“Right on target!” How Russian propaganda works

After a Russian missile hit an apartment building in Uman, the Russian Defense Ministry posted an image of the missile launch with the caption “Right on target!” on its website. Given that it was on this day that a Russian missile killed 24 civilians, including five children, the Russians boldly demonstrated to the world their outrage at normality, a kind of mockery beyond cynicism. It is true. But in fact, the Russians had a different goal: they launched a trigger word into the information space, designed to block the conscience of their supporters.

Let me explain how it works.

“You can call a person a 'capitalist' or an 'entrepreneur.' In fact, these words denote the same social group, but emphasize different aspects of it: exploiters or representatives of a progressive social stratum.”

Words that denote objectively existing social phenomena do not just reflect certain objects, but also adjust people's minds in a certain way, exerting a reverse influence on these phenomena. For example, one can call a person a 'capitalist' or an 'entrepreneur'. In essence, these words denote the same social group, but emphasize different aspects of it:  exploiters or representatives of a progressive social stratum. Since the use of certain words and phrases sets the tone and boundaries of discussion of certain phenomena (for example, bandits can be called 'freedom fighters' and mercenaries can be called 'volunteers'), manipulators spread stable meme terms in the minds of so-called ordinary people that are beneficial to the ruling elite. The active use of such meme terms clearly identifies 'their own.' They are intended primarily for citizens who are unable and/or unwilling to analyze information and are interested solely in recognizing like-minded people who belong to a particular ideological discourse. How such political language works is described in Orwell's novel 1984. It is the so-called 'duckspeak' - a kind of political communication that aims not to clarify the essence of the phenomenon, but to reproduce a political position.

It looks like this in practice.

“In the Russian media space, there are stable terms-memes generated by the elite that are formed into cause-and-effect relationships that describe a picture of the world acceptable to society, certain myths embedded in the mass consciousness by propaganda.”

In the Russian media space, there are stable terms-memes generated by the elite that are formed into cause-and-effect relationships that describe a picture of the world acceptable to society, certain myths embedded in the mass consciousness by propaganda. To actualize these myths, propagandists do not have to repeat them in full. It is enough for them to press a certain trigger and the previously formed causal chains of explanation of reality are awakened in the public consciousness, which trigger the type of behavior desired by the elite.

For example, in the case described above, Russian propagandists published an image of a rocket launch with the caption “Right on target!”, thus launching the 'precision weapons' trigger. Thus, a scheme emerges in the minds of Russian citizens; “We have high-precision weapons - we use them to conduct the special military operation - we conduct the special military operation against the Ukrainian Nazis - nothing is sacred for the Ukrainian Nazis.” What can we conclude from this? Very simple! Our high-precision weapons could not hit a civilian building, it was deliberately blown up by Nazi Banderites to compromise our glorious army.  And the Russian citizen is reassured: our conscience is clear, it was all the Banderites, and we had nothing to do with it!

Especially for Espreso.

About the author. Ihor Tanchyn, political scientist, journalist.

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