The Mechanics of Mind Control 0
Der Spiegel takes a long and penetrating look at how Vladimir Putin maintains his control on Russia. It is well-worth a read in these troubled and troubling times.
Here’s a tiny bit:
“It’s quite simple,” says (Russian ex-pat Ekaterina–ed.) Schulman. Putin claimed that Ukraine had to be de-Nazified, she says. “The autocrat’s word is the official Russian position. There is pressure to be loyal and there is punishment for those who publicly deviate from this narrative.”
Putin has imposed wartime censorship. According to the regime, anyone who criticizes the attack on the neighboring country is slandering the army and is subject to prosecution. The censorship laws are so vaguely formulated that the security authorities can take action against just about anyone. Just wearing blue and yellow sneakers, the colors of Ukraine, can be enough to land a person in hot water. One Moscow man who did that got fined the equivalent of 100 euros. Meanwhile, a woman in Krasnodar was talking to her husband about the war in a restaurant. A restaurant employee reported her to the police and she had to pay the equivalent of 400 euros in fines; her husband went to jail for 15 days for “rioting.” People are snitching on others all over the place in Russia right now. Compliant helpers have denounced tens of thousands of fellow citizens to the security authorities – also because of critical posts on the internet.
