The Character Assassination of Russia - The Rings of Indoctrination

There are circles everywhere. Inner and outer rings form the tools of indoctrination for the Deep State in its attempts to systematically discredit and destroy the reputation of Russia as a nation. We've all been amazed by the ''Chinese linking rings'' magic trick at some point in our lives, but many seem to be unaware of an overreaching pair of rings that influence opinions about Russia and I'd like to illustrate this magical, indoctrinating process in relation to this trick. It’s a sophisticated process of fine grandeur which is not only limited to media manipulation, but stretches its tentacles into physical, tangible and very real events. Firstly, before I exemplify this through contemporary events, I’d like to define these rings as separate terms in relation to this analysis. 

The inner ring is concerned with all those influences affecting reasonable judgment and the subliminal assumptions acting as forces swaying judgments towards a given direction. When you are in the inner ring, you are placed in a position where your critical thinking has diminished to such an extent where any information presented involving a given subject (e.g. Russia) is held as the ultimate truth. The forces pushing an individual to move closer to the central part of the circle is a long-lasting journey of indoctrination that commences from an early age and continues throughout the course of life.

In the case of attitudes towards Russia, the inner ring is the foundation of Russophobia; Hollywood and its continued implementation of Russians in villainous roles, the traditional, historical and geopolitical rivalry between East and West (spearheaded by Russia and USA as two polar representatives of those cardinal directions) and the modern-day resurrection of Russia as a global power causing fear to those wishing to see it weak, are some of the forces that apply to this ring. When there is a subliminal indoctrination from these forces continuing throughout the course of life, it becomes difficult to move away from these ingrained assumptions when critically debating issues and questioning media practices. In the US, every generation alive today is affected by this cultural conditioning; some were once McCarthyists, others are children of such thinking. The inner ring primarily places those in the sphere of the West in relation to this debate; the system stretches into European and Anglospheric nations based on cultural, ideological, financial and military foundations.

I should be careful not to fall into the same trap here: my assumptions of these influences are not based on my ideology differing from that of the United States as a nation, but rather on the basis of United States superiority and dominance as a worldwide superpower. To think that the globalization of the world is not based on Anglo-Saxon values and preferences would be rather strange at this point. When cultural globalization falls in line with the media system of the dominant agent in this question, then ultimately it is easier to be influenced by it. Ultimately it is this far-reaching system that pulsates from the USA and shapes discourse in the West. Of course, there are exceptions in the case of various European nations challenging these dogmatic practices, but these are based on other influences such as the refugee crisis, historical reasons, EU criticism, etc.

When there is an unconditional assumption that Russia is associated with negativity, it is easier to believe in influences from the outer circle, which protects and reinforces the inner one. The outer circle is comprised of those influences that directly do not relate to political questions but contribute to the protection of these ingrained assumptions. This is where the process of character assassination causes a significant amount of damage and which in turn decreases the overall shape of the inner circle. This can be achieved through various means, usually through events that have a far-reaching audience and serve as having a discrete purpose of entertainment. While there have been several examples in recent years that have contributed to the outer circle, most notably in the United States, I will utilize those examples that have a wider audience than those limited to individual state media. To illustrate this, I will relate it to the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the ongoing Olympics in Pyeongchang. I will also give a prediction of another event that almost certainly will contribute to the character assassination of Russia – The World Cup.

The 2014 Winter Olympics were hosted successfully, at least if you ask the athletes and spectators that participated in the games, but Western media chose not to dwell on any stories that showed Russia in a favourable light at all. Instead, the event was used to highlight concerns about the alleged corruption involved to host the games, poor working conditions, infrastructural problems, gay rights and a strong fixation on anything that would make Russia be seen as the laughing stock of the world. The ‘’disorganized and clumsy’’ Russians were supposedly incapable of finishing anything on time and photos were leaked by the famous ‘’Sochi Problems’’ twitter account where 90% of photos were from other places in the world. Even wolves were supposedly roaming the streets. A claim that was later stamped fake.

Within 72 hours, the account received 255,000 followers and mainstream media reposted images from the account throughout the course of the Games. That’s not to say that there weren’t any problems, but the problems fuelled opinion on a grand scale, one that left the viewer with a remembrance of all the controversy rather than the relative successful hosting. The Olympics reach millions of people around the world and as such, it’s damaging to the reputation when such problems are inflated and propagandized.

To think that Russia wouldn’t be implicated in some kind of controversy at the ongoing Olympics in Pyeongchang would only be ‘’surprising’’ to those in the inner circle. Their suspicions are only reinforced when stories come out, implicating Russia in state-sponsored doping. I will not comment on the nature of these allegations formed on the basis of one man and the testimony of his close acquaintances, I will urge you to read about it and make your own thoughts about the issue, but I will point you to the timing of this scandal; It’s quite coincidental that Russia, having gained victories on the geopolitical arena in Syria and being the dominating topic of US media in relation to Russiagate has been implicated here.

A relevant question to ask in this case is: Who really gains from this? Especially when character assassination in sports has been used as psychological warfare to crush the morale of the target country. Just look at Yugoslavia from 1992-1995 and the UN Security Council Resolution 757. Most importantly, who gains from this in the US political sphere? The arena where one party in particular, vies for control and seeks to establish a factual framework for their accusations. The Russiagate scandal has continued to cling on in the eyes of the mainstream media, even if it has been debunked on numerous grounds and shifted its narrative from ''collusion'' to ''meddling'' to absolutely nothing that doesn't relate to similar activities of the United States on a global scale. From a non-US perspective, it’s quite astounding that people believe in neutrality when it comes to reporting on Trump-related matters, not to mention reporting in association to Russia-related topics. Now that Russiagate binds these two topics together, some would find it to be of coincidental benefit. 

Caitlin Johnstone recently wrote a piece about the topic in relation to whataboutism; I agree, it's absolutely not the case. To think that it would be whataboutism would assume that there is any other time to debate US practices on such a scale - there's not. Even before, during and after the election there has been no mainstream discussion from either side to discuss similar US activities on a global scale. Only from ''unpatriotic, conspiracy-loving fringe groups''. Now that we're here, it might as well enter the realm of discussion. Russia has conveniently entered into the picture as a scapegoat - one that either distracts from the issue in itself, or as a promotional product for something even more dangerous; actual war. I don't believe in this for a second, but there have been far-fetched claims calling the Russian meme warfare against the United States as being on a similar level to 9/11. It deserves no comment. 

Combining these two circles, forming the principal hook of the Chinese linking rings, it's rather interesting how they work together to form the ingrained, uncritical and static beliefs about Russia in relation to... anything. Russia is responsible for everything. The pulses of such accusations can even be felt in Europe with the only difference being that on a continental level, Russia has more of a hand to play in response to actual US meddling and provocative ''defensive'' drills with NATO. 

As the Russiagate story collapses, we'll see more examples of outer-circle attacks on the reputation of Russia as a country. With the World Cup coming up, I suspect that it'll be a fitting time if something were to come up. I predict that there will be a big ''revelation'', perhaps related to bribery or other alleged nefarious activities, but since it's too late in the planning process, Russia will retain its rights to host the cup. Whatever it is, it'll loom over like a shadow and contribute to the overall character assassination. 

The rings of indoctrination are not the final trick - they may be part of something even greater. 

Drago Victorien