“Humanity is being replaced on a daily basis”—Inside Russia’s propaganda machine

An expert on Russian propaganda says the Kremlin is using two main strategies to legitimise atrocities in Ukraine

Adam Servera, an analyst from the Kremlin watch program, has told Ticker NEWS of the two main strategies Russia is using to control its population with propaganda.

The first strategy involves support for Russia’s aggression, which has been displayed since the start of the war. Servera points to Russian accusations of Nazism in Ukraine as an obvious example of this.

He says when you look at the diversity of ethnic groups defending the nation you can see how ridiculous this assertion is.

“You can just see It’s a Kremlin tabulation, and sort of this … parallel universe,” says Servera.

The second strategy may be less familiar to Western eyes. Its main focus is to distract the population from the war.

This type of propaganda is targeted at both older and younger generations, and is spread amongst the population via music videos, and on social media platforms such as TikTok.

Servera says this propaganda usually emphasises Russian imperialism and Soviet sentiment.

A recent example is of a viral online song, Wellerman by Nathan Evans, which has had the original lyrics altered to reflect Russian nationalist messages.

“It refers to a great state, strong spirit, rich nature and white plains, which I personally find very funny because Putin’s regime has done its best to devastate Russian nature.”

Adam servera

The video clip features women dressed in traditional Russian World War One nurse outfits who dance in a ‘Z’ shaped formation. This refers to the notorious Z symbol which has been used by Russians to support the war in Ukraine.

“The Kremlin’s propaganda obviously has no limits. Humanity is being replaced on a daily basis by the virality of the content that is supposed to justify and legitimise the atrocities that Russia is committing in Ukraine,” says Servera.

Do Russian people believe Kremlin propaganda?

Servera says it is difficult to know for sure whether Russian citizens believe the propaganda they are fed because of the climate of repression in the nation.

But official reports from the Kremlin reveal most Russians see the war as part of a historical struggle against Nazism.

Russian war supporters expect “a decisive victory over fascism” says Servera.

According to Meduza, which is a Russian platform not tied to the government, President Putin’s media team has concluded there are no good prospects for ending the war.

There is no way “to both meet public expectation and preserve Putin’s popularity,” says Servera.

This point was raised by Australian journalist Peter Greste on Ticker NEWS. He says Russian propaganda was “going to make things more difficult for Russia to back down, not easier.”

However, despite this speculation there is still no way of knowing for sure how Russian citizens really feel.

“Various sociological surveys have been published on Russian attitudes towards the war, many of which show overwhelming support for Putin’s aggression.”

“However many experts point out that given the strong influence of propaganda and repression in the country, these polls are unlikely to reflect reality,” says Servera.

Will Russian propaganda finish with Putin?

Servara doesn’t believe Russian propaganda will finish when Putin eventually relinquishes power.

He says Russia has a long history of oppressions that stretches beyond the reign of Putin.

“My grandfather in 1945 saw Russian or Kremlin tanks invading Slavic countries. My father saw them in 1968. And I now heard them when we were being evacuated from Kyiv.”

Adam Servara

According to Servara, change will not be achieved by simply overthrowing the leader. Instead, there has to be an evolution of the entire governmental mechanism.

“It’s very hard to see a change coming anytime soon” he says.

Bryan Hoadley contributed to this article.