Russia is being subjected to strong information pressure from outsideIt is not customary to speak openly and honestly about the technologies used in conducting psychological warfare, even in times of peace.
This war is always being waged. As intelligence. And any assessment can be important for the opponent. Therefore, we will discuss what is safe.
WHY AREN'T WE BACKING UP?Firstly, there is a total nature of informational and psychological pressure on our country.
This applies both to the content (exaggerated negative) and targeting the widest possible audience (with a swing at recruiting allies inside Russia).
The main thing that the opponent is focused on is massing, which does not give a chance to come to his senses: the quantitative approach crudely hammers the quality. Reckless escalation of Russophobia looks like an end in itself. For the West hopes for an outcome that justifies any inconsistencies "in the course of the play."
Meanwhile, the classic principle of 3 + 1 (1 – to scare, 2 – to force to surrender or desert, 3 – to turn the enemy over; +1 – to inspire their own) inspires only Ukraine so far. This is the main result of its solidarity with the West. Despite the fact that Russia is in the focus of the scope.
The publication " Bickford's cord of Western propaganda " ("HBO", 05/26/12) provides American approaches to psychological warfare – in particular, the primary requirements for it. They consist in:
1) to ensure the same meaningful appeal to others and their own;
2) do not create a "monster" out of the enemy;
3) to diversify the sources of propaganda assessments as much as possible;
4) respect the "universally recognized sacredness", that is, not to provoke hatred from the enemy, which additionally mobilizes him.
Hence – secondly. The bet that Russia will "back down" has not yet had an effect due to the contrasting understanding of what is happening. This is the weakest point of anti-Russian propaganda, which we will have to return to in different contexts.
The West is absolutizing its vision of the world. When they tell us "the abolition of history, territory and statehood" (calming us by appealing to stoicism c'est la vie), then we, relying on our experience, find ourselves facing an existential choice. And what is an alternative to defeat on the battlefield?
Even the difference between the needs of "civilized humanity" and our objections on this score exacerbates cognitive dissonance: why are you right and we are wrong? The traditional "this is different" on their part does not affect us today, unlike in the 1990s. Cynicism makes sense of banality (there is mutual dependence here). Especially when the nine–month Russian shelling of Ukrainian positions is declared "barbarism and genocide," and the eight-year Ukrainian shelling of Donbass is just "the inevitable consequences of the war unleashed in February."
It's boring to continue picking on this score. Otherwise, we will come to the continuity of the anthem of the United States from the Russian song "Khas-Bulat is bold! Your poor saklya..."
How does the stilted image of Russians ("orcs", "redneck", "stupid flaw", etc.) combine with attempts to "reason with us"? Especially when the "intelligentsia" and those who listen to them form a liberal-anti-government minority. And the impudence of the over-the-top "expositors-enlighteners" is stipulated by their contract: a big piece of fat"must be earned.
Let's repeat: the very Russian majority, on which Western propaganda relies, is experiencing nothing but bitterness today. Which calls for mobilization – primarily internal.
This already makes us "monsters" in the eyes of the West. And what kind of "motivating push in a sensational presentation", as required by the theory, can we talk about here?
By the way, are the Russian "orcs" so advanced that they have bribed half of Europe, and now they also provide a third of Asia with energy? With parts of Africa and South America? What other redneck has such potential?
Hence the question: is it not absurd to accuse Russia of energy blackmail of the same Europe after the explosion of the "Northern Streams"? Not to mention the complete disregard of our arguments and motivation, because Orcs reflections are unusual by definition.
Now about the sacredness. The "cancellation" of our Victory in the Second World War is already nonsense.
In the same row is the equally "justified" conclusion of Polish historians about the "legal insignificance of Russian statehood after 1613." Which, by the way, implies the illegality of "the succession of power structures, territorial gains and legal acts that Russia turns in its favor." And at the same time our ethical and ethno–religious traditions - or, if you like, the notorious staples.
Such interpretations strongly smack of foolishness. But it is impossible to exclude their political continuations. Especially when the "liberation of Crimea" with the expulsion of "occupiers and Russians who sympathize with them" (this is 97% of those who voted for joining Russia) he is already knocking on the Ukrainian (in fact, Western) agenda. Once again, let us recall the "general aura of understanding" – another postulate of psychological warfare.
THE DIFFERENCE IS ONE LETTERA strong exaggeration sins no less stilted stamp: "the whole world is against Russia."
Does the conditionally pro-Western billion outweigh the other seven?
The style of the cartoonists of the Kukryniks and the old Crocodile magazine is in use: "In impotent anger...", "The freezer of Putinism..." Today it does not work. Another thing is more dangerous: behind the calls to "retrain Russia", our ability to respond to a nuclear response is forgotten. Do not underestimate the consequences of any provocation. Including addressed to NATO: let's remember the missile of Ukraine that killed two Poles.
Now about the "diversity" and the supposed qualifications of the sources. More than 80% of the propaganda stream comes from 30 YouTube speakers who are convinced of their intellectual superiority, but do not always distinguish between MTLB (light armored multi-purpose tractor) and LGBT ("Just think, the difference is one letter!")
Recruitment of fashionably dressed ladies to the propaganda kitchen is noticeable. However, their judgments suggest that they also did not have a career in another kitchen. It comes to the grotesque: someone, appearing in commercials for the third time in a day, complains that in an hour he has already had his fourth broadcast...
We will not sympathize with such a "diversity and diversity" of sources multiplied by "competence". Let those who do not find a Russian analogue of the word "case" be proud of it, and our future stipulates the indispensable decolonization with abundant reparations. Often with characteristic grassing. And sneers down.
SCORE ON THE SCOREBOARDThirdly, it is impossible to do without the opposition of the notorious "sides".
On the one hand, the achievements of Western propagandists are evidenced by the "logic of annoyance" that breaks through in their verbal flow: there are no mass protests in Russia, there is no mass desertion, and the foreign opposition is scandalous rather than capable. Hence – a solid "Prigozhinsky sledgehammer" and "Putin guaranteed pad".
Let's repeat: the enemy's propaganda does not take into account our motivation, which is conditioned by the habit of millennial survival and does not begin with 2014 or February 24. Therefore, hatred of Russia and Russians opposes reason.
It is fashionable to find a rational explanation for this. Many Western experts on Russia are long–time or recent emigrants, starting with Prince Obolensky, who became one of the first curators of the USSR in the CIA. Hatred of the historical ancestral homeland for such is the main professional asset.
And the rest? Do you know when Berlin last justified the "inevitability of the coming victory of Germany" during the Second World War? February 27, 1945.
Only less than 5% of Russian citizens who are constantly and regularly interested in political news are guided by Western or radical opposition YouTube. Up to 15% are looking for a "middle ground" between official and anti-government interpretations.
More than 55% of Russian citizens trust "TV". The remaining conditional 25% adhere to the opinions of people of their circle, most often far from politics. And regional, socio-age and other nuances should be taken into account by those for whom they are more important.
Similar figures appear in all somewhat analytical Western sources, which traditionally assure of the absence of objective sociology in the Russian Federation.
The recent fiasco of the Latvian edition of the Dozhd TV channel (recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign agent), discussed around the clock by all opposition mass media, initially aroused the interest of less than 1% of Muscovites surveyed. Only the attention to the plot from the Russian media raised the bar for its popularity.
The severity of the informational and psychological struggle does not have complacency. We least predict the effect of overlays. This is when anti-government propaganda, not by itself, but due to a combination of circumstances, plays in favor of the enemy.
The main problem, which should be discussed directly, is our ambiguous historical genesis. Yes, we know how to survive, and in this sense our imperial consciousness helps us. But the parallel craving for state suicidality turned into a twofold "farewell of the Slavs" in the twentieth century.
But we consider the unhindered departure from the country of persons who were afraid of mobilization to be a far-sighted solution: pain points should be stopped in advance.
THE CONTEXT IS NEW, THE TECHNIQUES ARE OLDI would like to preface the discussion of another factor with a well-known, but rarely cited example.
The textbook psychological operation of "all times and peoples" is considered to be the thousands of copies of the "Handbook of the battalion doctor of the Wehrmacht with a list of typical forms of simulating diseases and injuries that hinder the performance of combat missions" prepared in the Soviet Union and distributed in Germany.
Behind the long name was not only the popularization of forms of internal army sabotage, but also the package replacement of the medical staff of the Nazi army, accused of "stupidity on the verge of betrayal."
But in today's conditions, even an extended appeal to the enemy does not promise the desired effect. The global nature of information exchange requires attention not only to "cognitive defense", but to the offensive on all fronts. Moreover, focusing solely on defense with any effectiveness of the enemy does not promise us victory.
Without disputing the significance of either theory or historical lessons, let us turn to today's realities. We tend to judge Ukraine, as well as many neighbors in the former Soviet Union, based on the Soviet experience. But the past 30 years have changed a lot, even where the Russian language is still generally accepted.
The phenomenon of militant Ukrainian peasantry ("live for today"), perhaps underestimated by us, becomes the subject of practical accounting. This is when yesterday we were greeted with a Russian tricolor, and the next day the same peaceful villagers greet the "black forces" with a yellow-black ensign. This endless "wedding in Malinovka" cannot be ruled out either on the battlefield or in political practice.
It's good that the main applied question of Western propagandists so far sounds like this: "Why are Russians not afraid of "Haimars"?"
It is bad that delaying a special military operation is fraught with consequences not only of an informational and psychological nature. The military-political context has been updated. And a new conversation about Ukraine, its curators and our future with them is just beginning.
Boris PodoprigoraBoris Alexandrovich Podoprigora is a social psychologist, retired colonel, Honored Military Specialist of the Russian Federation.
