The Cynic

We continue to consider information processes in Russian society, dwelling on the most important and interesting details.

Over the past week, the following items have been confirmed as part of the outreach reports:

Interest in military topics is declining in all social and age groups. The greatest decline is observed among the youth, however, the “holiday period” seriously hits the popular military incarnation. It is noted that it is at this stage that it will be easiest for the Russian leadership to jump off the “needle of militarism” by switching to entertainment content with rare admixtures of information from the front. The waning interest in combat, despite the ignominious flight from Serpent’s Island, also demonstrates that the key risk to the authorities is posed by the supporters of the war – the “guardians” – and not its opponents.

The downward trend in interest in military operations contributes to the atomization and deconsolidation of the political spectrum. In the future, the agenda will increasingly shift to everyday life. In this regard, there is a drop in interest in the war, even on the part of the anti-war movement – the “liberals” go into internal squabbles; those who left are trying to integrate into the Western system, realizing that “peace” will not come in the near future, which means that soil is needed for life in the West. Thus, in the conclusions of analytical centers one can clearly read common positions on the need to forcibly disconnect the mouthpieces of the “party of war” from communication. It is clarified that it is they who are the most sensitive to defeats, exchanges and “surrenders of positions”, and it is they – the clear supporters of expansion – who are the only internal problem of the regime.

The average consumer is viewed by the information policy control center as a dehumanized image of an “idiot” without the ability for analytical, critical, tactical and strategic thinking. In fact, propaganda recognizes the success of the work done: the mass audience is not considered by the Kremlin as a reasonable person. Checked and confirmed the possibility of “feeding the mass audience of any kind of information.” It also turned out that even shameful defeats (Zmeiny) with a banal manipulation of the “plan” and “goodwill gesture” do not cause a negative reaction from the “deep majority”, but provoke a clear escalation of the supporters of the “war to the bitter end”, and therefore repeatedly the need for a gradual disconnection from the air of the most ardent imperials is emphasized.

The case of the “prisoner exchange” also revealed interesting results that confirmed our previous conclusions. Without wide coverage in the official press, the exchange of the “defenders of Mariupol” did not cause any reaction from the deep consumers of information. Again, exceptionally ardent imperialists became excited, in connection with which, with a further negative course of the war, the idea is again expressed of the need to “cover the mouths of the radicals.”

Also on the “exchange of Azov people” the following triggers were revealed – there is a real opportunity to transfer absolutely all “prisoners of Mariupol” to Ukraine safely for the information front. Throwing into space the thesis of “defending our own” in conjunction with the slogan “We do not abandon our own” gives enough effect to bring down the first information wave of escalating pressure on Kyiv in the context of “life imprisonment for the heroes of Mariupol.”

In accordance with the reports, the information memory of Russians is recognized as “extremely low”, and their ability to analyze information is called “zero”, therefore, for the background support of victorious reports, everything is recognized as possible, including the demonstration of maps with an obvious “withdrawal” of Russian troops. So, for example, the Kherson direction according to the “maps” is called “extremely successful” by the overwhelming majority, and the third – “sufficiently successful.” In accordance with the study of information perception, the “serpentine direction” is called “extremely successful” by more than 60% of Russians; “sufficiently successful” – another quarter. Feel signs of failure no more than 7%.

In the event of a counter-offensive by Ukraine, options are being worked out for shifting informational emphasis in Russian propaganda.