15 Rules of Russian Propaganda — a Humorous, Satirical Guide Through the Kremlin’s Playbook
by Dietmar Pichler
The playbook of Russian disinformation and influence campaigns has never changed since the fall of the Soviet Union, but it has been further developed and updated to incorporate the cyber world and digital technologies.
Deny it
Is there an invasion coming? “No, how could you dare to ask!”
Did you shoot down the plane? “No, of course it wasn’t us!”
Poisoned a dissident? “Us? Never...”
Deny, deny, deny—to let your apologists preserve the illusion.
Accuse others of what you do yourself
These and other facts can be found through our propaganda—ahhh, media outlets—that bring you the truth your governments hide from you, because there is no free press in the evil collective West.Demonize your victim
Ukrainians are so evil, they are all Nazis, including the Jewish president Zelensky! They crucify Russian kids, eat Russian babies, and raise killer mosquitos in their secret biolabs! The most evil part about them is that they forgot they actually don’t exist and are all actually Russians.Practice the victim role, even if you are clearly the perpetrator
Look how the collective West is punishing us for no reason at all—just because they want to weaken poor Russia, which seeks nothing but peace and stability. By the way, have you seen our new rocket? It can reach London in just a few moments. Ura!Know your target audiences
So, let’s see... the peaceniks from the ’70s and ’80s? Still on board! Let’s demand peace, pacifism, and flowers instead of tanks—but not from us, of course!Far-left "tankies," Leninists-Stalinists? We can always count on them. In their honor, we’ve even built new Stalin memorials and stopped de-Stalinization. Comrade idiot, we’ll abolish Western imperialism—only Russian imperialism can achieve that goal!
The far-right populists and even Western neo-Nazis? They know we’re good to them—traditional values for everyone! Abolish Gayropa!
And then we have our business partners, especially in the energy sector—a very tolerant and loyal target audience. They’ll repeat all our narratives to keep the money flowing. Wonderful people!
When unable to convince, confuse
You don't believe our version of alternative reality? Well, maybe this time we failed... but can we interest you in our attempt to ridicule the truth?Spread not just one but many lies to create as much confusion as possible
Do you remember July 2014, when Ukraine shot down a passenger jet (MH17) filled with dead people on board, using a Ukrainian air defense system, fighter jets, and a bomb on the plane all at the same time? How pathetic of the other side to have only one single version, claiming it was us with a BUK air defense system—do your math!Motivate others to spread your lies
Recruit as many influential people as possible—academics, authors, journalists, artists, military personnel... Don’t worry, you don’t need to pay all of them. You’ll be surprised how many useful idiots will proudly spread your propaganda lies for free, all while believing they’re incredibly smart.
Ridiculous propaganda helps make your more subtle lies appear more legitimate
Ukrainians are eating Russian babies, crucifying Ukrainian kids, raising terror mosquitos, and are satanists. This isn’t exactly the way to catch Western “intellectuals,” but if they believe our propaganda is only about that, then they’re ready to swallow all the stories about how “NATO provoked us,” how we’re “liberating the Global South,” and how “the West mistreated poor Russia.”If it gets tough to deny, use whataboutism
Whataboutism is a powerful tool, and we have a lot of experience with it. “What about Kosovo?” some asked after our annexation of Crimea. They aimed to convince the world to recognize our annexation by referencing a country whose independence they themselves never accepted. The best Whataboutisms don’t even need to make much sense. “What about Napoleon?” Sounds ridiculous? Not to us. Macron, we’re looking at you!
Amplify all voices that support your narratives
We monitor not only our enemies but also our friends who agree with our alternative views! Let’s give them some reach on social media—our trolls will boost the algorithm. And if you’re a celebrity, we’ll invite you to our TV shows or even grant you an international diplomatic stage, as long as the narratives align with ours.Repeat your narratives as many times as possible so that your audience can parrot them
Do you remember, back in school during the USSR, when you learned the most famous slogans so well that you felt proud to deliver them when the comrade teacher asked? It’s the same with our narratives. We love to hear them repeated so often that people not only remember them but also feel almost obliged to spread them, starting with, “Everybody knows that…”Be aware that less informed people are more vulnerable to your propaganda
The whole world ignored Russian imperialism for centuries. During the Cold War, the so-called "anti-imperialists" even sided with Moscow. People think that Kyiv is in Western Ukraine and that there was a "civil war" in “Dombass”—or even "Bombass." No challenge in telling them whatever kind of narrative suits them; they are eager to view Eastern Europe further through the Russian lens and treat the countries in between as mere "objects" between Moscow and the West. By not knowing much about them, there is also not a lot of room for empathy, of course—that space is already occupied by the "great Russian culture" and a lot of Russian kitsch.When your fabricated content triggers emotions, people will spread it even more
Oh, this Kiev regime, look at them, they pretend that they are at war, and then they keep coffee houses open. Look at these people, I saw somebody smiling! By the way, was Zelenska shopping? No? Then just fabricate something—whatever serves to make the defenders of this war look worse and make us look better. We are masters in victim-blaming!Make your audience feel special, in the sense that they are well-informed, while others are just "decadent Western sheep"
Wake up, sheeple! You are with us now—alternative media, alternative reality, congratulations! We give you everything Western media denies you! Well, except for the stories and agents of influence we managed to plant in Western media, of course… there are surprisingly many! So your task is to believe nothing that is against us and share everything that suits us with the words: "Even Western media/experts are saying it."
