Bucketful of nonsense
I do follow Russian news to some extent – to be aware of “another” opinion – but there are limits to how much nonsense one can take. With years, Russian news experience has become increasingly painful. I’m talking about the kind of pain one feels watching people embarrassing themselves.
Today, I managed to sit through the weekly summary news on the main Russian TV channel, the ORT. The amount of wrinkles on my face must have increased considerably from all the frowning and grimacing.
First, I felt a blow of nostalgia, some kind of memory about my Soviet childhood. The new prime minister of Russia – a mister Nobody promoted by the President out of the complete blue – got unprecedented support by the parliament, in fact, the highest ever in Russian history. Who would have expected such an approval of the President’s protégé?
The new prime minister of Russia is a separate long story to tell. It is the predictable big surprise before the parliamentary and presidential elections – a strange move both anticipated and puzzling.
Then, there was a 15-minute report on the President’s moves over the past week, with lots of quoting his remarkable opinions and praise to his foresight, consideration, wisdom. Only the words “our father”, “his holiness”, and “the great teacher” were not uttered in the report, although they were strongly implied on.
Then, in the best Soviet traditions, the reports moved over to bashing every bit of news from abroad.
When a reporter started mocking Ukrainian democratic attempts with a lot of vigour and sappiness, I thought that the Russian propaganda machine has no mercy to those who dare to turn away the almighty Russian supporting hand, such as Ukraine, Georgia or the former Soviet “allies”. I could only laugh bitterly at the blatant burial of Ukrainian democracy on Russian TV. Pathetic as it may seem to some, at least Ukraine is still struggling. Russia, on the other hand, has long lost the lust for fighting for the democracy, and has contently moved to blindly loving and idealising of those in power.
Nostalgia, amazement and disgust, were then replaced by a strong sense of lunacy, when yet another report looked deep into the last performance of Osama bin Laden on TV. The suggestion that bin Laden has never existed and is a myth created by CIA, skilfully costumed, enacted and publicised “in the best Hollywood traditions”, only to boost the ratings of Republicans and Bush in particular made me speechless. This conspiracy bullshit was the main message of the report – the report in the weekly summary news on the main Russian TV channel.
Like a little kinky touch, all the evening news shows on this main Russian TV channel end with a little extra, produced specially for the Estonian Russians, the so-called local news. This is always a curious bit on how Russian propaganda is “seamlessly” brainwashing its foreign compatriots. But that, again, is a whole new story.
Today, I managed to sit through the weekly summary news on the main Russian TV channel, the ORT. The amount of wrinkles on my face must have increased considerably from all the frowning and grimacing.
First, I felt a blow of nostalgia, some kind of memory about my Soviet childhood. The new prime minister of Russia – a mister Nobody promoted by the President out of the complete blue – got unprecedented support by the parliament, in fact, the highest ever in Russian history. Who would have expected such an approval of the President’s protégé?
The new prime minister of Russia is a separate long story to tell. It is the predictable big surprise before the parliamentary and presidential elections – a strange move both anticipated and puzzling.
Then, there was a 15-minute report on the President’s moves over the past week, with lots of quoting his remarkable opinions and praise to his foresight, consideration, wisdom. Only the words “our father”, “his holiness”, and “the great teacher” were not uttered in the report, although they were strongly implied on.
Then, in the best Soviet traditions, the reports moved over to bashing every bit of news from abroad.
When a reporter started mocking Ukrainian democratic attempts with a lot of vigour and sappiness, I thought that the Russian propaganda machine has no mercy to those who dare to turn away the almighty Russian supporting hand, such as Ukraine, Georgia or the former Soviet “allies”. I could only laugh bitterly at the blatant burial of Ukrainian democracy on Russian TV. Pathetic as it may seem to some, at least Ukraine is still struggling. Russia, on the other hand, has long lost the lust for fighting for the democracy, and has contently moved to blindly loving and idealising of those in power.
Nostalgia, amazement and disgust, were then replaced by a strong sense of lunacy, when yet another report looked deep into the last performance of Osama bin Laden on TV. The suggestion that bin Laden has never existed and is a myth created by CIA, skilfully costumed, enacted and publicised “in the best Hollywood traditions”, only to boost the ratings of Republicans and Bush in particular made me speechless. This conspiracy bullshit was the main message of the report – the report in the weekly summary news on the main Russian TV channel.
Like a little kinky touch, all the evening news shows on this main Russian TV channel end with a little extra, produced specially for the Estonian Russians, the so-called local news. This is always a curious bit on how Russian propaganda is “seamlessly” brainwashing its foreign compatriots. But that, again, is a whole new story.
posted by Kristina at 8:31 AM
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