As expected, tensions over Ukraine are growing. At the same time, the differences between Russia and the United States are escalating, so far there are no signs that the parties are ready to make mutual concessions on these issues. The activation of the Ukrainian army in Donbas and the Kremlin’s announcement to recognize the self-proclaimed republics of Donbas and Luhansk are the next steps in that escalation. All this is accompanied by a propaganda war with all its tools, from false news to gross insults. Propaganda must be primitive, ax-wielding, with no apparent hue, especially not seeing different sides, as it is intended for the masses. It affects people with the right brains who make up the majority on both sides.
There are, however, certain characteristics that characterize “conflicting parties” in different ways in terms of motivation and behavior. The first is that “American propaganda” does not exist as a single phenomenon. There is no monopoly on “government microphones” in the United States; the major media outlets are not required to reproduce official views. In Russia, meanwhile, federal television channels are wielding the same views. They are, so to speak, television versions of the Pravda newspaper of the 1970s. While reminiscent of the Soviet Cold War-era propaganda, it still highlights the higher intellectual level of the Soviet propagandists of the time (for example, Yuri Zhukov or Valentin Zorin) compared to the broader horizons of the representatives of today’s Russian “patriotic journalism.”
The second difference is deeper. Ordinary Americans are not particularly concerned about Ukraine. For ordinary Russians, all these events (first of all, of course, the “conquest” of Crimea) are of fundamental importance – it is one of the components of their country’s power, imperial sentiments, self-assertion. Having external and internal enemies is an important element of national identity in this case. For Ukrainians in this way, opposing the Russians is an important part of nation-building.
And finally. The United States (as well as the former Soviet Union) has many allies in the world. The number of Russia’s allies is quite limited, and that country uses every opportunity to declare someone an “ally.” Today, for example, Azerbaijan has been declared an “ally.” Thus, Russia has two allies, one of which has declared the other two former leaders “internationally wanted.”
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Aram Abrahamyan
