Russian state propaganda has long promoted the false narrative that the country is under constant attack from the West on multiple fronts. While this disinformation is aimed primarily at the Russian population, it also extends far beyond Russia's borders.
“The Kremlin has instructed state propagandists to prepare for a perpetual information war with the West,” reads the headline of an article published by The Moscow News, an English- and Russian language outlet based in Amsterdam. (Кремль велел госпропаганде готовиться к вечной информационной войне с Западом).
According to the piece, “the Kremlin, speaking through one of its key ideologues, has reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing an aggressive propaganda campaign aimed at the Russian people.”
This ideologue is Sergei Kiriyenko, a younger-generation Russian politician who became the youngest prime minister in the history of the Russian Federation. Today, he is one of the Kremlin’s leading ideologues and serves as the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, overseeing domestic policy. Just days ago, he addressed participants of the propaganda-driven “New Media Festival,” who have been tasked with shaping Russia’s so-called “new media reality.” The festival drew some 650 figures tied to Russian media.
Speaking at the event, Kirilenko stressed the need to resist what he described as an information war that is being waged by the West: “We are in the midst of an information war. The hot war will end — hopefully soon — but the information war will never end. Its targets are our children, the next generation. And there is nothing more important — for every individual, every family, every nation — than protecting those children and passing on to them our beliefs, our faith, and our dreams.”
This is not a new theme for him. Two years prior, Kirilenko out it in similar terms: “This will be the longest war. The special military operation will end first, the president’s goals will be achieved, and we will certainly win. The economic war and attempts to destabilize us will last longer — they haven’t succeeded, but they will continue trying. Yet
the longest of all will be the information and psychological war, because the fight for the minds of the next generation will last the longest.”
At home, Russian propaganda is designed to convince citizens that their country is a victim of aggression but cannot be defeated. Abroad — particularly in the EU and the United States —Kremlin disinformation campaigns aim to fragment societies, deepen political divisions, and discredit Ukraine by falsely portraying it as a fascist state and Ukrainians as “Banderites”.
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