On Thursday, February 24, at 3 a.m. Polish time, Russian troops attacked Ukraine. The soldiers struck both from the ground and from the air. The Ukrainian army is resisting tough, but the situation is changing minute by minute. On the site we run
Paweł Deląg has been building a career on the eastern market for almost 10 years, he has played in over 60 different productions created in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. He even lived in Moscow for some time – he has many friends and associates in Russia. So he is well aware of the public mood there and how far the Russian authorities are distorting the reality thanks to strict control over the press, television, radio, and even what appears on the Internet.
Only in recent days the state media and internet regulator Roskomnadzor has banned the media from writing about the Russian attack on Ukraine using terms such as “invasion”, “declaration of war” or “attack”. Unquestionable channels are blocked, the authorities also hinder access to reliable information on the web – partially blocking access to, for example, Facebook or Twitter. And yet the creation of Kremlin propaganda has been going on for years.
Deląg: Today there are very limited possibilities of reaching people in Russia
In an interview, he explained how distorted the Russians have a distorted view of the world, who largely do not know what is really happening in Ukraine right now. “Putin’s government has completely dominated the message in the media and is pumping huge amounts of propaganda there,” says the actor, adding that even intelligent people can deceive themselves:
People catch it because other messages, effectively blocked by the authorities, do not reach them. It was a shock to me that such views were held by many people from the artistic milieu, people who were sensitive, intelligent, but completely saturated with Putin’s thinking.
My hands fell off during conversations with some of my colleagues who told me straight out that “finally it’s time to give Europe a shit.”
Deląg emphasizes that some Russian artists have the courage to speak out about the murderous war and appeals to end the conflict, which many people think of as “a rescue operation for the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine.” The actor explains that there are two opposite groups in Russia. The generation of 40- and 50-year-olds and older people who still remember the Soviet Union are Putin’s most supporters. “
They believe that the war in Ukraine is justified, just and necessary, that it was necessary to stop Ukrainian territorial and political aspirations. They believe that Ukraine is a country of bandits, Nazis and Banderites, and what Russia is doing is a “surgical operation” aimed at removing the most dangerous, extremist units, “Przemek Gulda told him.
As absurd as it may seem to us, many people believe in the government’s narrative, which persuades citizens through all official media channels that Russia is “hiding eternal enemies”. The Kremlin, by spreading a false image of the world, at the same time builds enormous social tension and uses it for propaganda purposes. According to Deląg, the propaganda media reported that Ukrainian citizens were shooting civilians in Donbas.
Thanks to this, Putin presents himself as “a savior from the brutality of Ukrainians” – which is why many Russians believe in reports that the current war is a rescue operation, or even a peace operation. Younger Russians already have a very strong feeling that the authorities are lying to them, but it is very difficult for them to verify:
They don’t know what the real situation is. In Russia today, it is difficult to find objective, honest sources of information. People are starting to get paranoid – they are afraid that all they are reading is fake news, they don’t know how to search for reliable news.
The authorities also skillfully use the media to scare people willing to rebel against the war, to scare people with repressions. One of the members of the Russian National Duma was to propose a 15-year prison sentence for “fake news” about the war in Ukraine, and the media are also receiving information that the Russian police are arresting thousands of participants in peaceful demonstrations.
“All the time, the memory of recent events hangs a black shadow over the chances for change in Russia: the revolutions in Belarus or Kazakhstan, where there was an open rebellion against the authorities. In Russia it is said that the Russian special forces sent there murdered 20 These are obviously not confirmed data, but they cause a lot of fear among those who might think about protesting against the war “- says Deląg.
The actor makes no secret that it is difficult to reach people in Russia these days. “But you have to try to build alternative information channels, convey facts about the war and the consequences that it can bring to Russia, build a narrative completely different from the official one. And also be clear about how isolated this country is today, and thus – its residents and residents “. How to do it?
The Anonymous hacker group encourages, for example, to provide reviews on Google Maps for Russian service facilities such as restaurants, cinemas, clubs or museums and to inform about the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression in them. They also publish sample opinions that you can paste in Russian on Google Maps: “The food was great! Unfortunately, Putin spoiled our appetite by invading Ukraine. Stand up to your dictator, stop killing innocent people! Your government is lying to you. Wake up!”
An even more effective procedure is to leave comments on the yandex.ru site, which most Russians use to rate the objects they visit and check their reviews. The mechanism that can be used to inform about the war in Ukraine on the Russian website is identical.
The Russian war against Ukraine continues. There is information about houses destroyed, wounded and killed. Needs are increasing hour by hour. That is why Gazeta.pl joins forces with F to support humanitarian aid to Ukrainians and Ukrainians. Anyone can join the fundraiser by paying via Facebook or pcpm.org.pl/ukraina. More information in the article:
In this text we write “in Ukraine” instead of the phrase “in Ukraine” to which we are used to. For years there has been a debate as to which form is more appropriate and carries a greater charge of respect for nations (if we say “in France”, “in Switzerland”, why say “in Slovakia” or “in Ukraine”?). Some linguists emphasize that the use of “w” is not linguistically incorrect and depends basically on the will of the speaker or writer.
Source: Gazeta
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
