Russian Nobel laureate warns Putin is preparing his people for nuclear war by teaching them it’s ‘never a bad thing’
- Dmitry Muratov, 61, has warned the BBC that it is declaring nuclear war as if it were ‘pet food’
- This comes after President Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
Russia’s state propaganda teaches its citizens that “nuclear war is not a bad thing,” warned the Russian Nobel laureate and promotes it “like advertising for pet food.”
Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the banned Novaya Gazeta newspaper, told the BBC that the Kremlin was using an intense public messaging campaign to prepare the Russians for a full-scale nuclear attack.
“On the TV channels here, nuclear war and nuclear weapons are being promoted as if they are promoting pet food,” he said.
They declare, “We have this missile, that missile, another type of missile.”
They talk of targeting Britain and France, of igniting a nuclear tsunami that will wash America away. Why don’t you say this? So that the people here are ready.
Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Russia’s influential Novaya Gazeta, spoke to the audience during the auction of his 23-karat gold medal for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a cabinet meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.
The warning comes days after President Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, and Nikolai Patrushev, one of his closest aides, warned that Russia had “a modern and unique weapon capable of destroying any enemy, including the United States.” . .
Placing nuclear weapons in Belarus would be the first time Moscow has deployed such weapons outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Meanwhile, Mr. Muratov, 61 – who will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 – said Russians have been ‘radiated through propaganda’, using television and VK, the country’s version of Facebook.
He added, “In Russia, propaganda is 12 TV channels, tens of thousands of newspapers, and social media like VK that perfectly serve the state’s ideology.”
One Russian talk show host recently suggested that Russia should “declare any military target on the territory of France, Poland, and the United Kingdom a legitimate target.”
According to the BBC, the host advised himself to “flatten an island with strategic nuclear weapons and conduct a test launch or launch tactical nuclear weapons so that no one has any illusions.”
Muratov said the messages are particularly effective with Putin’s support base – mostly elderly people who see him as their “grandson”.
Russian state propaganda teaches its citizens that “nuclear war is not a bad thing” and promotes it “as if it were advertising pet food,” warns a Russian Nobel laureate
They see Putin “as someone who protects them, brings them their pensions every month and wishes them a Happy New Year every year,” he said, adding: “These people believe that their real descendants should go, fight and die.”
But advertising does not convince everyone. He said: “21,000 administrative and criminal cases have been opened against the Russians who protested.
The opposition is in jail. Media outlets are closed. Many activists, civilians, and journalists have been described as foreign agents.
Muratov, who is not optimistic about the future of relations between Russia and Ukraine, warned: “Ukraine will not be able to deal with this tragedy.
In Russia, political repression against all opponents of the regime will continue. The only hope I have lies with the younger generation – those who see the world as a friend, not an enemy, who want Russia to be loved and Russia to be loved by the world.
“I hope this generation will outlive me and Putin.”