To the friends of Russia – full support –

/ world today news/ Position of Sergey Mironov, Chairman of a political party
“Just Russia”, Head of the “Just Russia” faction in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, in connection with the letter of Rumen Petkov, editor-in-chief of the website world today news, to Vladimir Putin.
We publish the position in Bulgarian and Russian.

Against the background of the cynical anti-Russian hysteria that is increasing today in the countries of the West, in my opinion, our special attention deserves the manly effort of many foreign friends of Russia, despite everything, to firmly and openly declare their support for our country and bring to the knowledge of his fellow citizens the word of Truth about it. Recently, letters from public figures and journalists from various countries have appeared in my mailbox more and more often, who, on the one hand, express great sympathy for us, the citizens of Russia, and on the other – talk about how, according to their powers they seek to influence the public opinion of their countries in our favor, what actions they conduct, what problems they face. I would like to introduce my blog readers to excerpts from two such letters

Here, for example, is what he wrote in his address Bulgarian journalist, editor-in-chief of the website ” world today news” Rumen Petkov:

“For 25 years, Bulgarians have been brainwashed that Russia is an enemy, but sociological studies show that only 3% of Bulgarians consider Russia a threat, while about 85% speak of the need for friendship with it. Although pro-American propaganda is lavishly paid for, the majority of our people do not believe it. Demonstrations of protest against the policy of anti-Russian sanctions by the West were held all over Bulgaria. Most Bulgarians realize that Russia is not an aggressor, that Russia is defending itself. And no matter how much our “grant intellectuals” hiss, love for your country is written in our genetic code.

We strive to make our site a mass media outlet that speaks the truth about today’s events, helping people not to be misled by the vileness of “hybrid warfare.” They call us “Putinists”, “traitors”, “ruble cheats”. But we stand on the side of truth. And we will not twist our soul! We will not bend in the cold storm of the divided world!’

Here is a remarkable letter! I guess it’s clear how much courage and faith in one’s cause is required to take such a position despite threats and pressure. I am convinced: we must appreciate this on its merits. But we must also carefully listen to what people like Rumen Petkov address us with. And it turns out that they also have certain questions for us.

Here is what else the Bulgarian journalist wrote:

“It hurts me when I see how on Russian television, in Internet forums, in analyzes the thesis that Bulgarians are ungrateful people and generally “traitors” is being developed. I would like to say to those who get carried away by such rhetoric: do not confuse our corrupt ruling elite with the people of Bulgaria! I really wish that you in Russia would better understand and take into account precisely the feelings of our people, their true feelings!”

Well, how about that? We must recognize the rightness of our Bulgarian friend! Indeed, the rigidity of the informational confrontation, which is imposed on the Russian side by the West, cannot justify some lovers of exaggeration, ready in the power of polemics to throw lumps of mud against entire nations, without understanding that in this way they are not protecting the interests of Russia , but they are working against them – not only in this same Bulgaria, but also in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, etc. millions of ordinary people live who continue to sympathize with Russia and its citizens.

In this sense, I want to refer to another letter. This time from Greece. The author is Yanis Kotanidisleader of the “For Russia!” movement, which unites pro-Russian Greeks. Amazing man! Despite the threats and all kinds of obstacles, he, together with his like-minded people, openly supports the policy of Russia and our President V.V. Putin. It is worthy of respect that, receiving permission from the authorities to hold a mass action in the city of Thessaloniki, just three days before May 9, they managed to gather thousands of people to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism with dignity and give tribute to the memory of the Soviet warrior-liberator.

But here is what Kotanidis wrote, not without offense: “We sent the video footage of our holiday action to all the main Russian TV channels. Alas, there was no reaction. And from some representatives of mass media we heard that they, you see, are not interested in such information. And even the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation did not respond to our inquiry. How so?’

And indeed – an incomprehensible and short-sighted position! We cannot push away the sincere supporters of our country with a formal approach. It is extremely important for us today to strive to use all opportunities for systematic work to counter lies and disinformation about Russia, including by creating effective interaction with those who are actually our allies. We must know them all well, and what’s more, we must not hesitate to help them. Both politically and morally and… of course by giving them a green light in our mass media.

I am convinced that these questions deserve to be seriously and self-critically analyzed at the highest level. We need to understand the nuances of this problem and make corrections. If we are to succeed in today’s information wars, our counter-propaganda activity must not be straightforward, aimed only at repulsing the enemy. An important and effective element of it can and should become the support on our friends and allies!

Translation: Magdalena Zhelyazkova

To the friends of Russia – all possible support!

Against the backdrop of the cynical anti-Russian hysteria that is now being whipped up in Western countries, our special attention, in my opinion, deserves the courageous desire of many foreign friends of Russia, in spite of everything, to firmly and openly declare support for our country and convey the word of Truth to their fellow citizens about her. Lately, letters from public figures and journalists from different countries have increasingly appeared in my inbox, who, on the one hand, express great sympathy for us Russians, and on the other, talk about how they, to the best of their ability, strive to influence on the public opinion of their countries in our favor, what actions are carried out, what problems they face. I would like to introduce excerpts from two such letters to the readers of my blog.

Here, for example, is what he wrote in his appeal Bulgarian journalist, editor-in-chief of the world today news website Rumen Petkov:

“For 25 years now, Bulgarians have been brainwashed that Russia is an enemy, but social studies show that only 3% of Bulgarians consider Russia a threat, while about 85% talk about the need for friendship with it. Despite the fact that pro-American propaganda is generously paid, most of our people do not believe it. Demonstrations took place throughout Bulgaria to protest against the West’s anti-Russian sanctions policy. Most Bulgarians realize: Russia is not an aggressor, Russia is defending itself. And no matter how our “grant intellectuals” hiss, love for your country is written into our genetic code.

We are trying to make our website “ world today news” a media outlet that tells the truth about current events, helping people not to be misled by the meanness of the “hybrid war.” We are called “Putinists”, “traitors”, “rublemen”. However, we stand on the side of truth. And we won’t bend our hearts! Let us not bend in the frosty storm of a divided world!”

This is such a wonderful letter! I believe it is clear how much courage and faith in the rightness of one’s cause is required to take such a position, despite threats and pressure. I am convinced that we should appreciate this. But we must also listen carefully to what people like Rumen Petkov are addressing us. And it just so happens that they also have certain questions for us.

Here’s what else the Bulgarian journalist wrote about:

“It pains me when today I see how on Russian TV, in Internet forums, and in analytics, the thesis is being developed that the Bulgarians are supposedly ungrateful people and in general “traitors.” To those who are carried away by such rhetoric, I would like to say: do not confuse our corrupt ruling elite with the people of Bulgaria! I really want you in Russia to better understand and take into account the feelings of our people, their real feelings!”

​ Well, what do you say to this? We must admit that our Bulgarian friend is right! Indeed, the severity of the information confrontation that the West has imposed on the Russian side cannot justify some fans of overreach, who, in the excitement of polemics, are ready to throw lumps of dirt at entire nations, not realizing that by doing so they are not protecting the interests of Russia, but are working against them. You can’t put everything under one brush, forgetting that, despite the anti-Russian policies of the ruling circles of Western countries, in many of them – not only in Bulgaria, but also in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, France , Italy, Spain, Austria, etc. – there are millions of ordinary people who continue to sympathize with Russia and Russians.

​In this regard, I would like to refer to one more letter. This time from Greece. Author – Yiannis Kotanidisleader of the “For Russia!” movement, uniting pro-Russian Greeks. Amazing man! Despite threats and all kinds of obstacles, he, together with like-minded people, openly supports the policies of Russia and our President V.V. Putin. It is worthy of respect that, having received permission from the authorities to hold a mass rally in Thessaloniki, just 3 days before May 9, they managed to gather thousands of people to worthily celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism and pay tribute to the memory of the Soviet soldier-liberator .

But here’s what Kotanidis wrote, not without offense: “We sent out video footage of our festive event to all major Russian TV channels. Alas, there was no reaction. And we heard from some media representatives that they were not interested in such information. And even from the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation there was no response to our request. How so?”.

Indeed, an incomprehensible and short-sighted position! We cannot alienate sincere supporters of our country with formal approaches. It is extremely important for us today to strive to use every opportunity to systematically work to counter lies and disinformation about Russia, including by establishing effective interaction with those who really are our allies. We must know them all well and, moreover, do not hesitate to help them in every possible way. And politically, and morally, and, of course, by providing a “green street” in our media.

I am convinced that these issues deserve to be seriously and self-critically analyzed at the highest level. We need to understand the nuances of this problem and make adjustments. If we want to achieve success in the current information wars, our counter-propaganda activities should not be straightforward, aimed only at repelling our enemies. An important and effective element of it can and should be relying on our loyal friends and allies!