Vladimir Putin once again exposed one of his ministers at the weekend, in front of the camera. The narrative that the strong president is fighting the incompetent other politicians has been fueled for decades. And the Kremlin propaganda works.
Russian President Vladimir Putin got into a fight with his Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Denis Manturov – and presented him to the assembled group. It was about orders for helicopters and missing contracts. The argument could have been edited out, but of course the argument was shown on the Russian news. Putin, the caretaker. Putin, the fighter for the people, that’s how he’s portrayed – and many people believe the propaganda, says star– Journalist and Russia expert Ellen Ivits. You can’t really blame people: “If you’re a woman in her 60s, in the Russian provinces, you don’t have access to the Internet, to all the American and European sources of information. You can’t find out any other way than that Turn on state television,” says Ellen Ivits in an interview with “Today’s Important” editor Dimitri Blinski.
Fight for survival instead of political observation
The Russian population’s disenchantment with politics is often talked about, but for Ellen, who herself has many contacts in Russia, this also has to do with the difficult situation people are in: “When your whole life is determined by what you teach your children the next day puts the table in front of you, you don’t have access to heating, hot water or the sewage system, then you’re dealing with completely different problems and not world politics. Then, in case of doubt, you don’t care what’s happening in Ukraine, because you’re dealing with your individual problems, those affect you. And that’s also what Putin is speculating on,” says Ellen Ivits in the 443rd edition of the podcast “important today”.
spiral of silence
In addition to the struggle for survival, the mass of propaganda on state television also plays a major role, at some point you would just doubt yourself, they said star-Journalist: “If you are constantly being told by everyone else: That’s the right opinion, that’s how we all are, that’s how we all think. You may not think it yourself, but if you listen to it 20 or 30 times, then you come At some point I thought: I’m probably the only one who thinks like this. There is a theory in communication science that explains this. It’s called: the spiral of silence. With a single, overly present opinion, everything else is basically hidden.”
“Russia doesn’t care about Putin”
The Russian state was in the red last year because of the high costs of the war against Ukraine. The deficit adds up to around 44 billion euros, as Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced. This corresponds to 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product. Putin is putting Russia in a difficult position, including economically. The fact that funds for the war in Ukraine have to be cut elsewhere is not a problem, because according to Ellen Ivits: “The ordinary population no longer plays a role in the Kremlin’s thinking.” And Putin? “Russia doesn’t care about Putin. The only person Putin cares about is Putin himself.”
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Source: Stern

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