Tuesday, July 16, 2024

For Moscow’s Party of War, Main Enemy is ‘Not the US, NATO or Ukraine but Russian Society,’ Filippov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 12 – Ivan Filippov, a Russian journalist who has followed the Z channels which represent the most pro-war Russians, says that they increasingrly blame ordinary Russians and Russian officials as being the most to blame for the fact that the Russian army has not won more victories in the field.

            In support of his argument, the investigative journalist points to recent comments by Vladivslav Shurygin,  deputy editor of Russian nationalist and super-patriotic Zavtrav newspaper and a permanent member of the Izborsky Club (holod.media/2024/07/15/chto-volnuet-voenkorov-iv/).

            Writing on his Ramzai telegram channel, Shurygin, who is a prominent member of Moscow’s party of war, says that he “wants to say a few words about our main enemy. Not about the US, NATO or even the Ukrainian armed forces … Instead, I’m talking about another enemy altogether” (t.me/ramzayiegokomanda/13413).

            This enemy, Shurygin continues, consists of “stupid, deaf and indifferent officials who do not care deeply about anything except their own pockets … [and] about ordinary people swimming with fat whom the state serves with all its fervor” and allows him to travel to Turkey or Italy and condemn the war at home.

            Filippov says that Shurygin’s phillipic has been reposted in dozens of telegram channels and even attracted the attention of Duma members and others, all the more significant because he is known to be “one of the authors most loyal to the powers that be.” And Filippov says that it is thus clear that what Shurygin says is what many in the party of war believe.

            “The main thought which united all these Z authors,” he continues, “is their dream to end the peaceful and comfortable life of their fellow citizens so that the entire country can live at war.” That isn’t what the Russian people want, Filippov says; and that is why the Z authors are so angry.

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