Closing ranks: A mercenary from Russia’s notorious Wagner Group describes his realisation that the real enemy he faced in Ukraine was Russia’s military leadership
novayagazeta.eu
Ogarkov decided to go to war at the beginning of the year, and applied to the military for a contract. He had been thinking about enlisting to serve in the so-called “special military operation” for a while, he says, clarifying that he had wanted to do so “for the children”.
“I’d been watching broadcasts from Ukraine, with the constant calls to kill Russian children, so that’s what made me decide to go,” he explains, though when asked to cite a case in which Russian children had been slaughtered, he admitted he was unable to. However, there were many examples both on TV and social media, he added.
Just how gullible do you have to be to think Ukraine is genociding Russian children, like there's an ethnic difference in the first place...
Well, gullible enough to join a Nazi mercenary group to fight Putin's war and then march on Moscow without a clear plan, apparently.
And he was one of the smart ones....
It's dangerously naive to think propaganda Like this wouldn't work everywhere. Look at how Americans vigorously fight healthcare, for example.
It's easy to see for people who grew up in a free country but if everything you ever see is propaganda then this can warp your perception greatly
It would be so dumb that youd invade a capital building, attack police, and plan to murder goverment officials all because they were told to by the person who lost an election.
So glad I live in a free country where this would never happen....
It's not like having access to free information makes you immune to getting captured by propaganda. But the Trumptards chose to get themselves captured. That's why people in democratic countries are arguably more more culpible if they fall for this kind of crap.
The mental gymnastics those people go through all the time must be exhausting.
It is actually quite easy in Russia: just repeat what TV says and you will blend in perfectly with everyone else. It takes an effort to disagree with the propaganda there: you will be frowned upon if you don't act like everyone else. But the system is made such that it is very easy, almost natural, to go with the flow [of the Putin's regime].
Interesting that internally it was portrayed as a march against Shoigu. I had always heard the match was against Putin. I wonder why Putin holds Shoigo so dear.
It was never about Putin. Shoigu and Prigozhin were against eachother, probably fighting to be the only heir of Putin.
That is a moot point. Regardless of Prigozhins intent, it was most definitely about Putin as well, because you don't perform armed rebellion against one of Putins ministers without signalling that the person who appointed that minister was wrong as well. These people doesn't exist in a power vacuum, especially not in a authoritarian regime like Russia.
If you're running under the story that his "advisors are evil" and Putin was being insulated, then you can absolutely sell it as essentially a hostage rescue.
It's not a moot point, and the proof is self evident: there was a prevailing belief among the mutineers that Putin was good while they marched to Moscow.
Just like it's self evident that Russian propeganda convinced this guy that he had to join to protect Russian children.
Trying to armchair any of this has pretty limited value at the best of times, but picking up all of the context and communication relating to the reality constructed around the agents involved and dumping it in the trash first only makes the armchair takes even worse.
Western media was pushing the anti Putin thing really hard. It never had anything to do with Putin.
I remember distinctly how during the second Iraq war how easy it was to see through misinformation. It's not easy anymore. I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this.
Shoigu didn't march on Moscow, Prighozin did
@0x815 I meaaan