“We live in the age of total propaganda and I do not disregard the use of nuclear weapons.” The warning comes from Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in defending freedom of the press and his work in denouncing the Vladimir Putin government’s abuses of power.
Faced with the war in Ukraine, the editor was forced to shut down his newspaper’s operation and denounced the deportation of more than 200 Russian journalists and activists since the beginning of the armed conflict.
at a meeting where UOL Meeting with journalists in Geneva on Tuesday, Muratov insisted that what is happening in his country is above all the triumph of Kremlin-imposed propaganda, the end of independent journalism and its replacement by versions of war fit for the president. Putin.
The problem, he says, is that this reality, created by the Kremlin today, even tries to form an argument that a nuclear bomb could be used. “I do not deny the use of nuclear weapons. It is a possibility and the subject is being discussed on television in Russia. As if there is a way to use these weapons. What I am saying is that if used, there will be no end to war, but it will be the end of humanity,” he warned.
Muratov attended the meetings in Geneva on the occasion of the International Press Freedom Day. His concern, however, is the effect that advertising can cause by justifying crimes.
Referring to Putin, “How did we get to the point where all humanity depends on one leader’s finger?” he asked. “The most dramatic thing is that if it is taken, no one can stop this decision. Neither the Parliament, nor the Russian people, nor Lenin,” he said.
According to him, this “absolute power” has been built over the years and largely by silencing the opposition and journalists.
“The Age of Total Propaganda”
Muratov said he was surprised at the extent of the impact of Russian propaganda. “I didn’t expect the public to absorb so much propaganda and that this would lead the public to support the war as it is now,” he said.
But he points out that the road to get there has been paved by the Kremlin for years. “First there was the pressure of the dissidents. Then came the destruction of the free press and its place entirely by propaganda,” he said.
“Today, the public is exposed to the radiation of this propaganda,” he insisted. “National holidays have been militarized and even the Church has joined the effort,” he said.
“We’ve entered the age of total propaganda, and the most incredible thing is that some part of the government is starting to believe the propaganda that is being published. We live in a world where facts have no value anymore,” he confirmed.
“Now we see that there are some who even believe that nuclear weapons are not that bad and that there are ways to use them,” he said.
closed newspaper
The Russian had to close his newspaper, Novaya Gazeta. According to him, as soon as the war started and the laws on how the press should act were announced, he decided to ask his readers what they thought the newspaper should do.
It was then that the Kremlin blocked the use of the word “war”. Instead, the papers should say it’s a “special operation”. “96% of our readers wanted us to continue working despite the law,” he said.
But the first warning came a few weeks later, when the newspaper ran an article by its reporter about what he had seen in the war. The network of newsstands warned it would not put the papers on the shelves.
In response, the newspaper’s readers went to the newsroom and bought hundreds of newspapers to distribute in the city.
“We survived 34 days,” the editor said. According to him, a second warning was issued by the government, threatening to declare the newspaper an “external agent”.
He was even attacked in a subway last month. A man attacked her with ink. “I immediately lost my sight and until now I have problems because part of the retina is burned,” he said. However, he tried to follow the person he attacked. “I could tell he was going to a policeman. Our investigation also showed that he had changed his name three times in the last few years. All the cameras at the train station were able to record his face. Even then, to this day., there has been no lawsuit filed against him,” he said.
Auction Nobel Medal
Muratov also announced that he has decided to auction off his Nobel Prize medal as a way to raise money for war refugees.
He praised Europe’s response to opening its borders to refugees and facing “a migration of biblical proportions”.
The editor also accused Europe of turning a blind eye to Putin’s actions for years. “The leaders went to Russia, met with political dissidents and human rights activists. They took pictures and then went to sign major trade deals with Putin,” he criticized. “Everyone was happy. Today, some of these deals are used to bomb the Ukrainians. The Russian government bought the Western leaders,” he accused.
When asked what Russia’s future would be, he laughed and said, “Ask that another time.”
source: Noticias
