But younger people are also becoming a target, for whom a good opinion of life in the Soviet Union is formed. And one of the more common examples of recent years is Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (AE), which we have refused to force into the European Union.
“Because it was a two-month study, we can’t compare any trends to other periods. We only supported in March and April, ”said Agnė Eidimtaitė, author of debunkEU.org, for the Info TV show Info Day.
According to the interlocutor of the show, it is not a new phenomenon that nostalgia for the Soviet Union is used in disinformation.
“However, this year, as it is thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the matter will certainly be discussed in the Russian-language media. It is probable that we will see articles or other content (for example, television, radio programs) in the really Russian media, ”said A. Eidimtaitė.
The target of propaganda is also the Ignalina NPP
One of the authors of the study noted that the disinformation narrative about the good life in the Soviet Union that was being created was not very different from the propaganda narratives that were spread during the Soviet era.
“Everyone is created to have social guarantees, there is a brotherhood of nations, the Soviet Union was modern, it provided states with infrastructure. These narratives are played out, they are contrasted with the information narratives already popular in the current pro-Kremlin and Russian-speaking media.
One example would be Ignalina NPP. The Ignalina NPP built in the Soviet Union is presented as a gift to Lithuania and the entire Baltic region, providing free electricity, but after regaining its independence, Lithuania, which is being manipulated by the EU, had to close it, ”E. Eidimtaitė called common discourses.
According to her, this narrative is intertwined with Astravo AE. It is said that Lithuania is jealous of Belarus, that it has built the Astrava NPP, and Lithuania is already sorry that it has closed the Ignalina NPP.
“The fact that the type of Ignalina NPP reactor corresponded to the Chernobyl type, and according to international standards it was recognized as unsafe and therefore potentially threatening, is not fully investigated,” said E. Eidimtaitė.
There are residents who are more affected by propaganda
The interlocutor of the show said that in this way the phenomenon of nostalgia is played out.
“Retrospective, a certain past time, erases certain bad things, and more determines the retention of beautiful memories in the human consciousness. It mainly targets older people who lived in the Soviet Union. People who have experienced youth in the Soviet Union are especially impressive, because people usually remember youth brightly enough, and those bad things are forgotten, ”said E. Eidimtaitė.
The author of the study also singled out the Russian-speaking population in all post-Soviet countries.
“They are also affected by such misinformation. Some sociological research shows that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they feel they have lost a certain national privilege that was being created in the Soviet Union, ”said E. Eidimtaitė.
According to the interlocutor, the transition period after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the restoration of independence was often resisted, when not all residents were able to adapt quickly and successfully.
“We know that some people have lost their jobs, and the authors of disinformation often rely on this as well,” said E. Eidimtaitė.
According to the author of the study, the antidote to misinformation is truth and historical facts.
“After digging deeper and creating a discussion with people who remember the Soviet Union nostalgically, there is an understanding that there were bad things. We need discussion with those people, we need facts, historical discussions, and finally, the realization that the Soviet Union has taken away a lot, ”said E. Eidimtaitė.
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