Press review: Russia to fight Western propaganda [...]

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Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russian Civic Chamber seeks to protect youth from Western propaganda

Sutormina image from

The Russian Civic Chamber proposed creating an Internet platform to counter information attacks from the West, aimed primarily at Russia’s youth. Experts interviewed by Nezavisimaya Gazeta suggest searching for "external enemies" should be avoided, but rather call for engaging in something realistic, like the patriotic upbringing of the younger generation.

According to the Civic Chamber, various Western institutions are conducting an active information war against Russia. According to Elena Sutormina, a member of the Commission for the Development of Public Diplomacy, cyberspace is behind the future, including political, "And we must be able to withstand challenges and threats."

A group of young journalists will work on the content of the future platform in close cooperation with the authorities. "They will publish explanations by officials on any Western fake news, Ministries and agencies will be able to refute any information disseminated by foreign sources on this site," Sutormina added.

At the same time, experts interviewed by the newspaper are skeptical of the initiative. According to Ilya Shablinsky, a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, in fact, no one can limit or challenge Russia's sovereignty. "No pro-Western media can lure a crowd of young people out onto the streets. This is absurd," he told the newspaper.

According to him, "the protection of sovereignty" is usually used to conceal the desire to restrict ideological opposition, in the media and on the Internet. "The whole point of this campaign is to limit the rights of opponents of the authorities, and to discredit them by accusations of working for the West," he said.

"In terms of educational efforts with young people, the authorities took only timid steps. For example, no real steps are taken in terms of patriotic rhetoric," Head of the legal services of the Communist Party Vadim Solovyov told the newspaper. According to him, there is no Western influence as such, the increase of protest activity is not related to the "intrigues of foreign enemies", but primarily to the difficult social and economic situation in the country.

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