I discovered an amazing thing the other day: a true propaganda site the likes of which I have never seen with my own eyes before. It was like stumbling upon a propaganda pamphlet from the time of Stalin - yet this is a modern day website trying to pass itself off as real news. And the best part - it's Russian.

The site is called Moscowtopnews.com and it is one of the saddest excuses for an actual news site that I have ever seen. It doesn't seem to be associated with any credible news source, though it does have links to Pravda, the famous Russian newspaper whose name means, of all things, "Truth".

It looks like they steal the articles from an actual news agency and then a government propagandist tacks on his own vitriolic anti-western comments. It's more like reading a KGB agent's blog for the indoctrination of young minds than actual news.

Some great lines:

On the situations in Georgia and Ukraine - "Just as it has become known that the US had a large hand in the invasion and genocide campaign against South Ossetia, it is also obvious they have a hand in the current crisis in the supply of gas to Europe. They financed and formented the orange and rose "revolutions" in order to get their dirty, filthy tentacles all the closer to Russia in order to strangle Russia economically.

It has been the intention of the US all along to take over the gas pipelines. That is the reason for Afghanistan now. And that is the reason for what they did in Georgia."

On America's presence in Afghanistan - "Now they are finding themselves quite alone even though they were so presumptuous as to think that Russia would allow them to run around wherever they feel like it."

On NATO's "encircling" of Moscow - "Russia retains the capacity to defend itself and if necessary to liquidate enemy forces concentrating on its borders with massive missile attacks from thousands of launch sites."

On Europe and the Ukrainian Gas Crisis - "The hydra monster empire would like to throw a wrench in the works in order to establish their own system to bypass Russia such as Nabucco. However, Nabucco is still in its primitive stages with little promise of success. Hopefully, their tentacles have been effectively chopped off by the truth coming out."

Their message to Obama - "Welcome, President Obama. Welcome, friend! We do not want your arrogance, we do not want your blackmail, we do not want your chauvinism. What we do want, and expect, is for your administration to clean up the mess your country has made, for wherever you look, the hotspots were caused by the United States of America, and none other."

And my personal favorite, On the Economic Crisis - "Russia is an economic oasis."

How many times has the ruble crashed since 1991?


Of course, for anyone who even remotely follows Russian politics, you know that it's goverment is in nearly complete control over the press and all journalists are forced to say whatever the government tells them to say. These kinds of pure propaganda are common in Russia, but it is rare to see them in English. It is a good lesson to see what kind of maniacs we are really up against as a country. To those who think America is the big bad bully on the interntaional playground, just remember - no one in the government is going to kill you for what you write/say/believe/support. That cannot be said in many 2nd and 3rd world countries, including Russia.


These kinds of mental dictatorships, where the governments control everything that their people see and hear, are dangerous to the entire world. Even our new President Obama recognizes this and mentioned it in his Inaugural speech.

From Obama's Inauguration Speech:

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

To those of you who don't know, (or haven't figured it out yet from this article) this is a direct challenge to Russia and a referral to its Soviet style control of the media within the Russian Federation.

Since Putin took control of the Russian government, he has initiated a form of government control and restrictions on free speech and the freedom of the press almost identical to those during the Soviet era.

It is intriguing, however, that the Russian propaganda machine has made a move into the English webspace. Perhaps they are trying to recruit Americans to their cause?

Probably not. Most likely this is an attempt to prevent English speaking Russians from reading real news on the internet and learning the truth about Russia's stances with the International community. If you speak Russian, the Russian government can control everything you read, but if you speak English, the whole internet is open to you and they cannot control what you might find. It may also be a way to combat Russians who are abandoning their country in record numbers in order to find decent jobs in America, Canada, and Europe. Russia wouldn't want them believing that their newly found freedom and prosperity were real.

The fact that the site is written in English is also quite ironic for several reasons. For those of you who have never traveled to Russia or Eastern Europe, their command of the English language is relatively low when compared to most European countries. For one, unlike Western Europe, they do not get many visitors from America or Great Britain, so most Russians have never met someone who speaks English.

Secondly, the English language is very difficult for native Russian speakers to master because the grammatical roots of the two languages are completely different. Russian uses many Greek grammatical structures, whereas English is much closer to the far simpler Latin grammar. For example, Russian does not have the word "the". It's use is almost impossible to explain to a Russian speaker.

What this means is, the person writing and editing this site must have spent a lot of time in Great Britain or America in order to master the English language to such a degree. I have met many Eastern European students who were studying English, and for a student to master the language this well, they must have truly loved English language and culture. Almost every Eastern European student I ever met who was diligently studying English had a great desire to move to America.

The person writing and editing these Anti-American opinions is probably a great fan of the United States. They probably watch all of our movies, listen to all of our top musical artists, and would love a chance to live in America. However, in order to make a living, this person is forced to use his or her love for the English language in order to write daily tirades against the United States government, which he or she most likely does not even believe.

How can I say this with confidence?

While in Russia I met a Russian Journalist working for the BBC in Moscow. This journalist complained to me about the fact that they had to tell what they knew were lies to the public, because the Russian government won't let the press write what they want. You can only say what the Russian government authorizes you to say, and this is almost always Anti-Western.

For example, when Ukraine had a peaceful revolution against a corrupt and fraudulent election (Russia tried to steal the election for the Pro-Russian candidate - a convicted criminal and rapist), during the Orange Revolution in 2004, Russia forced it's journalists to say that it was a violent revolution and that Ukrainians were attacking Russian citizens in the streets. These were bold faced lies, and the journalists knew they were lies, but Russia was secretly hoping to start a war with Ukraine in order to bring control of the country back into its own hands, like in Soviet times. (For those of you who don't know your Soviet history, without Ukraine there could never have been a Soviet Union.)

Fortunately this didn't happen and the Revolution remained peaceful. But not for journalists - If you don't say what the Russian government tells you to say, you will be fired - or in many cases killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia



The most disturbing part of the MoscowTopNews website?

Look at what they say about themselves on the "About" page:

"MoscowTopNews.com takes a clear look at real issues and provides the full truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. This is objective, independent journalism. The world's events analyzed and commented on, bring the news to the citizens of the world, and not some cooked-up package catering to its master´s needs."

Ironic?

or Terrifying?