War in Ukraine: How Putin Manipulates the Russian People

Months into the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s propaganda is running at full speed in Russia. Independent media have all been shut down, the main social networks blocked. Opponents who did not flee have been thrown into prison. Throughout the country, no dissonant voice against the war is tolerated. 

Putin’s regime is sliding towards totalitarianism. Every evening, on the state television channel Rossiya One, Vladimir Soloviev, Russia’s most famous journalist, delivers gross untruths about the war and constantly brandishes the use of the nuclear bomb. He agreed to receive us backstage on his show, a few days after being the victim of an alleged assassination attempt by a neo-Nazi group and the CIA. In fact, the ‘attack’ was widely believed to have been staged.

Tatiana Felgenhauer worked for Echo radio in Moscow, which was forced to stop broadcasting in March. Courageously, the journalist continues to inform the public about the consequences of the war through her Youtube channel. But the young woman fears for her safety. Since our shoot, she has fled the country.

The demonization of the West is broadcast even in museums. In Moscow, at the Museum of Contemporary History, an exhibition organized by the Ministry of Defense is entitled “NATO: chronicles of cruelty”. In the display cases, visitors – often high school classes – can admire Russian battlefield prizes that are believed to demonstrate the presence of Nazis in Ukraine.

Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was charged in April and declared a “foreign agent”. Twice a week, his lawyer visits him in a detention center on the outskirts of Moscow. He is very pessimistic about the outcome of his client’s trial, which is to be held in a few weeks. According to the new law passed by the Duma, Vladimir Kara-Murza faces fifteen years in prison.

As for the economic consequences of the war, again, it is the West that is held responsible. With the departure of foreign companies, many Russians are unemployed. Considered unjust, these sanctions have created strong resentment towards Europe and the United States.