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Western Media Is Toeing The Official Line On Russia. And Looking Ridiculous

September 4, 2008

Western Media Is Toeing The Official Line On Russia. And Looking RidiculousDo any of the hacks and so-called experts who write these days on Russia and its relations with the West have any understanding of how things work in the real world? Or are they just writing whatever comes into their heads and hoping that we won’t notice that they have absolutely no idea of what is actually going on? Take the recent extraordinary European Union summit in Brussels that had gathered to discuss the crisis in Georgia and the possible ways of punishing Russia for its actions there. Everyone, every single commentator in the West, has been complaining since that the EU was too soft on Russia. How sad, all these know-alls lamented, that the EU leaders shunned away from imposing effective sanctions against Russia. The summit’s resolution was weak, they were saying, and did not send a clear message to Moscow. Some especially bright individuals were even implying that Russia had cunningly managed to exploit the weaknesses of the EU and split its members.

What is it with you guys? And girls too. Yes, Bronwen of The Times, I am talking about you. What on earth are you trying to prove? That the EU should have introduced economic sanctions against Russia? And how exactly could it have done that? Stop importing Russian oil and gas? You know, block the pipelines and send all those oil tankers back. Say to Moscow: we won’t buy any more of your oil and gas until you start behaving yourself in Georgia. Is that what you are all proposing?

I sometimes get an impression that many journalists and experts in the West simply toe the official propaganda line when it comes to writing about Russia because it makes their lives so much easier. No need to dig up facts or research anything. Just repeat what the officials are saying and make it look as if you have your own opinion on the matter. Our new staff writer, Daria, pointed out in her piece yesterday that the West was very quick in launching a propaganda war against Russia immediately after the crisis in Georgia erupted. She is right: it was too quick for comfort. Much too quick.

And what was even more apparent – Western governments were more than ready to pick up the blatant lies that were spread by that hysterical opportunist, President Mikhail Saakashvili, who sent his troops into South Ossetia and immediately started accusing Russia of aggression. It was embarrassing to hear him speak on Western TV news channels, inventing scare stories about mass executions of Georgians by Russian soldiers and ethnic cleansing. He distorted history, made up so-called facts and generally behaved like a burglar who was caught red handed and immediately started shifting the blame away from himself.

And what was this whole idea with having the European Union’s flag in the background every time Saakshvili appeared on television? He had the Georgian and the EU flags in the background all the time. What was he trying to say? That Georgia was at the heart of Europe? Or that it has joined the EU without telling anyone? Mr Saakashvili should have gone a step further and replaced the Georgian flag with the flag of NATO – to show what his vision of the future of Georgia was.

Sad pathetic man. He isn’t fit to run a village, save a whole country.

By the way, so that you know that the Georgian government was lying about the scale of the Russian invasion and the brutality of the Russian troops here is something for you to ponder on: according to Human Rights Watch, an organisation that is not exactly pro-Russian, the number of Georgians killed during the fighting stands at 68, with several hundred wounded. And once you get these figures on board, all those stories about mass executions and ethnic cleansing start to look very unconvincing. Also, if you compare the number of Georgian casualties with the losses in South Ossetia – 1,640 South Ossetians killed and two thousand wounded – the overall picture becomes very different indeed.

Don’t get me wrong – any loss of life is regrettable. But the fact remains – the Georgian leadership painted a false picture of the conflict with Russia and made up most of its allegations, which were hastily picked up in the West.

At its emergency summit the EU had absolutely no choice but to stick to symbolic measures against Russia. And it was pathetic on the part of Prime Minister Gordon Brown to pretend that he was taking a much tougher stance than the others. Because we all know how he messed up his own country and how he is now prepared to say and do anything to save his own skin. By the way, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Britain’s economic situation is the worst in the whole of Western Europe. Get that? The worst downturn in the economy in Western Europe is hitting Britain. So what does its Prime Minister do? He gets tough with Russia. Just you watch all those British pensioners living on tiny incomes, all those homeowners facing repossession and the unemployed rejoice at the thought that their leader is showing such courage. See their clenched fists as they shout: ‘Gordon! Gordon! Gordon! We are with you on Russia a hundred per cent!’

Is that tragic or what? Mr Brown should be thoroughly ashamed of himself.

But there is also another stupid idea being actively discussed in the Western media: that Russia is not really ready to be a partner to the West. Distinguished experts claim that Russia remains suspicious of the West’s intentions and does not realise that NATO’s expansion eastward is actually beneficial to its interests. The logic here is absolutely remarkable: Russia, these people are saying, should be happy that its neighbours would be feeling much safer as members of NATO. Then, they say, there would be no reason for these countries to fall out with Moscow.

How’s that for innovative post Cold War thinking?

Let me say this: how about turning the tables around and saying that it is actually the West that is not ready to deal with Russia as a partner? How about accusing the US of continuing to behave as if the Cold Wear was still on. I remember the faces of all those American advisors in the 1990s who advised the Russian government on economic reform. Smooth talking guys with shifty eyes. They caused so much damage to the Russian economy with their suggestions. And how about the so-called piece dividend? The proposed conversion of the military industry once the Cold War was over? While the Russians were converting their military factories into civilian enterprises the Americans were quietly boosting their arms exports, gloating that the Russians were stupid enough to fall for their trick.

If you look at the situation closely it is the West, not Russia, that is acting like an unreliable partner. And, what is even more amazing – it is the Western media that is obediently repeating the official anti-Russian propaganda.

Journalism is usually referred to as the second oldest profession in the world. After prostitution, that is. But what is happening with the coverage of the Georgian crisis is simply ridiculous.

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