. In the past week, we have witnessed several interesting cases in which the Kremlin claims that “the West” is preparing to start new wars against Russia.
The term “West“
The term “West“ already firmly rooted in the Kremlin identity and worldview. Today, war has become a defining feature of Putin's Russia and serves to consolidate the regime – likewise “The West“ becomes a starting point in the construction of the identity of the current Russian leadership. If you are against the special military operation (read: aggressive war against Ukraine), then you are on the side of the “West”. They will call you a “foreign agent”, “undesirable subject“ or simply an outcast and you will receive a punishment commensurate with your influence in society. The more recognizable you are, the harsher the sentence. You may even be disenfranchised. Every Friday, the Russian authorities update the list of foreign agents, and their number is growing rapidly. In the projection of the Kremlin “The West” has become synonymous with anyone who opposes Moscow's policies. This helps define what modern Russia is: it is everything that is not Western.
„West“ = warmongers
In today's Russia, an old Soviet practice is resurrected from the past: the glorification of Stalin and slogans for strengthening the role of the state. In addition, “The West” it is no longer the partner it was in the 1990s and early years of the new millennium. Many readers will probably recall the endless anti-American posters depicting the USSR pitted against US bellicosity. Just as in Soviet times, today the West is presented as the eternal warmonger. Printed posters have been replaced by a flood of information space from television and social media channels in the same style: overexposed grotesque, emotional distortion, search for a scapegoat and ideological messages such as “they are against us” and “they besiege us, but we proudly defend the world“.
Armenia and Moldova as targets
Armenia: The Kremlin's media network is now pushing the message that “the West” is considering starting a war in Armenia against Russia and to this end is “exerting serious pressure on the countries of the South Caucasus”. The claim is ridiculous: who really wants another war in the Caucasus? On the other hand, this statement masks Moscow's frustration that Yerevan is not following the Russian political line; does not trust or promote the Collective Security Treaty Organization – Moscow's local security unit; and that Armenia has dared to hold political talks with the EU and other countries.
To top it off, Armenia's ambassador to Kyiv visited the city of Bucha on June 2 and commented on the situation. And as we know, Moscow is allergic to any criticism of the horrific and well-documented atrocities it committed in places like Bucha. Russian state media presents Moldova as a future battlefield from which the “West” preparing to attack Russia. This was another attempt to raise dust in the eyes of the public and it coincided with the second congress of the opposition bloc “Victory”, which was held last week in – you guessed it – Moscow.
Congress seeks to create negative sentiment towards the political situation in Moldova ahead of the presidential election and EU membership referendum scheduled for October 20. Igor Dodon, the former president of Moldova and a puppet of Moscow, said in an interview with TASS that the current head of state, Maya Sandu, is preparing Moldova for war. If we listen to Moscow's propagandists, it will turn out that Belarus is also among the potential battlefields. Minsk ruler Alexander Lukashenko often raises the false alarm that Belarus should be ready to face a Western attack or a full-scale invasion soon. These commentators are ringing the bells of war so loudly that they almost succeed in distracting the public from the daily sound of real weapons in Ukraine that actually bring death and destruction.
Peace Summit in Switzerland
All of the above serves to distract from the important upcoming international peace summit that Switzerland will host on June 15 and 16. The Kremlin is aligning itself with China and doing everything it can to derail the meeting and sabotage the peace road map. Russia persistently claims to represent the “Global South” and the “global majority” rejecting the “war-mongering West” – as demonstrated by the BRICS+ meeting held in Russia, which ended on June 11.
North Korea – a stop on the road to peace
Meanwhile, Putin is preparing for a new trip. This time the destination is North Korea. Allegedly in the service of peace. But we suspect that the agenda is unlikely to include the question of how to implement unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The fact is that Russia is violating its own decisions by engaging in heavy trafficking of products and energy in exchange for North Korean artillery ammunition and weapons requested by Russia.
And again in post-election Europe
This week has seen intense verbal attacks against key European politicians, notably French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After the European Parliament elections, a whole galaxy of Russian high-ranking officials accused both of them of... doing their job as heads of state. Moscow's desire is to fuel tension and instability across Europe. Russia propagates the thesis that for the West, Ukrainians are just cannon fodder used to weaken Russia. No. This is a lie, and even if the Kremlin's disinformation network repeats it thousands of times on the air in over 20 languages, it remains a lie and its purpose is to drive a wedge between Ukraine and the rest of Europe and to attribute cynicism to European governments and peoples.< /p>
Moscow also claims that the West is funding the protests in Georgia and destabilizing the situation. It's a case of “Look in the mirror”. We use this quote from the former Finnish president Niinistö: with these words, Niinistö answered Putin why Finland would join NATO. Moscow uses both open funds and illegal means to bring Georgia back into the Russian orbit.
EUvsDisinfo/ translation: Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria