Targeting NATO
As the 2016 Warsaw Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is approaching, the Alliance and its member states are becoming increasingly targeted by pro-Kremlin media. The official Kremlin narrative, according to which NATO's actions pose a threat to Russia's national security (http://bit.ly/1YjHH5t), was repeated by several pro-Kremlin outlets. VZ.ru for instance stated that "NATO is creating a confrontational defence and security scheme by sending additional forces to the Baltic States" (http://bit.ly/1NsRhCA), while svpressa.ru reported that the Alliance is establishing a "military district in the Baltic region" (http://bit.ly/1OrkcSz). In the interpretation of pro-Kremlin commentators NATO's objective is clear: it aims "to intimidate Russia" (http://bit.ly/1rJsjFb).
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Who is in fact identified as responsible for NATO's "aggressive and anti-Russian mentality"? While Russian military expert Viktor Litovkin chose to blame the usual scapegoat, the United States, for using the Alliance as a political and military tool (http://bit.ly/242D2sb), others pointed the finger at Lithuania, "the most aggressive and Russophobic country in Europe", which is "pushing NATO in an anti-Russian direction" (http://bit.ly/1VVvKFj).
Meanwhile, it is only Moscow that is said to conduct itself in a responsible manner: despite the fact that NATO declared Russia to be an aggressor without any reason (http://bit.ly/1UVtDjL), Russia "does not want to participate in the arms race imposed by NATO countries" (http://bit.ly/1TkMdAG). Sergey Shoygu, Russia's Minister of Defence did not mention that the country's military expenditure was 5.4% in 2015 (as a percentage of GDP), which is the highest share of its gross national product devoted to military spending since its independence. It is also greater than the US's (3.3% in 2015) or any EU member states' (http://bit.ly/1hjX3Ww). |
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Ukraine: usual target with some signs of innovation
Ukraine continued to receive substantial coverage by pro-Kremlin media. Disinformation outlets repeated the well-known Kremlin narratives, e.g. that "Ukraine is part of the Russian world" (http://bit.ly/1X3OJN4) or Nazi ideals are widespread in Ukraine: Sputnik's German version for instance stated that "Swastikas and SS-runes found their way into the everyday life of the Ukrainian public" and "Ukrainians celebrated Easter with Swastikas" (http://bit.ly/1rQBEKY). It was also asserted that the Maidan revolution was in fact a "coup", "Russian thinking people" are being repressed in Ukraine (http://bit.ly/1OpbB2u) and that Ukrainian authorities carry out terror against their own people (http://bit.ly/1T9PbIg). |
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| In other cases, however, pro-Kremlin journalists displayed signs of innovation. An article for instance, published by tvzvezda.ru claimed that Ukraine is on the verge of a second nuclear catastrophe as it is increasing its use of American nuclear fuel for powering atomic plants in the country while phasing out previous cooperation with Russia in this area (http://bit.ly/1qbh5Yu). A similarly creative article featured a fictional provision in a government resolution, according to which Ukrainians living in places that are not their officially registered residences will be subject to fines (http://bit.ly/1rPZgPY). |
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ded_vasilij) wrote, 
