French political scientist Olivier Védrine, a member of the Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (IHEDN), calls on the international community and Ukrainians to never trust the information Russia and its henchmen spread.
Putin has found a way to increase Russian propaganda significantly
According to the expert, Russian propaganda for foreign audiences today works like Soviet propaganda.
It is essential to understand that it was first used during the Civil War in Georgia in 1991-1993.
The Kremlin did everything possible to stir up separatist sentiments. It supplied weapons and directed the military to participate in hostilities.
Russian propaganda also gained momentum during the First Chechen War.
Despite this, as noted by French journalist and political scientist Olivier Vedrin, it gained global proportions only during the presidency of dictator Vladimir Putin.
And I think that the turning point of Russian propaganda was the war in Georgia in 2008. Indeed, it has significantly increased. You know, I was in Baku in 2008, in Azerbaijan. And then I felt that Russian propaganda became a turning point — everything was lies-lies-lies. But it all started with the war in Chechnya and the beginning of Putin's regime.
Olivier Védrine
French political scientist
The expert notes that Russian propagandists work equally for internal and external audiences as of today.
The most vivid example of this Kremlin mechanism is Putin's interview with the American journalist Tucker Carlson because, during it, the dictator broadcast his false version of history both for the world's audience and the Russian one.
Russia is trying to deceive the whole world
If earlier the problem of Putin's propaganda was that only Russians believed in it, now the Kremlin is trying to reach a new level.
Putin is doing everything possible to sway more and more people from different parts of the world to his side.
This is global propaganda because Putin is rewriting history. I can understand when Putin says what the Russian people want to believe, but it is very strange that he tries to translate this opinion to a world audience. I think many people do not believe the facts that Putin is talking about. Why can't they (Russians — ed.) understand that many people in the world don't believe them? — asks Olivier Védrine.
The French political scientist calls on the international community to never forget that Russia spreads exclusively lies, as the USSR authorities once did.
We have to pursue the same policy as with the Soviet Union: all the information coming from the USSR was a lie. And now we have to take it the same way: everything that comes from Russia is a lie.
Olivier Védrine
French political scientist
