A year ago, when Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine and unleashed Europe's biggest land war since 1945, it started another battle at home — it stepped up its information blockade in an attempt to control the moods and minds of its own citizens, according to article. CNN.
The new strict censorship laws were directed against all mass media that were not yet controlled by the Kremlin, and most independent journalists left the country. The digital "iron curtain" that cut off Russians from Western news and social networks was strengthened.
And when authorities arrested thousands of people during a crackdown on anti-war protests, a culture of fear spread across Russian cities and towns, preventing many people from publicly sharing their true thoughts about the war.
A year later, this information policy remains rigid and support for the conflict seems high, but cracks are appearing.
Many Russians are turned off by the incessant jingoism on the Kremlin-backed airwaves. Tech-savvy Internet users bypass government restrictions to access reports and photos from the front lines. And as Russia mobilizes to support its stalled campaign, it struggles to contain the impact that a year of war is having on its citizens.
"In the beginning, I supported it," Natalia, a 53-year-old Moscow resident, told CNN of what the Kremlin and most Russians habitually refer to as a "special military operation." "But now I'm completely against it."
"What made me change my mind?" And secondly, I have a lot of friends there, in Ukraine, and I communicate with them. That's why I'm against it."
CNN does not give the full names of people who have criticized the Kremlin. Public criticism of the war in Ukraine or statements that discredit the Russian armed forces can potentially result in fines or prison terms.
For Natalya and many of her compatriots, the endless personal experiences related to the war put Russian propaganda in a different light. For those hoping to sway public opinion against Putin, this opens up new opportunities.
"I don't trust our television," she said. I can't be sure that they're not telling the truth, I just don't know."
“But I have my doubts,” she added, “I think it's probably not. I don't trust anyone completely.
Natalya is not the only Russian woman who spoke out against the conflict, but she seems to be in the minority.
As you know, in a country where independent polls are persecuted by the government and many of the 146 million citizens do not want to publicly condemn President Vladimir Putin, it is difficult to gauge public opinion. But according to the Levada Center, a non-governmental organization that conducts surveys, from March to November of last year, Putin's support among Russians fell by only 6% to 74%.
In many ways, this is not surprising. There is practically no room for dissent on the Russian airwaves; the propaganda broadcast by state TV channels since the beginning of the war has sometimes caused ridicule around the world, so inflated are the fanatical presenters and commentators.
According to Francis Scarr of BBC Monitoring, which analyzes Russian media on a daily basis, in the days leading up to the war's anniversary on Friday, a Russian lawmaker told an audience on the state-run television channel Russia-1 that "if Kyiv is to lie in ruins to our flag flew over it. , that's why it should be!"; Radio presenter Serhii Mardan proclaimed: "There is only one world formula for Ukraine: liquidation of Ukraine as a state."
And in his far-fetched statement, which reflects the alternative reality that exists on state TV channels, another pro-Russian former deputy declared about Moscow's military successes: "Everything is going according to plan, everything is under control."
Such programs are usually aimed at a certain group of older, more conservative Russians who miss the days of the Soviet Union, although their audience spans several generations and they have attracted the attention of some new people.
"My opinion of Ukraine has changed," says 37-year-old Kateryna, who watches the popular Russian news program 60 Minutes after returning from work. At first I thought: "What is the meaning of this war? Why did they decide to start it? It makes people's lives here in Russia much worse!"
The conflict affected her personal life. "During this year, my life has deteriorated a lot. Fortunately, none of my relatives were mobilized. But I lost my job. And I see radical changes all around me," she says.
However, at first, Catherine's rejection of the invasion disappeared. "I came to understand that this special military operation was inevitable," she says.
"It would come to this, no matter what. And if we had not acted first, a war would have been unleashed against us," she added, repeating the false claims that they had become victims of the West, which the state-run media incessantly repeats.
Such curtseys will be welcomed by the Kremlin as confirmation of their notorious and tight control over the media.
"I fully trust the news there. Yes, they all belong to the state, but why should I not trust them?" Yulia, a 40-year-old human resources director at a marketing firm, told CNN. "I think the war is going well. Maybe it's taking longer than you'd like. But I think she is doing well," Yulia said, stressing that her main source of news is the state-owned First Channel.
According to Levada Center, about 2/3 of Russians rely primarily on television when choosing news, which is higher than in most Western countries.
However, the moods of Yulia and Kateryna are far from common. Even among those who generally support the war, Kremlin-controlled television remains far from the reality in which many Russians live.
"Everything I hear on state channels, I divide in half. I don't trust anyone completely," says 55-year-old accountant Tatyana.
"You have to analyze everything... because some things they leave out or don't say," said Leonid, a 58-year-old engineer.
Some people CNN spoke to in Moscow this month shared similar sentiments, stressing that they interact with state television but are skeptical of it. And many hold different views on Ukraine.
"I think all of them can only be trusted to a certain extent. Sometimes state channels reflect the truth, but in other cases they just say things to calm people down," said 20-year-old Danylo.
The culture of silence
In Russia, there are active supporters of each side of the conflict, and some of them have broken off friendly relations or left the country. But sociologists who monitor Russian opinion say that most people in the country fall between the two extremes.
"Quite often we only talk about high numbers of support for the war," said Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center in Moscow. But this does not mean that all these people are happy about it. They support their side, but they would prefer to see it all over and the hostilities stop."
This group of people tends to pay less attention to the war, according to Natalia Savelieva, a research fellow at the Russia of the Future program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), which surveyed hundreds of Russians after the invasion to gauge public support for the conflict. "We call them 'doubters,'" she said.
"A lot of the doubters don't look too deeply into the news ... many of them don't believe that Russian soldiers are killing Ukrainians, they repeat the narrative they see on TV," she said.
Among the centrists there are also many Russians who had fears about the war. But if the Kremlin cannot count on the total support of the population, then, according to sociologists, it can at least count on apathy.
"I try not to watch the news about the special military operation, because I start to feel bad because of what is happening," Natalya added. "That's why I don't watch it."
She is far from alone. "The main attitude is not to watch the news, not to discuss it with colleagues or friends. Because what can be done about it? - says Volkov, - No matter what you say, no matter what you want, the government will do what it wants."
Such a sense of futility means that anti-war protests in Russia are rare and inconspicuous, and the Kremlin is comfortable with this social order. "People don't want to go and protest: firstly, because it can be dangerous, and secondly, because they consider it a useless activity," said Volkov.
"And what should we do? Our opinion means nothing,” one woman told CNN in Moscow in January, speaking anonymously about the conflict.
The vast majority of the population usually does not take part in the conflict. "In general, these people try to distance themselves from what is happening," Savelieva added, "They try to live as if nothing is happening."
And the culture of silence, reinforced by harsh measures of the authorities, does not allow many to share a skeptical attitude towards the conflict. According to the independent Russian monitoring group OVD-Info, a married couple was arrested in January in Krasnodar for expressing anti-war sentiments during a private conversation in a restaurant.
"I have my own opinion about the special military operation ... it remains unchanged to this day," Hanna told CNN in an interview in Moscow. "I can't say which side I support. I am for truth and justice. Let's leave it as it is," she said.
Over the past year, however, maintaining a war at a distance has become even more difficult. Putin's chaotic partial mobilization order and Russia's growing economic isolation have brought the conflict into the homes of Russians, and conversations with friends and relatives in Ukraine often paint a different picture of the war than the one conveyed by state media.
“I've been feeling anxious since this all started. It's affecting the availability of products and prices," the woman, who asked not to be named, told CNN last month. "There is a lack of open information. Everything has to be explained to people. Everyone listens to Solovyov," she said, referring to the famous propagandist Volodymyr Solovyov.
"It would be good if the experts started to express their real opinion, instead of obeying the orders of the government and Putin," the woman said.
The film school student, who said she had not heard from her friend for two months after he was mobilized, added: “I don't know what happened. It would be nice if he just responded and wrote: "It's okay, I'm alive."
"I just want this special military operation to never start in the first place and for human life to be truly valued," she said.
Breakthrough of Putin's information blockade
For those trying to break through the Kremlin's information blockade, Russia's "silent majority" is a key target.
"Most Russians see in the state media a distorted picture of Russia's struggle against a possible invasion of their own territory, they do not see how their compatriots are dying," says Kyrylo Sukhotsky, who oversees Russian-language content at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, speaking in countries where information is controlled by state authorities.
The organization is one of the most influential platforms providing uncensored footage from the Ukrainian fronts to Russian-language outlets, mostly through digital platforms still authorized by the Kremlin, including YouTube, Telegram and WhatsApp.
According to network representatives, interest in the site grew throughout the war. "We saw a spike in attendance after the mobilization and after the Ukrainian counteroffensive, because people began to understand what the war meant to those around them, but they could not learn about it from the media."
In the 10 months since the invasion, "Today," a XNUMX-hour television and digital network for Russians, has seen a two-and-a-half-fold increase in views on Facebook and more than three times on YouTube, CNN reported on RFE/RL. Last year, QR codes that redirect smartphone users to the publication's website began appearing in Russian cities, pasted on lampposts and street signs by anti-war citizens.
But independent publications face the challenge of reaching a wider Internet audience, which tends to be younger and urban, and reaching an audience of elderly, low-income and rural Russians, who tend to be more conservative and pro-war .
"We need to reach a wider audience in Russia," Sukhotsky said. "We see a lot of people being influenced by Russian state propaganda... It's going to be an uphill battle, but that's where we're shaping our strategy."
The new law made it a crime to spread "fake information about the invasion of Ukraine" - a decree chosen at the whim of the Kremlin, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for anyone convicted. According to the state news agency TARS, this month a Russian court sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison for a Telegram message that, according to the court, spread alleged "false information" about a Russian airstrike on a theater in Mariupol that killed hundreds of people .
"All our employees understand that they cannot return to Russia," Sukhotsky said in an interview with CNN. — They have families left there. They have sick parents there. We have people who couldn't go to their parents' funeral last year."
Sukhotsky admitted that his employees are still coming to terms with it. They are patriots of Russia and wish it well... they see that they can help."
Russia has lost control over the situation
Publications such as RFE/RL operate in the digital space despite Russia banning Twitter, Facebook and other Western platforms last year.
According to a Levada Center survey conducted two months after the Russian invasion, about a quarter of Russians use VPN services to access blocked sites.
According to the search engine tracking data, after the invasion of Russia, the number of requests for such services on Google increased to a record level and has since remained the highest in the past ten years.
At the same time, YouTube remains one of the few major sites that remains open, thanks to its enormous popularity in Russia and its importance for the distribution of Kremlin propaganda videos.
"YouTube has become a substitute for television in Russia ... The Kremlin is afraid that if they don't have YouTube, they won't be able to control the flow of information to the youth," Sukhotsky said.
And this allows censored publications to penetrate inside. "I'm watching YouTube. I see everything there, I mean absolutely everything," one Moscow resident, who is actively opposed to the war, told CNN on condition of anonymity. "I never watch these federal channels," she said, "I don't believe a word they say." They lie all the time! You just need to turn on the logic, compare the information and you will see that it is a lie."
Meanwhile, Telegram's popularity has skyrocketed since the start of the war, becoming a public platform for military bloggers to analyze daily on the battlefield.
Initially, this analysis, as a rule, reflected the line of the Kremlin. But "starting in September, when Ukraine launched successful counteroffensives, everything started to fall apart," says Olga Lautman, a senior fellow at CEPA in the US who studies the Kremlin's internal affairs and propaganda tactics. "I've never seen anything like it," she said.
Dozens of bloggers, some of whom boast hundreds of thousands of subscribers, have been furiously backtracking on the Kremlin's line in recent months, criticizing its military tactics and publicly disillusioned with the military's high command.
This month's debacle at Vugledar, in which Russian tanks recklessly drove into minefields, was the latest episode to expose these divisions. Igor Girkin, a former defense minister of the Moscow-backed DPR, who is now a staunch critic of the military campaign, said Russian troops "were shot like turkeys in a shooting range." In another message, he called the Russian troops "morons." Several Russian commentators have demanded the resignation of Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, commander of the Eastern Group of Forces.
"This public fight is spilling out," Lautman told CNN, "Russia has lost control of the situation ... It used to rely on a well-established propaganda machine, and it no longer exists."
A year after the invasion, which most Russians believed would last a matter of days, cracks have appeared in the Kremlin's information control system.
The consequences of these cracks remain unclear. For now, Putin can rely on citizens who are generally either supportive of the conflict or too tired to voice their opposition.
But some experts believe that the pendulum of public opinion is slowly swinging away from the Kremlin.
"No family knows another family that has not suffered losses in Ukraine," says Lautman, "Russians support the conflict because they have imperialistic ambitions." But now he's knocking on their door and you're starting to see a shift."
Source: CNN
