Stickers with the slogan ““Russia is not my enemy” have appeared in Romania, France, and Italy.
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“Russia has launched the propaganda campaign ‘Russia is not my enemy,’ which has reached Romania. Stickers with this message are appearing in cities as part of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign aimed at creating the illusion of a ‘peaceful partnership.’ Through such tools of influence, Russia seeks to portray itself as a peacemaker, downplay its own crimes, and sow discord within European societies,” the statement by the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said.
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The Center added that the purpose of the campaign is to undermine citizens’ trust in the rule of law and democratic institutions in their countries, cast doubt on the Euro-Atlantic course, and discredit support for Ukraine.
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Russia has significantly intensified hybrid attacks on the EU’s critical infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
They’re right. Russia is not my enemy. The Russian mafia regime is. Putler is. The oligarchs are. Once their idiotic dictatorship is switched for a stable democratic rule of law, paying reparations to Ukraine and Georgia and then some, Russia will be a candidate for EU membership and eligible to be our friend.
Russian mafia regime is Russia. Both its genocidal conquest policies and the tradition of subservience to a central authority predate the word “россия” and are consistent across governments and states.
The idea that wars of conquest and genocide Russia throws itself in since before we formulated the definition of a word „genocide” are somehow not about Russia would be the winner of every mental gymnastics competition for years to come.
This comment is just bigotry. Russia the country, the Russian people, the Russian history are no better or worse than, say, France or Germany or Britain. Any major European colonial power has a genocidal past. Any major European colonial power has a history of tension between tyranny and liberty.
There is nothing that is irredeemable about Russia, at least not any more than France, Britain, Germany, etc. The conflation of Russia with Putin’s regime is precisely the Putinist Big Lie. In Putin’s mind, the survival of his regime is THE SAME AS the survival of Russia. Don’t buy the Big Lie. A free, democratic Russia is possible. And that is precisely Putin’s worst nightmare.
When UK refuses to return the riches they stole, we just say it like that.
When Belgia refuse to acknowledge genocide in Congo, we just say it.
When we talk about France losing colonial wars in Vietnam and Algeria, we say it.
When Israel starves an entire population in openly advertised genocide, we say it.
When we talk about Japanese massacres in China, we just say it.
When we talk about Chinese genocide of Uighurs, we just say it.
When Canada systematically oppresses indigenous population, we just say it.
But when Russia commits genocide and openly promises hellfire on the heads of those who would resist, don’t we dare say it!
This is pure mental gymnastics.
The fact that you straight ignored the core of my argument doesn’t add it any credibility either.
I didn’t give Russia a free pass. I said it deserves the exact same scrutiny as other big European colonial powers. And it is by those standards that their aggression is Ukraine, but also in Georgia, in Moldova, etc is despicable and condemnable.
But if I understanding correctly, the core of your argument is that the whole concept of “Russia” is inextricably connected to barbaric genocidal wars of expansion, that Putinism is essentially Russian and inextricable/inseparable from it. And I have a problem with that, because that’s a condemnation of Russian-ness as such. Am I misreading your core argument?
No, my argument is that Russia’s and Russians’ actions are consistent across multiple statehoods and governments, making any attempt at redeeming them by shifting blame to a specific government an example of mental gymnastics.
Only actual attempts at taking responsibility for what Russia has been doing should count. And frankly, those Russians that do take responsibility—many of whom already got disappeared—will get erased from history and from possible future definition of „Russia” if Russia is not taken seriously to be your enemy here and now.
Yea, that’s bullshit. You’re imagining a collective will that acts across time. Sid Meier’s Civilization turned into real world politics.
Look buddy, this thing you’re doing, I’ve seen it before. I’m from Greece, the Balkans. The way you talk about Russians is the way we talk about the Turks, it’s the way the Serbs talk about the Croats, it’s the way each petty Balkan nationalist essentializes the Otherness of every other petty Balkan nationalist. The eternal enemy over there. I’ve seen it before, I know what it smells like, I know what it does. Not interested.
Would you say the same thing about the Mongols? Just because their people might be nice as a single person, their culture and self definition are linked to a sense of superiority and the will to expand and subdue. The same goes for Russia. There will be no free democratic Russia without sweeping and painful changes.
The country will have to be broken up in smaller parts, there would habe to be a cleaning similar to the denazification of Germany after WW2. Probably a prolonged time where outside forces hold control and influence the direction the country is taking.
Left to itself it will just breed the next Putin
They’re right. Russia is not my enemy. The Russian mafia regime is. Putler is. The oligarchs are
My god, disappointing to hear this sentiment from, I presume, the western people still in the year '25. Unless you’re a kremlin bot. If so, carry on.
If I categorised people as enemies because a significant portion of them have been fooled by propaganda then the whole world would be my enemy. That would not be reasonable.
have been fooled by propaganda
Where exactly do you draw the line? Until very recently the whole state had access to outside info. My own country is infested with russians that have had freely available information for decades, yet so many bow down to their czar.
But sure, they’re all good people wishing the best for me and ukrainians and all the other peoples russian empire has steamrolled over.
Same goes for any other groups of idiots like flat earthers, corona conspiratards… they all have access to the truth and yet
For me both are my enemy though against the active participents leathal force and any means are okay. Against the fooled and innocent no such thing. Force can not be crippling or lethal
The Russia of today is my enemy.
Until the likes of Putin are dead and democracy has been established, I assume that Russia is not a good thing. Here’s hoping that Ukraine can conquer or shatter Russia, so that it can be reformed into something that doesn’t suck.
Again: cheaper than tanks and rockets and feeding your people. Hybrid War is real.
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Watch them enforce age verification rules. They are not scared.
Can the EU also start lauching propaganda: The EU is not your enemy. Make posters of how it was before and after the EU. Make a campaign with The US, Russia and China being the enemies and how only a united EU can be strong enough to stay relevant in modern geopolitics?
The countries that escaped the clutches of Russian rule need no reminding. They know what a shitty failed state it was and is.
In my country, the part that escaped the clutches of Russian rule absolutely needs reminding, unfortunately.
Paradoxically, it is there where Russia is still heavily romanticised.
Sounds like something an enemy would say.
I remember the Cold War and the fall of the iron curtain. It was quite tiresome that every other American movie had the bad guys be Russian (with some older movies having Germans instead).
I feel we’re going back to that.
Expansion in Eastern Europe you say? Yes, it rather does feel like we’re going back to that - and it appears quite justified
ROFL The EU and russophobic “RusSiAN ProPAgAnDa” fearmongering name a more iconic duo 🤣
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Soz, but what does that have to do with anything?
Of course the stalinists support the autocrat Putin and call everyone who opposes him a rUsSoPhObE. You know russophobia is a hate or fear of all Russians and not a single one. Way to be a dishonest POS.
They wouldn’t be such an iconic duo if Russia stopped shipping so much propaganda to the EU.
It is clear that pootin really is afraid of the united front that is the EU. It prevents him from the imperialist expansionism to get the USSR back.
But, I already mistrust the rule of law and democratic institutions :(
I mean its true. Russia is not my enemy. Just their leadership and those who support it are. Its pretty much the same with the us or north korea.
Though that exactly is what russia as a whole is. Not all support but a big amount
Im betting its like the us. Some small amount totally behind and actively keeping it going. A large amount just accepting it. A large amount not accepting it but just trying to live their lives and not fighting that hard. A small amount actively fighting it in every way they can.
I might get downvoted for this, as I know the emotions are strong in this topic, but I’ll try and voice my humble opinion once again:
The Russian PEOPLE are not my enemy, KREMLIN is! And I don’t need stickers to tell me this. There are plenty of reports coming from independent journalists all over of not only the horrors that Kremlin motivates soldiers to commit in Ukraine, but what Kremlin is doing even towards civilians inside Russia! There’s a reason for the mass emigration and protests across Russia when this conflict first broke out, and that is that most of the people do not want unnecessary conflict. The Russian people suffer more and more, and also want this to end.
As long as Kremlin and its supporters are allowed to abuse their power however, the suffering will continue, so no mercy for them.
I was born in russia, and the current behavior of russia is downstream of the political system that is dominant in russia, which itself is downstream of the russian culture (the sum total of the ideas in people’s heads and their interplay). Things got this way because russian people let things get this way. https://vasily.cc/blog/the-russian-template/
While you refer to the Kremlin and Russian people, you don’t refer to the Russian state. If the stickers are about Russia, not the Kremlin or the people, we should address Russia too.
The Russian state is both of them.
3·1 year agoThis is fucking sad, all gorbachev and putin wanted was to be accepted by the west but the supremacist views run so deep. I feel like this will be the last attempt at extending a branch of friendship to europe. No doubt it will be thrown back in their face and europe will remain more isolated, more beholden to the seppo empire than ever before.
I guess the west should just be more accepting towards dictators invading other countries.
Ol’ Gorba might’ve wanted to be accepted by the west, but Putin wants Lebensraum.
You are correct. The supremacist views of putin run very deep.
Want friendship with Europe? Stop invading sovereign nations like imperialist scum.
Plot twist.
They did not.
Leave it to a Hexbear to try and be an apologist for Russia and completely ignoring their imperialist agenda. Russia got itself into this mess, and it should not be given leniency.
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