Bosman follows the Russian media daily and sees mostly pro-Kremlin stories. For example, Russian Defense Minister Shoygu said Ukraine blew up the dam to prevent a Russian attack on Kherson. A strange discussion, Bosman thinks, because the Russians just left in November.
On the independent Russian news site Meduza, an expert suggested that the breach could be the result of Russian mismanagement of the dam: the Russians allegedly let the water level rise too high, causing excessive pressure to build up and it burst. of the dam. But the same expert also says that it could not have been the impact of a missile that caused the breakthrough. “This suggests that the Russians are to blame.”
mainstream
But independent news sites are scarce in Putin’s Russia. Mainstream news comes from state television, and it is above all the sound of the Kremlin: Ukraine has done with the help of the West to blame Russia. With the goal: tougher sanctions against Russia.
“And so Russia is constantly maneuvering itself into a sort of victim role”
The Kremlin’s dominant sound in the news for 23 years has paid off, according to Bosman, the problem is that most Russians no longer know what they are watching. “For 23 years, that propaganda, half-lies and complete distortions, has been dripping like some kind of poison.” According to Bosman, “many” Russians watch television and the majority get their news from there.
Cursed corner
As a result, most Russian TV watchers are convinced that Russia has once again been pushed into the dark corner by the West. According to Bosman, this is an important reason why there is not much more opposition to the war in Ukraine. ‘People really believe that NATO attacked Russia and used Ukraine as some sort of proxy. This is the narrative that Putin constantly wants to spread and it is what many people still believe.’
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