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As Russian troops besiege Ukrainian cities and shelling sites across the country, Russians in the north are largely unaware of how serious the war has become due to rampant censorship and misinformation.
Putin has cracked down on dissidents who do not follow the Kremlin’s line by blocking foreign social media platforms in the country and shutting down independent news outlets.
As a result, normal Russians are being indoctrinated with a distorted view of the Ukrainian invasion, which Russian authorities say should be called a “special military operation” under threat of up to 15 years in prison.
“The Russians do not understand the gravity of the situation. I look at their social networks and what they post, it seems that there is almost no war,” Vadim Ismakaev, born in Omsk, Russia. moved to the US when he was 18, Fox News Digital told Fox News.
“They are going about their lives, posting photos from restaurants and all that, which makes me a little confused because of the seriousness of everything that is happening. But this is the reality for many people. there is no war.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to silence the non-state media. (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool photo via AP)
Putin and the Russian intelligence services are notorious for their ruthless information warfare tactics, which came to full fruition during the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, and Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
“This whole information strategy that Russia has been implementing for many years is doing its job and showing you how dangerous something like this is,” Ismakaev said, noting that he still maintains close contact with friends and family back home. . in Russia. “Even when something is so black and white, it’s still possible to get the majority of the population to either be indifferent or be on the wrong side of history.”
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As the fierce resistance of the Ukrainian soldiers seemed to slow the advance of the Russians, the authorities in the north decided to step up action.
“[Russians] went ahead and just thought, “Let’s ban any potential source of truth and make sure it gets severely punished,” Ismakayev said. the rest of the world sees war.”
Last week, Roskomnadzor closed access to several foreign news outlets, including the BBC, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America. Russians are also no longer able to access several social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
“Soon, millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends, and deprived of the right to speak out,” said Nick Clegg, president of global communications for Facebook parent company Meta. week.
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Some Russians took to the streets to protest Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but Ismakayev said it would take more coordinated efforts and awareness to make a difference.
“If you think about Moscow, a city of almost 20 million people, how many people came out to protest? It is very small,” he said.
Russian police officers detain a woman during an unsanctioned protest against the military invasion of Ukraine, March 6, 2022, in downtown Moscow, Russia. (Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images)
While Russians have been cut off from any information that was not pre-approved by the state media, tough sanctions coordinated by the US and Europe have already hit ordinary Russians.
“This war is a terrible tragedy – it has already changed the world forever,” Ismakayev, whose girlfriend is Ukrainian, said on Monday.
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“At the same time, although we are all well aware of the tragedy that is happening in Ukraine, we must understand that a whole other tragedy is happening in Russia, in which there are many people who are actually against the war,” he said. said. “The economy is collapsing. The usual state of affairs is no more. People are still mulling over exactly what this new reality will look like.”