Beware of Russian Propaganda on TV

qwerty.blog

Whoa.
Forbes takes a critical look at Russia's new English-language propaganda TV channel (Russia Today).
And it does so in a surprisingly friendly tone.
I'm wondering what that could mean, lol

The Forbes article is HERE

SeanW

Doesn't surprise me, from what I've heard and seen, Russia has been backsliding towards Stalinism for the past 5+ years and they seem keen to exert their influence anywhere they can.

wes

Putin has really done his damdest to turn Russia into a authoritarian state.

I wouldn't say there any where near Stalinism, still the current regime is pretty bad in and of itself.

The article is pretty interesting. Does the Russian government actually think anyone will buy the crap there peddling.

Mr.Micro

Russia still has paranoia with regards to the West and democracy. It is hard to shake off its totalitarian past in a relatively short period. It is an oil and gas rich country but the old ways of corruption state control still exist, where it is still risky to do business without the approval of the Government. Putin is a dangerous man IMO, he has one foot in the present and one in the past. I was reading somewhere a short while ago, that the atrocities of Stalin et al are being sanitized or airbrushed from school textbooks. I believe that it may take another generation for Russia to move forward, providing Putin does not become more totalitarian. Russia today is a like a glitzy TV channel all show and no substance but propaganda and far removed from the daily lives of ordinary Russians.

mick72

I think Russia today is a great channel. I do not know why you think Russia is an authoritarian state. It certainly does not act as a world policeman the way Americans do

Moriarty

mick72 wrote: »

I think Russia today is a great channel. I do not know why you think Russia is an authoritarian state. It certainly does not act as a world policeman the way Americans do

It's been physically incapable of doing much outside its borders for the past 20 years. Russia's attitude to the states bordering it certainly doesn't seem to be one of benevolence as much as a restricted attempt at control.

mick72

Well if you take into consieration that only 50 years ago about 20 millions Russians lost their lives fighting Nazis and amongst them all the neighbours who sided with Nazis, the picture gets different shape.

I am not saying that Russians are innocent; far from that, but not any more or any less than the the US or UK.

I hope Russia goes again inro superpower mode, I feel sick of the US going around the world 'bringing justice and freedom' and ignoring international law. Someone's got to stop that; needn't be Russians for all I care, but someone

jonny72

mick72 wrote: »

Well if you take into consieration that only 50 years ago about 20 millions Russians lost their lives fighting Nazis and amongst them all the neighbours who sided with Nazis, the picture gets different shape.

I am not saying that Russians are innocent; far from that, but not any more or any less than the the US or UK.

I hope Russia goes again inro superpower mode, I feel sick of the US going around the world 'bringing justice and freedom' and ignoring international law. Someone's got to stop that; needn't be Russians for all I care, but someone

What picture? they raped and butchered their way to Berlin. They sent friend and foe to Gulags in their millions (including many Russian soldiers), Stalin continued this long after the war was over, estimates range up to 20 million Russians killed during his reign. They dropped the largest conventional weapons ever made on civilians centers in Chechnya. I'd take the Americans any day over them.

SeanW

Mick72, you must be taking the piss.

I suppose Russia's atrocious human rights record isn't that big a concern to you, nor their government's fondness for putting Kremlin critics in mental hospitals doesn't remind you of Stalin and the gulags. Conspiracy theorists also think that the big hubub in Estonia over the relocation of a Red monument (and a strangely co-incidental massive DDOS attack on the websites of Estonian government services) may have had more to do with the Russians wanting to build a gas pipeline through waters Estonia claims as its own.

I've been watching the Russian backslide towards Red Communism over the last few years and it is a frightening vista. Reading the media debate about relations with Russia, they frequently refer to a "Russian Bear". Russian ****ing werewolf is more like it.

It is perhaps two sides of the same imperialist coin but I'll take the worst of American foreign policy etc. over this any day. At least you won't be sent to Guantanamo Bay for writing something nasty about George W. Bush.
If you wish to compare the levels of ethical bankruptcy in the administrations of the U.S. and Russia, there is one clear winner.

Mr.Micro

mick72 wrote: »

Well if you take into consieration that only 50 years ago about 20 millions Russians lost their lives fighting Nazis and amongst them all the neighbours who sided with Nazis, the picture gets different shape.

I am not saying that Russians are innocent; far from that, but not any more or any less than the the US or UK.

I hope Russia goes again inro superpower mode, I feel sick of the US going around the world 'bringing justice and freedom' and ignoring international law. Someone's got to stop that; needn't be Russians for all I care, but someone

With respect Mick 72, you perhaps need to read Russian history with particular attention to the Stalin era, pre, during and post WW2. No mercy was shown to the enemy or even to their own people. Democracy is not a word that was known or understood in Russia.

Riddle101

Whether it be America, Russia or China, it dose not matter, all these countries are evil and I only hope that these three countries will get whats coming to them some day. Hopefully not something as bad as death but maybe an Economic Crisis which weakens them enough so that they are weakened but can still look after themself so their enemies won't use it to their advantage

mick72

Riddle101, I completely agree with you.

The only country that ever used nuclear weapons was the US, not Russia. US has military presence in most world countries where they play off various nations one against the other. Look at what they did in Japan, Vietnam, Iraq, Aphganistan, Serbia, many African countries.

In regards to Gulags, that was a communist era and was a feature in all communist countries, thats one of the reasons for its fall.

As I said Americans are no better in any way. We are just accustomed to this global culture; I lived in Moscow for two years and it was as normal as anywhere else