Translated material
Interview with maniac-2,
or The Dictator's Chief Propagandist. Azarenok vs Sobchak
AUDIO VERSION
This material has an audio version on Youtube. Read by Irina Petrovskaya.
But our propagandists will still be smarter and more cunning than their other brothers in intelligence from the neighboring friendly country. They don’t give interviews to strangers - they go only to their own, proven ones: to Korchevnikov, who sheds tears of emotion from meeting the “beautiful”, or to Manucharov, obsequiously looking up at the distinguished guests. However, our rulers of thoughts are no longer in the right age to prove something to someone or, God forbid, justify themselves to who knows who. Dmitry Kiselev is in his eighties, Solovyov is in his seventh, Artem Sheinin from Channel One will soon be 60, and even Pavel Zarubin, a pale young man with a burning gaze, thrilling with delight at the proximity of his deity, is in fact no longer a boy, but a husband over 40 - appearances are deceiving .
But their little Belarusian brother Grigory Azarenok, whom Father Lukashenko himself simply calls Grisha in his own way, agreed to give an interview to Ksenia Sobchak, apparently thinking that it was cool and that he would certainly wash her away with his experience of rudeness and permissiveness, which and provided him with the status of the main Belarusian propagandist in his homeland. In 2020, when his rapid career ascent began during mass protests, the boy was only 24. Now 29.
Sobchak received consent to the interview during a resonant conversation with Roman Protasevich, when Azarenok entered the frame in a possessive manner, as if demonstrating patronage for the former traitor, who had confidently taken the path of repentance and correction. While he was talking with Sobchak, the camera kept catching the haunted gaze of Protasevich, who had previously tried to portray a sincere readiness for a new life and cooperation with the powers that be.
Ksenia Sobchak reminded the main propagandist of his offensive statements addressed to her. “Dog! A hellish horse that never tires of neighing and snorting at our president! Well, what kind of bastard are you?” - the host of his own original program, Grigory Azarenok, emanated hatred on the air of one of the main channels in the country.
Sobchak, as you know, is not a squeamish lady, and interviewing even the Skopinsky maniac, even the Belarusian propagandist who called her a bastard, is, excuse me, not a bummer for her.
The Skopinsky maniac, I remember, was very flattered by such attention to himself from the famous Ksenia Sobchak. He fluffed his feathers, flirted, told heart-warming stories about his love for his victims, whom he kept for years in a specially equipped bunker-prison. However, the journalist herself was also quite respectful with him and communicated as with an ordinary person who had once done wrong things, but was punished for them and was released, ready to start life over again.
With Azarenko, unlike that real maniac, she did not stand on ceremony, appearing for an interview with him in the image of a kind of moral authority, defending the values of genuine journalism, journalistic ethics and the law.
But her counterpart, it seems, managed to discourage even the seasoned interviewer with some distilled shamelessness, a total lack of reflection, simple-minded devotion to the great Old Man and a willingness to tear anyone apart for him.
Unlike Russian propagandists, who still try to put on a good face when playing poorly, Azarenok is sincerely proud of the title of the country's main propagandist. With the same pride he declares: “Yes, I am red-brown, I don’t shake hands, I am a dictator’s propagandist.” “Dictator” in his mouth is the highest title, a sign of the quality of a strong ruler who managed to preserve the country and lead it to further prosperity: “There will always be Lukashenko... I am for Alexander Grigorievich not to participate in elections and to rule all the time...”
There are no journalistic ethics or objective journalism. There can be no restrictions in an information war. Being above the fray, objectively presenting two points of view is all crap, I deny it.
You can give a damn about everything for the sake of protecting your country. Working for intelligence agencies is not just normal, it is the duty of every journalist.
Torture in Belarusian prisons during the 2020 protests is fake. They weren’t tortured there, but brought to their senses, but actually Akrestsina ( the terrible Minsk detention center - I.P. ) is not a sanatorium. What I said then was not a lie, but a journalistic excess. I take the rat and show that it is a rat. Rat and enemies in one frame. Parallel installation. They look so much like rats - these traitors.
Sobchak lists and reads out the articles of the Belarusian Constitution, which Azarenok consistently violated and violates in almost every story, in every monologue. So what? Vaughn and Old Man said in 2020: “Sometimes there’s no time for laws.” Nobody made any claims against me - on the contrary, they awarded me the Order of Courage.
“Do you like living under this dictator and being a propagandist under him?” - “I like it very much.” - “And when Lukashenko is gone, what will you do? What’s Hachiko ( that’s the name of the dog in the movie. - I.P. )?” - “I will kill all those who insult his memory.”
Now it is clear that our propagandists have room to grow or fall (here’s how you look at it), but one like Azarenka’s, unclouded, almost manic, truly personal..., to put it mildly, Khatikov-like devotion to the owner and readiness to serve him until his death and even after his death Death is unlikely to be cultivated in ourselves, much less openly declared by our inherently cynical servants of the sovereign. We can only rely on the younger generation following them. And, rest assured, it will show itself again.
“Spain refused to take responsibility for this shame,” one viewer wrote in the comments under this interview. “Interview with a maniac-2” - written by those who remember the first interview with a natural maniac. The hero himself, judging by the fact that he advertised this issue in his telegram channel, was flattered. He accepts congratulations. “Grisha, super, we are with you! Well done!" - his fellow countrymen rejoice.
AUDIO VERSION
This material has an audio version on Youtube. Read by Irina Petrovskaya.
Top 5 best episodes of the week on YouTube
Petrovskaya recommends
“Tell Gordeeva.” Zhanna Nemtsova
The heroine of the new issue of “Tell Gordeeva*” is Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, who was killed 10 years ago, the founder of the foundation** named after him and the keeper of his memory and political legacy. In an interview with Katerina Gordeeva, she talks about how her life has changed over 10 years of emigration, and unexpectedly admits: “If I manage to save my life, I will find out who killed my father.”
“And Graham thundered.” Chulpan Khamatova
A great interview with Chulpan Khamatova to Vadim Radionov on the channel “And Graham Thundered.” In it, the actress reflects on Russian culture under pressure from regimes, feelings of fear (the title of the interview is “I was very scared”), work in Latvia, collective responsibility, relationships with loved ones after leaving Russia.
“What about talking?” Anton Dolin
Film critic, journalist and radio host Anton Dolin* presents on Irina Shikhman*’s channel “Should we talk?” his new book “Bad Russians”. The issue talks about films that influenced public consciousness: “Brother” and Brother-2,” the series “Brigada,” which idealizes bandits, and the series “Streets of Broken Lanterns,” which created the image of a good “cop”... “Is it really all cinema’s fault?” ? — asks Anton Dolin.
"Radio Dolin" How to watch Lynch films
David Lynch, an outstanding film director, author of the Twin Peaks series, the films Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, and The Elephant Man, has died. Anton Dolin on his channel “Radio Dolin” talks about what Lynch left for his viewers and how to watch his films.
Varlamov. Los Angeles: Report from Hell
Ilya Varlamov* made a special trip to Los Angeles to see with his own eyes the consequences of terrible fires and find out how the natural disaster affected the lives of people in the “city of angels.”