From day to day, the Russian TV rhetoric is getting sharper and sharper.
From barely mentioning the “special military operation” in Ukraine at the start of the war, guests and presenters on Russian state television are now talking about a possible Third World War.
The development has taken place in parallel with large losses and failed operations for the Russians. After more than two months of war, they are still far from anything resembling control of the neighboring country.
This week, Russian TV viewers, led by the well-known host Olga Skabejeva, were warned about how wrong it can all go:
– All this can end in a nuclear attack, said journalist and editor Margarita Simonjan, who was one of the guests on the talk show «60 minutes».
Shortly afterwards, she adds:
– But we get to heaven.
Here you can see the clip with the controversial statements of Simonjan:
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What does the increasingly sharpened rhetoric of the Russians mean? And is there reason to fear that the propaganda machinery is preparing the people for an escalation of the war?
“Die before the West comes here”
Everything that is broadcast on Russian TV we must assume is carefully directed, says professor of security studies at the University of Tromsø, Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv.
– They know that this is spreading to the international community, and want to show the outside world how far they are willing to go to save Russia from the West, she says to Dagbladet and adds:
– It can be a way to get the West to step down and stop supporting Ukraine, because they know that the West is cautious and does not want to risk nuclear war.
EXPERT: Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv is a professor of peace and conflict studies at the University of Tromsø, and researches hybrid threats in warfare, civil-military conflicts and Arctic security. Photo: UiT
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She thus believes the most important purpose of such TV shows is intimidation. Also to own population:
– They almost say that they would rather “die before the West comes here”, and are scared that they may be forced to go to nuclear war – even if this is something they do not really want, she explains.
Counts seconds to London bombing
In another clip from the same talk show, host Skabejeva outlines how many seconds it takes for a Russian rocket to hit European cities such as Berlin, Paris and London.
– 202 seconds to London, Skabejeva exemplifies as she points to a map.
However, there is nothing to indicate that the Russians are actually preparing to use nuclear weapons in the near future, Gjørv believes.
“According to US intelligence, which is the same intelligence service that had information that Russia planned to attack Ukraine, there is nothing to indicate this,” she points out.
The professor still believes that we should not lure the nuclear threats away from the Russians.
– We must take it seriously, even though I think this is to scare everyone who listens.
This TV feature, from the same program, also attracted attention at Easter:
Live on TV: – Bomb them
Looking for support
Gjørv points out that the rhetoric is probably also part of the strategy to retain the support of everyone who has bought the narrative that western countries are trying to crush Russia.
– It is an extreme anti-Western rhetoric, says the professor, who among other things researches hybrid threats in warfare, civil-military conflicts and Arctic security.
She believes Putin must be proactive in order to retain the support of his own people, who are the ones hardest hit by Western sanctions.
– Everything we do, he uses to build up his arguments, and show that they are trying to destroy Russia. It is part of a larger disinformation campaign trying to trick people into believing that Russia is threatened.
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