"There is a dispersal of positive"

As Medusa found out, the authorities are trying to convince the Russians that their life will not change because of the war, the simplest way-with the help of "positive" news

The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost two months, sanctions against Russia are expanding - and the Russian authorities continue to convince the world around (and themselves) that there will be no serious consequences for the life of Russians. For example, the country's economy will certainly withstand, and the departure of Western companies is a “historical chance” for Russian entrepreneurs. As Medusa found out, all this is part of the planned media campaign to “accelerate positive”. This is what is known about her.

Against the backdrop of war and falling the standard of living in the administration of the President of Russia (AP), they decided to increase the number of “positive” news in the media and social networks. Three sources close to Ap. “There is a dispersal of positive,” one of them explains.

According to him, this is arranged. The administrations of the Russian regions collect information about the examples of “import substitution, the opening of new industries, the emergence of new goods” in their territories, and the news -controlled media is published about this.

“People are concerned about the increase in prices , a possible shortage of goods. Someone already saw empty shelves. They read news about the departure of Western companies. This also makes you worry. People think: “How will we be without the usual things and products?” We must reassure them - and show that the authorities are coping with everything and much is already being done. That everything will be in order, ”says Medusa interlocutor close to the AP.

He emphasizes that this is a tactic familiar to the Russian government. Both in the crisis and in relatively prosperous times, the authorities prefer to immerse Russians in the "regime of information favors." “As soon as a person has thoughts about problems, they immediately tell him that these problems solve,” he comments.

“Positive is accelerated” now mainly through traditional and Internet media, and not in public or telegram channels. “In VKontakte, the audience is young - they are not up to this topic. In the telegram, the audience is politicized: it is either opposition, and it is not so reassured, or ultra -icing. It is also not necessary to reassure it, she herself is looking for such information, ”explains one of the sources of Medusa.

Plots of this type are easy to detect in the releases of television agencies. For example, in the final program “Time” on Channel One (April 14), the plot about the meeting in the oil and gas market, which was held by Vladimir Putin, was optimistically entitled “to cope”. And the plot of import substitution is "our chance." “There is a desire and opportunity to work, and the authorities encourage initiatives, business people in every possible way. Many of them saw a historical chance in tough sanctions, ”said Ekaterina Andreeva, presenter of the program, presenting the plot.

The plot itself tells about the “large -scale plans” for the release of cosmetics at the household chemical factory in Volgograd and attempts (of course, successful) to replace the catering from Russia on the example of Kirov: “They suspended work, and these [local companies] increase volumes. There are burgers, and rolls, and shawarma. ”

On the Russia 1 channel, the audience is told about the same. For example, that “Dagestan can feed Baranina all of Russia,” and about the “ tributary of personnel in the electronic industry”.

A similar picture in the pro -government Russian tabloids. “Caution, prices are falling,” one of the headlines of Komsomolskaya Pravda assures . True, it turns out from the material that prices have decreased only for individual goods - for example, eggplant and kiwi. And at the end of the text, a list of rise in price products is given.

In Moscow, the authorities are also trying to “disperse positive”, they told Medusa two sources close to the city hall. One of the interlocutors called this “Spring Media Project”, which is designed to prevent the “strong fall in social well -being”. “This is a departure from a military agenda to the side, spring in the city, thaw. The mayor of truth is doing this, ”he says. The press secretary of the Moscow City Hall Gulnara Penkov did not answer the questions of Medusa.

Another interlocutor of Medusa indicates that the direction of “positive news” in the capital is slightly different than at the federal level: “The middle class must be made to understand that almost nothing has changed in their life, life is also boiling in Moscow, it is convenient in it as before. For example, a new Russian comes to the place of the departed foreign business. ” The source hopes that thanks to the “positive background”, Muscovites will less painfully adapt to the “new reality”.

In the controlled city halls and loyal to the media to the authorities, texts appear about new stores, cafes and restaurants, as well as ways to distract from the news agenda.

For example, in the materials close to the city authorities, the newspaper Vechernyaya Moscow (in the early 2010s, it was restored with the support of the city government) tells about the Moscow Fashion Week, which “will open new opportunities for designers”, and that “more and more scientists receive monetary support for their research.” A banner on the newspaper’s website, which leads to the Food section, offers a universal recipe: “When sad, you need to eat.” Why the reader of the publication is sad, is not specified.

Andrey Pertsev with the participation of Kristina Safonova and Svetlana Reuters