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On Russian state television, high-ranking Putin confidants declare “the West” to be the main enemy. The USA in particular should be wary of Russia’s nuclear weapons.
Moscow – The propaganda apparatus of Russia’s president Wladimir Putin is currently in full swing. In the show “The New World” hosted by Duma member Marina Kim, the guests are again allowed to make threats to “the West”. For example, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that Russia’s nuclear doctrine could be changed due to “unacceptable and escalating measures” by the West, as Newsweek reported.
“Redefining our place in the world” – Nationalist defends Russia’s nuclear weapons
Ultranationalist politician Alexander Dugin was also a guest on the show. In an excerpt shared by journalist Julia Davis on X, Dugin says that Russia is currently in the process of “redefining its place in the world.” The country has only two options: “Either to be great or not to exist.”
The problem is of course “the West,” Dugin analyzes – “specifically the modern West.” This is a “pathologically sick civilization” that has isolated itself from the rest of the world. To solve the alleged problem, Dugin proposes an “Iron Dome” to “protect humanity from the West.”
According to Dugin, nuclear weapons are the only plausible answer to this question. “In order to defend ourselves against this and not to be helplessly at the mercy of this insane, aggressive, imperialist and colonial civilization, nuclear weapons are necessary for containment,” Dugin continued.
Russia’s propaganda – “cultural war” against the West
Blaming the West for current world events, especially the Ukraine WarAccording to experts, this is a classic Russian conspiracy and propaganda narrative. The European Commission writes on its website that Russia often paints the picture that Putin is fighting against a collective West that wants to weaken or destroy Russia.
In the Interview with the University of Zurich Slavist Sylvia Sasse said that Russia was waging a “cultural war” against the West and Ukraine. “The propaganda mostly operates according to the principle of reversing things into the opposite,” said Sasse. “That means it consistently accuses the West of doing what is actually happening in Russia: waging a war of aggression, establishing a dictatorship, failing to protect freedom of expression and being morally corrupt.”
Thus, the war of aggression, which violates international law, can be “strategically reinterpreted as resistance against the West, as defense and even as decolonization,” explains Sasse.
“The greatness of our president” – Putin is said to have saved Russia from destruction
Mikhail Kovalchuk, physicist, media mogul, billionaire and close confidant of Putin, spoke in “The New World”. Together with other high-ranking Russian personalities, he is a member of the “Osero” dacha cooperative, an association from the 1990s to which Putin is also a member.
Kovalchuk said that the US wanted to disarm Russia of nuclear weapons. “Effectively, they wanted to ban nuclear weapons (…) then suddenly they wanted to destroy them,” said Kovalchuk. “When our president came into office, who is very smart and thinks about the future, he understood everything,” Kovalchuk continued. “We must appreciate the greatness of our presidents.”
Kovalchuk says that nuclear weapons are “the most important thing in the world” – especially when it comes to deterring Western countries. “We are the only country that can turn America into radioactive nuclear ash,” said Kovalchuk.
Russia’s nuclear weapons – “practically a complete bluff”
How dangerous are Russia’s nuclear threats in the Ukraine war? According to experts, these are current Reaction to the debate about Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory Germany and the USA recently gave permission to attack positions in the border area with supplied weapons – but attacks deep into Russia’s interior are still prohibited.
Whether Putin will actually resort to the use of nuclear weapons is difficult to assess, said political scientist Ulrich Kühn to ZDF Today“Not every threat is a threat that must be followed by action. But it can be followed. The problem is that we are moving in a grey area and nobody knows where the red lines are,” explained Kühn. The reconquest of the Crimea by the troops of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky According to Kühn, this could represent such a trigger point. (nhi)
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