i seriously always have to wonder how much knowledge people have of Russia and it's history. if anyone is asking why Russian media and politicians are less trustworthy than western media and politicians, the debate might as well end there, but anyway.... Political assassinations are and always have been a part of the Russian way of doing things, before the death penalty was abolished you only needed to lock someone up, interrogate them and force them to either confess and save their family (which often during the USSR was a lie as the family was usually purged later) or hold out and know you family would suffer the same fate.
Now with no death penalty it is still state sanctioned killings but in a different manner.
Russia has always used lying as an official means of bending the public will, there was a small period from Glasnost where there was more openness, not the same level of openness as you have in the west, where opposition media can openly criticize you and bust open your lies, but a degree... even then it was fraught with danger, especially once Putin come into power. Take a look at this list and tell me of another place on the planet where so many journalists were killed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jo..._in_Russia
Russia sees it's strength lies in controlling the narrative and not allowing an alternative version. It is why Russians are hesitant (even in personal calls online) to be critical of anything the government says or does. Nobody would suggest the western media is the beacon of truth, nor their governments, but it is incredibly more transparent than Russia.
The sad part is some of this propaganda even works on those who should know better. I had an argument with a Russian (who still lives in Russia) after they told me that there are hardly any Ukrainians left fighting for Ukraine and 90% of the fighters know are foreigners. Now this lie has been pushed over and over again on Russia One, especially by the likes of Vladimir Solovyov, but i never thought a sensible person could believe this... It just shows that pushing a lie over and over and over again works and it is the Russian lesson they learned directly from Goebbels.
A even earlier example about how little the truth matters can be seen below
Quote:We are not waging war against individual persons. We are exterminating the bourgeoisie as a class. During the investigation, do not look for evidence that the accused acted in deed or word against Soviet power. The first questions that you ought to put are: To what class does he belong? What is his origin? What is his education or profession? And it is these questions that ought to determine the fate of the accused. In this lies the significance and essence of the Red Terror
Russia doesn't care about truth, it cares about obedience.
As for whether Russia is the "baddie" in the war in Ukraine.. Honestly you don't need to look at all at the media for this. It is obvious to anyone with a clear conscious and any knowledge of history as to what is right and what is wrong, as well as for the reasons that Russia invaded..
If you are sucked in by the claim about NATO expansion being the reason, then why isn't there an attack on Finland going on right now?
if you are sucked in by Russia believing in an areas right to self determination, the same claim it used to invade Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, then where are the right of the Mari El people? The rights of the Dagestani and Chechnyan people to self determination? It doesn't exist because it isn't real. Russia does not care one iota about it's people.
If you wanted to get an idea about real reasons you have to consider the history of Russian leaders and how Putin styles himself as a Tsar, including his own references to Russia's arguably greatest Tsar Peter I. The other thing is understanding that Ukraine is as big of a kleptocracy as Russia is and any threats to break up this kleptocracy was always going to be met by a lot of anger inside the circle of Russia's biggest oligarchs. If Ukraine was to become part of the EU, it has to make sweeping reforms, this is likely to see very powerful Russian (and Ukrainian) men lose a lot of power and wealth which Ukraine generates. This outcome was totally unacceptable to a lot of people.
If all of this is legitimate, then why was it the Russian Army and Wagner that ran the armed insurrections in the east (without wearing Russian uniforms) and why did they do the same in Crimea, originally arriving overnight in their "little green men" uniforms?
People in their desire to want to prove the west is full of lies, try and back up the likes of Russia as being "no worse" and it is just patently untrue. I happen to love the country of Russia, like a lot of Eastern Europe, it has a very fascinating history, it also has a beautiful (though very difficult) language and some of the richest literature in the world, but that doesn't change that the government is incredibly corrupt and that this corruption is absolutely clear at all levels of government and within the judicial system also, and that the western sphere doesn't come remotely close to matching that
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