The Scapegoat Factory: Kremlin’s Endless Blame Game

Not a single day passes without the Kremlin’s talking heads finding yet another scapegoat to explain the tragedies of Russia’s own making.

By EUvsDisinfo | June 27, 2024 —

As always, the Kremlin’s relentless efforts to manipulate narratives and deflect blame continue. Pro-Kremlin disinformers quickly spread false claims blaming Ukrainian intelligence and NATO for terrorist attacks in Dagestan, conflating them with Sevastopol to reinforce narratives that portray Ukraine and the West as aggressors.

The Kremlin intensified its efforts to block access to quality Western journalism to prevent Russian citizens from gaining a clearer understanding of their regime’s failures on all fronts.

The pro-Kremlin propagandists have also attempted to undermine the Summit on Peace in Ukraine and take the peace narrative hostage, while trying to mislead audiences both at home and abroad about the grim economic realities in Russia because of the Western sanctions.

Sanctions – not that they hurt us, but could you please remove them

The pro-Kremlin information manipulation and disinformation ecosystem actively covered the recent adoption of the 14th EU sanctions package against Russia. The package also includes more sanctioned pro-Kremlin propagandists and mouthpieces, namely long-running Russian disinformation outlets Rossiyskaya Gazeta, RIA Novosti, Izvestia, as well as the more misleadingly named Voice of Europe.

Predictably, the pro-Kremlin propagandists have resorted in recycling familiar narratives about sanctions, for example, by claiming that the EU is only harming itself by the sanctions and asserting that the sanctions will not negatively impact the Russian economy.

All these claims are baseless, we have reported on that numerous times, including here. We also took a closer look at the Kremlin’s manipulative narratives to lift the veil over the actual state of the Russian economy and impact of Western sanctions in this recent series of infographics.

More of selective ‘truth’ served by the Kremlin

As an example of Russia further sliding into a single, Kremlin-decided ‘truth’ information space, and as an act of reprisal for cutting off access to pro-Kremlin propaganda in Europe, Russia blocked access to 81 European media outlets(opens in a new tab).

This Kremlin move is yet another attack on freedom of speech and media plurality in Russia, which we have covered in our ‘Black Day for Free Speech and Media in Russia’ series. Another blow against quality journalism was delivered, as the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained 15 months ago, was put on trial in Moscow for devised charges on ‘espionage’ in the Soviet-inspired court proceeding.

To ensure unrestricted access to EUvsDisinfo content from heavily restricted and monitored information spaces, we have launched a TOR network version of our website. It can be accessed with a TOR browser here.

Peace, but only on the Kremlin’s terms

As we have reported (see here and more in-depth here), Russia devoted considerable attention to the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, organized by Switzerland in Bürgenstock on 15-16 June, aiming to dismiss it as meaningless and downplay its importance.

Well before the Summit, the Kremlin prepared the information space by signalling Russia’s supposed openness to a peaceful settlement, pushing the disinformation narrative that it is actually Russia who fights for peace in Ukraine and that the conflict would end if Ukraine surrendered.

This narrative included, following the Kremlin scapegoating tactics, falsely portraying Ukraine as the aggressor and framing Western support for Ukraine as the true cause behind the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

A sore loser

During and after the Summit, the Kremlin intensified its efforts, claiming the event was insignificant without Russia, a mere Western plot to escalate the war, and a waste of resources. The pro-Kremlin ecosystem, supported by Putin himself issuing a thinly vailed ultimatum, attempted to reinforce the idea that accepting Russian territorial gains was essential for peace, which was quickly dismissed.

Despite these disinformation and bullying tactics, the Summit saw significant international participation and delivered a joint communique, which the Kremlin and its disinformation ecosystem sourly sought to downplay, claiming it was an ‘utter failure’, or a mere ‘Western get-together’.

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The Scapegoat Factory: Kremlin’s Endless Blame Game 1

Also beeping on our disinformation radar this week:

  • In a timely example of pro-Kremlin finger-pointing, disinformers quickly spread baseless allegations that Ukrainian intelligence and NATO countries masterminded the terror attacks in Dagestan. These false claims are part of recurring pro-Kremlin narratives that portray Ukraine as a ‘terrorist regime’ and accuse the West of ‘supporting terrorist organizations’ in the Middle East. Furthermore, these narratives blame civilian casualties in Russia, resulting from its invasion of Ukraine, on the West’s support for Ukraine’s self-defence. It’s important to remember that Russian disinformation has a history of attributing terrorist attacks in Russia and the targeting of religious communities to external forces. This tactic aims to deflect responsibility from the Kremlin, obscure the inadequacies of Russian security services, and foster mistrust towards Western countries and Ukraine.
  • In the aftermath of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, the pro-Kremlin disinformation ecosystem has attempted to capitalize on the tragedy to foment anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western attitudes in Kazakhstan. They spread false claims that the ‘West had initiated a terrorist campaign‘ in Russia and Central Asia, aiming to manipulate public sentiment and shift any blame away from the Kremlin. As usual, there is no credible evidence to support claims about ‘Western interference’ in the alleged plot in Kazakhstan or anywhere else. This narrative is a localized version of a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation fantasy suggesting a Western policy of staging ‘colour revolutions’ worldwide with the aim of ‘destabilizing Russia’. Narratives like this are another case of projection, as Russia’s destabilizing activities within Europe and elsewhere are well-documented facts.

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