Kremlin militarizes Russians for prolonged war in Europe - ISW
Photo: The Russian authorities have launched a new propaganda campaign (Getty Images)
The Russian authorities are launching a large-scale propaganda campaign to convince the population of the necessity of a "great war" with NATO countries, according to the report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Russian authorities are promoting narratives aimed at further militarizing their society in the long term.
As an example of this campaign, ISW referred to an interview with Russian state journalist Pavel Zarubin. On Sunday, April 20, he asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to comment on the European Union's recommendation for European leaders and officials to refrain from attending the May 9 Victory Parade in Moscow.
In response, Lavrov accused the EU of inciting "neo-Nazi ideology" in Europe and stated that Russia would "will make every effort to ensure that this ideology does not raise its head," and will destroy Nazism "once and for all."
ISW described such statements by the Russian foreign minister as part of a long-standing Kremlin information campaign that appeals to the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany and the broader myth of the "Great Patriotic War" to tarnish Europe and NATO.
These actions aim to amplify negative sentiments among Russians and mobilize support for the militarization of society in the long term.
"The Kremlin has previously appealed to the mythos of the Great Patriotic War to persuade the Russian population that their increasing social and economic sacrifices for the Russian war effort in Ukraine can help achieve overwhelming victory," the report says.
The Institute also reminded that Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Kremlin officials regularly use the vague term "denazification," referring to a change in power in Ukraine and the establishment of a pro-Russian puppet regime there.
Analysts also recalled Putin's words, claiming that the Ukrainian government was allegedly controlled by Nazis as a justification for the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"The Kremlin is increasingly employing the same playbook that it used against Ukraine towards Finland and former Soviet states, including Estonia and Moldova, to justify its attempts to control independent countries and set informational conditions for possible future Russian aggression," ISW analysts are convinced.
Russia prepares for war with NATO
According to German intelligence, the Kremlin is preparing for a large-scale war with NATO. The report from the agency states that dictator Vladimir Putin perceives relations with the West as a systemic conflict and is therefore ready to use force to achieve his goals.
The President of Lithuania stated that his country has 4-5 years to prepare for a Russian invasion.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said that Russia is a long-term military threat to NATO and the entire North Atlantic security.
