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Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics
Chapter 1. Theorising propaganda. - Chapter 2. Stereotypes of anti-Russian propaganda. - Chapter 3. Source credibility: Herding the masses. - Chapter 4. Language and narratives in anti-Russian propaganda. - Chapter 5. Selling democracy: All nations are equal, but some are more equal than others. - Chapter 6. Russophobia against the political opposition. - Chapter 7. The conflict in Ukraine as a civilizational choice. - Chapter 8. The Syrian war and humanitarian interventionism. - Chapter 9. Propaganda and the risks from irrationality.
315 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2022
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May 27, 2025
During the Cold War the dividing lines were seen as: capitalism vs communism, democracy vs authoritarianism, and Christianity vs atheism. The closer Russia and US seem to get, the greater the need for war mongering propaganda to revert to destructive binary stereotypes. The US counts on tropes of Russophobia and antisemitism enduring (always pointing fingers elsewhere) to better continue US hegemony during its decline. Truth and reason take a back seat to well-financed propaganda – which amounts to little more than constantly repeated binary stereotypes (“repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth” – Joseph Goebbels). Note that lies often remain “after the accusations and evidence have collapsed” – case in point the October 7th “beheading of babies” no longer requires ANY form of evidence to live on in the closed Hasbara mind. As Walter Lippman discovered, propaganda’s secondary role is to thwart a workable peace – e.g. whether for Ukraine or Israel. Instead, you get a benign “Us” versus a belligerent and demonized “Other”. If the “good guys” stretch the truth big time it is comically no longer propaganda but now is public relations.” As Stanley Milgram showed, most people quickly adapt to the group – persuasion bypassing reason. Propagandists Walter Lippman and Edward Bernays worked for Woodrow Wilson’s presidency which then treated the American public like Pavlov’s dog. Orwell said in 1946, “in our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.” 19th century blunt coercion was replaced by controlling information. Thus, Goebbels became a big fan of Bernays who had relabeled propaganda “public relations.” In the US the fantasy is that we might do the wrong thing for the right reasons, but those we want you to hate only do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Countries we are taught to hate, like Russia, we give only two roles – they can stay backward and morally inferior, or they can accept a student role where we will condescendingly teach them. Russia’s history of expansionism can never be seen as remarkably similar to US expansionism, or even the Viking history of expansionism, instead it must be seen like “the bloody legacy of the Mongols.”
Russophobic “Patriotic” Americans: Patton said that a Russian was “Asiatic and therefore thinks deviously.” Truman argued, “If we see that Germany is winning the war we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning, we ought to help Germany and in that way let them kill as many as possible.” Comically, this is the same Truman who said he “deeply valued” the Golden Rule. Perhaps he meant the Golden Shower. As Bill Clinton in 1996 said, “We keep telling ol’ Boris (Yeltsin), ‘OK, now here’s what you’ve got to do next – here’s more shit for your face’.” Russophobia 101 – what could Bill have to have said here to sound EVEN more contemptuous?
The US invasion of Vietnam was triggered by “an indigenous nationalist response to colonization.” Once again, US propaganda’s job was to preclude a workable peace. Peace first helps the people, but not the war industry. George Kennan thought the US continuing the Cold War after the fall of the Soviet Union was a moronic move: “And now we are turning our backs on the very people who mounted the greatest bloodless revolution in history to remove that Soviet regime?” Today liberals look for guidance towards a safe “expert class” like Heather Cox Richardson, Rachel Maddow or Anne Applebaum (e.g. ABSOLUTELY never to the left of what neoliberalism and a permanent war state demands).
“The first US-backed color revolution was in Serbia in 2000.” The came the Rose Revolution Georgia 2003, Orange Revolution Ukraine 2004, Tulip Revolution Kyrgyzstan 2005, and of course the Paisley Revolution Gucci 2006. The Queen of Russophobia, Anne Applebaum, called critics of the CIA-financed Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, “freedom haters.” Anne should know, she sure hates the freedom to factcheck her propaganda. The US called Ukraine’s democratically elected Yanukovich government a “regime” while the US/CIA instituted post-Orange Revolution coup regime was called a “government.” Yanukovich’s pro-US replacement was no improvement for Ukraine and he (Yushchenko) later left office with a miserable 2.7% approval rating. So, the Orange and Rose revolutions ousted democratically elected pro-Russian governments and installed neoliberal unliked anti-Russian governments. Had Yanukovich stayed in office, there would have been no Russian invasion because he wanted Ukraine to stay non-aligned (neutral).
Bernays said, US movie industry was the “greatest unconscious carrier of propaganda in the world today.” And that he said even before the Pentagon, CIA and NSA began controlling Hollywood product. You’ll be delighted to know that in 2011, the Guardian ran a story of the “the US military creating a troll army of fake personas to manipulate social media with the objective of ‘degrading the enemy narrative’.” Wouldn’t it be fun to spoof the already massive Israeli Zionist troll army into endlessly fighting our US troll army while we the world watched the battle online seated with popcorn? “I love genocide” “Really? I love financing genocide.” “Yes, but I love committing genocide more than you love financing genocide.” “Not true! We…”
Even our beloved actors and directors have no problem tonguing the ass of the US propaganda wagon: Rob Reiner 2017 directed a little tidbit accusing Russia of “continuing attacks on our democracy.” Meanwhile US leaders think of overthrowing democratically elected leaders in other countries as often a someone in New Jersey pulls into a Dunkin’ Donuts. That same Reiner video has no less than Morgan Freeman saying to the camera, “We have been attacked. We are at war.” No evidence needed, just another famous person willing to lie to us or be duped for one more paycheck. Add to this the huge amount of $ thrown at football games to force you to stand and sing patriotically while knowing that the line “Land of the Free”, was written in 1814, and thus only meant “free” for whites.
Putin hating US liberals want others to see all of Putin’s actions as trying to regain the full Russian Empire while comically the US shamelessly has at least 750 military bases. Funny how no US Putin hating liberal today will tell you that Solzhenitsyn “became an ardent supporter of Putin and cautioned Russia against following the neoliberal path under US hegemony.” Oops… Neither will Putin haters tell you that “Putin called for leniency towards Pussy Riot while a large portion of the public wanted harsh punishment and only 5% thought they should escape unpunished.” Western Media made Pussy Riot’s actions ONLY about criticizing Putin and wildly overestimated public acceptance of their actions. Hillary Clinton with a straight face labelled Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein as Russian agents. But that backfired because everyone knows that the most famous Russian agent Natasha (of Boris and Natasha of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame) is infinitely better looking than Hillary. Even Russophobic Mitch O’Connell was called “Moscow Mitch.” No evidence ever needed, just smear away. In 2010, Biden called Assange a “high-tech terrorist”, no evidence needed. Just bear false witness because Jesus wouldn’t. Even the Washington Post got in on the lies, daring to say w/o evidence that “Hillary Clinton could have been poisoned by Russia.” In 2016, neoliberal puppet Hillary called Trump a Russian puppet in a debate leading Kermit the Frog to ask, “What’s so wrong about being a puppet?” Wikileaks released Hillary emails proving she had undermined democracy and so Hillary jumped to action – not by denying, but by accusing Russia of instead undermining democracy. By day Hillary accuses opponents of being soft, and by night she accuses Bill of being soft. Hillary loses the election and then says the election was stolen with all the charm of a rabid Pitbull. Not to be outdone, the Guardian pulls from its own ass the unfounded idea “that Trump had been a Russian asset for more than 40 years.” CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post and New York Times were ALL “an essential part” of the Russiagate hoax. These same outlets squashed the Hunter Biden laptop story (by wrongly calling it Russian misinformation) which could have made Sleepy Joe lose the election. No wonder why I never follow any of these outlets, while US liberals buy whatever they say. Russiagate (and previously the 1920’s Red Scare, and the McCarthy era) showed progressives how propaganda against another country can win a domestic election.
I know an “activist” who attacks people who disagree with her with accusations of “false moral equivalence” or the intentionally vaguer “whataboutism” – this (as the author here also says) is done to “delegitimize comparison” and as a “rhetorical smokescreen.” The author calls invoking “whataboutism” as “Kafkaeque” and done as a “distraction.” I sure agree – it’s done to shut down dialog, by keeping it a humorless self-centerd monologue. Churchill said of WWII, the Soviets “tore the guts out of the Nazi war machine.” German polls found that Putin’s approval rating mostly is above 75% and has reached 88%. Meanwhile Biden said Putin has “no soul” and called him a killer.” That’s what I’d say of any US president who ignores a genocide or international law. Not to be outdone John McCain called Putin “an evil man.” Meanwhile Kissinger said, “The demonization of Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.” While US liberals pretend Putin is the new Stalin, “Putin has on many occasions many times denounced the crimes of Stalin.”
After 9/11 the US attacked the Middle East so badly it actually spent $520 million w/ J. Walter Thompson spinning the US positively to young Muslims. Wouldn’t you love to see some of those ads? When Iran wanted to talk diplomatically to Cheney, he responded, “we don’t talk to evil.” I’m surprised, Iran didn’t answer, “That’s okay, we don’t talk to ugly.” The CIA paid handsomely to weaponize feminism in Afghanistan as anti-Taliban – money well spent (ha ha) since the Taliban’s patriarchy is still as powerful as ever.
Russian foreign minister Lavrov calls the US “rules-based order” the “embodiment of double standards” – I call it being shamelessly a rogue state and then granting your fabulous self immunity. Once you completely ignore the UN Charter, international law, basic morality, and the Golden Rule, it’s easy.
After the Cold War ended, “humanitarian interventionism became central in the West’s foreign policy.” Propaganda likes to “legitimize war on humanitarian grounds” while framed in a language of peace to “dehumanize the opponent and clothe oneself in the language of virtue.” The NYT reported that the CIA spent MORE than a $1 billion dollars arming and training rebels against the Syrian government and the punch line is that US weapons then ended up in the hands of Al-Nusra rebels. The best way to KEEP fighting Islamic terrorism is to keep financing it. Wolfowitz saw that the end of the Cold War meant the US “can now use our military with impunity.” “A few months after the US invasion of Iraq, an astounding 69% of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein had colluded with Osama bin Laden in the planning of the 9/11 attacks.” Granted the US is a cultural backwater, where most citizens can’t find Europe on a map of the world, but that is still some EFFECTIVE propaganda that would make Bernays and Lippman proud.
Did you know that Zelensky ran in 2019 on the platform that he would IMPROVE relations with Russia and negotiate with Donbas? After election, pressure/threats on Zelensky by nationalists and the US, made Zelensky pull a 180 and turn on all things Russian. The joys of zero integrity. Then Zelensky’s competition Medvedchuk and Poroshenko got indicted leaving the flip-flopping Z dog as the only game in town. In a bow to neo-Nazi nationalists, Zelensky even changed the spelling of Kiev to the more Ukrainian Kyiv. Making thousands of restaurant owners around the world suddenly go “What the fuck? Now we have to reprint all our fancy menus to now say ‘Chicken Kyiv’?” Following the referendum in Crimea, “approximately 75% of Ukraine’s naval personnel defected to Russia or quit the Ukrainian navy.” So much for the fantasy that all Ukrainians stand united in hatred of Russia.
Fun Facts: “Every year since 2013, the US has voted against a UN resolution ‘combatting glorification of Nazism’,” because nationalist Ukrainians still worship famed Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera and since they also hate Russia, the US needs to finance them. The UN approved the Minsk-2 agreement, all the Western powers agreed to it and if actually implemented, Russia would never have invaded in 2022, because Minsk-2 solved Putin’s objections.
This was a great book. As you can see, I learned a lot and you can too. Most of my Facebook friends still deify Obama, Kamala and Hillary, and they’d hate anything from this book shaking their unfounded Russophobic fantasies, but those who reflexively question corporate media will love the clarity this book offers concerning today’s propaganda. Kudos to the author.
Russophobic “Patriotic” Americans: Patton said that a Russian was “Asiatic and therefore thinks deviously.” Truman argued, “If we see that Germany is winning the war we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning, we ought to help Germany and in that way let them kill as many as possible.” Comically, this is the same Truman who said he “deeply valued” the Golden Rule. Perhaps he meant the Golden Shower. As Bill Clinton in 1996 said, “We keep telling ol’ Boris (Yeltsin), ‘OK, now here’s what you’ve got to do next – here’s more shit for your face’.” Russophobia 101 – what could Bill have to have said here to sound EVEN more contemptuous?
The US invasion of Vietnam was triggered by “an indigenous nationalist response to colonization.” Once again, US propaganda’s job was to preclude a workable peace. Peace first helps the people, but not the war industry. George Kennan thought the US continuing the Cold War after the fall of the Soviet Union was a moronic move: “And now we are turning our backs on the very people who mounted the greatest bloodless revolution in history to remove that Soviet regime?” Today liberals look for guidance towards a safe “expert class” like Heather Cox Richardson, Rachel Maddow or Anne Applebaum (e.g. ABSOLUTELY never to the left of what neoliberalism and a permanent war state demands).
“The first US-backed color revolution was in Serbia in 2000.” The came the Rose Revolution Georgia 2003, Orange Revolution Ukraine 2004, Tulip Revolution Kyrgyzstan 2005, and of course the Paisley Revolution Gucci 2006. The Queen of Russophobia, Anne Applebaum, called critics of the CIA-financed Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, “freedom haters.” Anne should know, she sure hates the freedom to factcheck her propaganda. The US called Ukraine’s democratically elected Yanukovich government a “regime” while the US/CIA instituted post-Orange Revolution coup regime was called a “government.” Yanukovich’s pro-US replacement was no improvement for Ukraine and he (Yushchenko) later left office with a miserable 2.7% approval rating. So, the Orange and Rose revolutions ousted democratically elected pro-Russian governments and installed neoliberal unliked anti-Russian governments. Had Yanukovich stayed in office, there would have been no Russian invasion because he wanted Ukraine to stay non-aligned (neutral).
Bernays said, US movie industry was the “greatest unconscious carrier of propaganda in the world today.” And that he said even before the Pentagon, CIA and NSA began controlling Hollywood product. You’ll be delighted to know that in 2011, the Guardian ran a story of the “the US military creating a troll army of fake personas to manipulate social media with the objective of ‘degrading the enemy narrative’.” Wouldn’t it be fun to spoof the already massive Israeli Zionist troll army into endlessly fighting our US troll army while we the world watched the battle online seated with popcorn? “I love genocide” “Really? I love financing genocide.” “Yes, but I love committing genocide more than you love financing genocide.” “Not true! We…”
Even our beloved actors and directors have no problem tonguing the ass of the US propaganda wagon: Rob Reiner 2017 directed a little tidbit accusing Russia of “continuing attacks on our democracy.” Meanwhile US leaders think of overthrowing democratically elected leaders in other countries as often a someone in New Jersey pulls into a Dunkin’ Donuts. That same Reiner video has no less than Morgan Freeman saying to the camera, “We have been attacked. We are at war.” No evidence needed, just another famous person willing to lie to us or be duped for one more paycheck. Add to this the huge amount of $ thrown at football games to force you to stand and sing patriotically while knowing that the line “Land of the Free”, was written in 1814, and thus only meant “free” for whites.
Putin hating US liberals want others to see all of Putin’s actions as trying to regain the full Russian Empire while comically the US shamelessly has at least 750 military bases. Funny how no US Putin hating liberal today will tell you that Solzhenitsyn “became an ardent supporter of Putin and cautioned Russia against following the neoliberal path under US hegemony.” Oops… Neither will Putin haters tell you that “Putin called for leniency towards Pussy Riot while a large portion of the public wanted harsh punishment and only 5% thought they should escape unpunished.” Western Media made Pussy Riot’s actions ONLY about criticizing Putin and wildly overestimated public acceptance of their actions. Hillary Clinton with a straight face labelled Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein as Russian agents. But that backfired because everyone knows that the most famous Russian agent Natasha (of Boris and Natasha of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame) is infinitely better looking than Hillary. Even Russophobic Mitch O’Connell was called “Moscow Mitch.” No evidence ever needed, just smear away. In 2010, Biden called Assange a “high-tech terrorist”, no evidence needed. Just bear false witness because Jesus wouldn’t. Even the Washington Post got in on the lies, daring to say w/o evidence that “Hillary Clinton could have been poisoned by Russia.” In 2016, neoliberal puppet Hillary called Trump a Russian puppet in a debate leading Kermit the Frog to ask, “What’s so wrong about being a puppet?” Wikileaks released Hillary emails proving she had undermined democracy and so Hillary jumped to action – not by denying, but by accusing Russia of instead undermining democracy. By day Hillary accuses opponents of being soft, and by night she accuses Bill of being soft. Hillary loses the election and then says the election was stolen with all the charm of a rabid Pitbull. Not to be outdone, the Guardian pulls from its own ass the unfounded idea “that Trump had been a Russian asset for more than 40 years.” CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post and New York Times were ALL “an essential part” of the Russiagate hoax. These same outlets squashed the Hunter Biden laptop story (by wrongly calling it Russian misinformation) which could have made Sleepy Joe lose the election. No wonder why I never follow any of these outlets, while US liberals buy whatever they say. Russiagate (and previously the 1920’s Red Scare, and the McCarthy era) showed progressives how propaganda against another country can win a domestic election.
I know an “activist” who attacks people who disagree with her with accusations of “false moral equivalence” or the intentionally vaguer “whataboutism” – this (as the author here also says) is done to “delegitimize comparison” and as a “rhetorical smokescreen.” The author calls invoking “whataboutism” as “Kafkaeque” and done as a “distraction.” I sure agree – it’s done to shut down dialog, by keeping it a humorless self-centerd monologue. Churchill said of WWII, the Soviets “tore the guts out of the Nazi war machine.” German polls found that Putin’s approval rating mostly is above 75% and has reached 88%. Meanwhile Biden said Putin has “no soul” and called him a killer.” That’s what I’d say of any US president who ignores a genocide or international law. Not to be outdone John McCain called Putin “an evil man.” Meanwhile Kissinger said, “The demonization of Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.” While US liberals pretend Putin is the new Stalin, “Putin has on many occasions many times denounced the crimes of Stalin.”
After 9/11 the US attacked the Middle East so badly it actually spent $520 million w/ J. Walter Thompson spinning the US positively to young Muslims. Wouldn’t you love to see some of those ads? When Iran wanted to talk diplomatically to Cheney, he responded, “we don’t talk to evil.” I’m surprised, Iran didn’t answer, “That’s okay, we don’t talk to ugly.” The CIA paid handsomely to weaponize feminism in Afghanistan as anti-Taliban – money well spent (ha ha) since the Taliban’s patriarchy is still as powerful as ever.
Russian foreign minister Lavrov calls the US “rules-based order” the “embodiment of double standards” – I call it being shamelessly a rogue state and then granting your fabulous self immunity. Once you completely ignore the UN Charter, international law, basic morality, and the Golden Rule, it’s easy.
After the Cold War ended, “humanitarian interventionism became central in the West’s foreign policy.” Propaganda likes to “legitimize war on humanitarian grounds” while framed in a language of peace to “dehumanize the opponent and clothe oneself in the language of virtue.” The NYT reported that the CIA spent MORE than a $1 billion dollars arming and training rebels against the Syrian government and the punch line is that US weapons then ended up in the hands of Al-Nusra rebels. The best way to KEEP fighting Islamic terrorism is to keep financing it. Wolfowitz saw that the end of the Cold War meant the US “can now use our military with impunity.” “A few months after the US invasion of Iraq, an astounding 69% of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein had colluded with Osama bin Laden in the planning of the 9/11 attacks.” Granted the US is a cultural backwater, where most citizens can’t find Europe on a map of the world, but that is still some EFFECTIVE propaganda that would make Bernays and Lippman proud.
Did you know that Zelensky ran in 2019 on the platform that he would IMPROVE relations with Russia and negotiate with Donbas? After election, pressure/threats on Zelensky by nationalists and the US, made Zelensky pull a 180 and turn on all things Russian. The joys of zero integrity. Then Zelensky’s competition Medvedchuk and Poroshenko got indicted leaving the flip-flopping Z dog as the only game in town. In a bow to neo-Nazi nationalists, Zelensky even changed the spelling of Kiev to the more Ukrainian Kyiv. Making thousands of restaurant owners around the world suddenly go “What the fuck? Now we have to reprint all our fancy menus to now say ‘Chicken Kyiv’?” Following the referendum in Crimea, “approximately 75% of Ukraine’s naval personnel defected to Russia or quit the Ukrainian navy.” So much for the fantasy that all Ukrainians stand united in hatred of Russia.
Fun Facts: “Every year since 2013, the US has voted against a UN resolution ‘combatting glorification of Nazism’,” because nationalist Ukrainians still worship famed Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera and since they also hate Russia, the US needs to finance them. The UN approved the Minsk-2 agreement, all the Western powers agreed to it and if actually implemented, Russia would never have invaded in 2022, because Minsk-2 solved Putin’s objections.
This was a great book. As you can see, I learned a lot and you can too. Most of my Facebook friends still deify Obama, Kamala and Hillary, and they’d hate anything from this book shaking their unfounded Russophobic fantasies, but those who reflexively question corporate media will love the clarity this book offers concerning today’s propaganda. Kudos to the author.
December 23, 2023
An interesting book, but obviously you have to read it critically, taking into account the whole context of the subject.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews