Diplomacy as an instrument of propaganda

Vladimir Putin uses the Russian Foreign Ministry in an unprecedented propaganda campaign of the Kremlin

Leading American newspapers drew attention to President Putin’s speech to the Russian diplomatic corps , noting the attempts of the Russian leader to put the Ukrainian crisis on a par with conflicts in Syria, Libya, Iraq, as well as his warnings about the willingness to protect the Russian -speaking population living outside Russia. But these statements, according to the interlocutor of Radio Liberty, are an example of an unprecedented propaganda campaign of the Kremlin.

While the American press tried to find hints in his plans for his plans in relation to Ukraine, and Russian official English -language information funds focused on the statements of the President of Russia about the failure of the unipolar model of the world, the professor of the University of Michigan Vladimir Shlyapentokh believes that this speech testifies to the reorientation of the Russian Foreign Ministry to a frank propaganda tool:

What is the meaning of this act? This is a signal that their activities are propaganda, not diplomatic

- I do not remember the case when the leaders of the Russian state used material incentives to encourage the activities of their diplomats. We know cases when the salary of scientists sharply increased, as was done by Stalin in the forty -sixth year, we know that the salary of the military and FSB workers was recently raised, but in order to publicly and sharply increase the earnings of diplomats - this is a thing, as I understand it, unprecedented. What is the meaning of this act? This is a signal that their activities are propaganda, not diplomatic. This is a signal to ensure that they do not worry that they carry out one or another promotion, that they constantly change their point of view and discredit in the eyes of the West and themselves and the entire diplomatic service of Russia.

- What do you, professor, mean, speaking of discrediting Russian diplomacy?

And non -professional viewers, watching Lavrov’s performances, see how he makes amazing pirouettes

- This is discussed in the West for a long time. And non -professional viewers, watching Lavrov’s performances, see how he makes amazing pirouettes. Yesterday he spoke on Russian television and used a peaceful tone in relation to the Ukrainian authorities. A day earlier, he could talk about junta, about Bandera in Kyiv, about the Nazis. It seems to me that Russian diplomacy did not know such a shameless change in her point of view. If we talk about the Soviet past, the Kremlin was always concerned about how his diplomats look like, how the country is perceived in the world. Now this anxiety is what Russian television looks from the side, what Putin himself looks like, what his ministers look like, to what extent their statements with obvious facts are consistent - no, it does not bother anyone.

- Nevertheless, if we talk about the statements of President Putin, then he withstands a solid line: they say that Russia is a peaceful stabilizing power, and this sounds convincing for most Russians. Why does this thesis not work in the case of a Western audience?

Putin never raises this question anywhere, pretending that it has nothing to do with Moscow

- Because there are fundamental facts. For example, there is an endless transition of the so -called volunteers from Russia to Ukraine. There is a continuous stream across the border of heavy weapons. Putin never raises this question anywhere, pretending that this has nothing to do with Moscow. It is difficult for me to imagine how to speak with Putin on the merits of the case, on the issues of a truce and even about the conclusion of agreements, if he refuses to talk about the fundamental issues of the current political situation in all his speeches. He pretends that all this does not happen.

- But after all, the Russian president and in the West have, if not supporters, but, let's say, a grateful audience. Is the business lobby both in Europe and in the USA ready to accept such statements for a clean coin?

- In the hands of Vladimir Putin, such powerful trump cards as the western reluctance to join any military operations. Putin knows this, it inspires him, he understands that he can go far. Plus business. And not only the European, but also the American one, which recently turned to the State Department in order to even stop thinking about sanctions against Russia, because this will help the competitors of the Americans in case of sanctions to take their positions.

“But they talked about unilateral sanctions, they did not say that there was no need to think about sanctions at all?”

- The conversation is about the sanctions that the United States and Europe think. And this, of course, was a big, big gift to Putin.

- It is interesting that with statements about the peaceful Russian foreign policy, that Russia was a predictable partner of the United States, and that it is ready for an equal dialogue with Washington, the Russian president turned to the Russian diplomatic corps, to the ambassadors ...

- This suggests that he deeply despises his elite, that he, unlike the Soviet leaders,, except for Stalin, is not considered to be anyone, that in Moscow there is not a single political institution that could have influenced or pressure, and that he treats them as adolescents.