Russia’s guru propagandists — tightly controlled, obscenely loyal, and highly paid media talking heads — are sincerely convinced that Donald Trump won the U.S. election. I was pleased. Things were going as planned.
Their jubilation was further amplified by the arrival in December of American TV celebrity Tucker Carlson to interview Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. On December 6, state Duma member Andrei Isaev appeared on the state TV program “Time Will Tell” and said that the sit-in with Tucker was a useful opportunity for Lavrov to send propaganda directly into American homes.
“Sergei Viktorovich (Lavrov) made a very important move. Here he played the role of a man who advertises to the American audience and explains things to them,” Isayev said.
Their joy did not last long. The sudden fall of the brutal Assad regime in Syria, Russia’s main Middle East ally, shocked Kremlin spokesmen. Prominent propagandist Vladimir Solovyov was forced to admit on air that Russia is currently “busy” in Ukraine and therefore unable to defend Assad.
So did Trump, who many propagandists assumed was a tourist, suggesting he shared Russia’s outlook. The president-elect seemed happy that the Syrian leader was gone, writing on his Truth social network that Assad “has fled the country. Russia, Russia, Russia, led by his protector Vladimir Putin. There was no longer any interest in protecting him. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. Nearly 600,000 Russian soldiers were injured or killed in a war that should never have started and could last forever. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine.
Trump also said that President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine “want to make a deal and stop the madness.”
While this may say a lot about the president-elect’s views, it hardly seems like he’s pro-Russian. He also suggested that the idea of an easy peace settlement for Ukraine was far from realistic. And indeed, Russian officials have consistently reiterated that the Kremlin will not begin negotiations unless Ukraine first withdraws from Russia’s “new regions.” This means that Ukraine will have to vacate land it has not been able to capture by force.
If peace in Ukraine proves elusive, the arrival of the defeat in Syria of a longtime Kremlin ally has sparked mourning in Russia.
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Of course, according to Putin’s favorite propagandists, this outcome was in no way his fault, and his spokespeople were eager to place the blame elsewhere. Could former President Assad have seen the Kremlin storyline suddenly switch while settling into his new guest dacha? Like any other Russian family, the family rallies around him as Russia’s propaganda chief deftly explains the unfolding devastation by blaming Assad and his corrupt regime for the debacle. I wonder if he was watching it? Did they notice the change in language when Russian newscasters turned terrorists into rebels and eventually turned them into an overtly anti-government movement?
“For us, Syria is a very sensitive issue,” Solovyov said, mixing bitter truths with lies, with his trademark groans and grimaces. “Before our eyes, the Syria we knew ceased to exist. That’s clear.”
He continued that the cause of Assad’s fall was the Syrian people. Solovyov argued that: “If the people do not want to fight for the country, no outside force, regardless of their numbers, can help them. If the people want freedom, if they want to fight, we can support them. can.”
Mr. Solovyov accused Mr. Assad’s allies, except Russia, of not showing up to protect his rule. “The Iranians didn’t show up. The Iraqis didn’t show up. The Lebanese didn’t show up. They didn’t come to help.”
Other experts went on to bash Bashar and his corrupt military, repeating that Russia itself was not to blame for Assad’s fall, even though Russia itself was one of the countries that chose flight rather than fight. repeated.
What will the future hold for that happy dawn that has seemed so bright lately? Mr. Solovyov did not seem to have high expectations for the next US president. “President Trump’s tweets are extremely unkind to us and show that we should have no illusions. We should not ask him for a friend. (Ukraine) says the war should stop and everyone should go back to their corner. I have a question: why does he think his opinion matters so much to us?
However, the Russian TV host does not trust President Trump’s intentions, but believes that he is the cat’s paw of the man in the Kremlin. Solovyov says the next U.S. president has no plans to come up with a peace plan and is waiting for Putin to talk about it. Experts on state television predicted the terms of the agreement would benefit Russia and cause problems for Ukraine.
RT President Margarita Simonyan lightens the mood by cheerfully noting that Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, reportedly watches RT reports and videos and shares them widely. I tried.
She predicted: “Without a doubt, victory is ours. Without a doubt, this chaotic world, filled with the stench of the carcasses of dead democracies, has nothing to do with us. We need We’re going to build things at a speed that works for us, and our goal is to help the president do that.”
Julia Davis is a columnist for The Daily Beast and founder of Russia Media Monitor. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Women’s Film Society.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering important topics related to European and North American foreign policy. All opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the positions or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Date: November 19, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Central Time)
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edge of europe
CEPA’s online journal covering important topics in European and North American foreign policy.
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