14.09.2015. www.delfi.lv

I am sometimes asked: “What so special do they show you on television, if it makes people change to such an extent? Even ties with relatives are cut, it is not possible to talk with them anymore. What is it? Is it really possible to pollute people’s minds so much?”

Of course, it is not just the matter of television, but also television’s role is quite important. I have not watched television practically since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, since the capture of the local television by the “civil guards” and the full replacement of Ukrainian channels with Russian ones, because, simultaneously with broadcasting the hundred per cent lies, they also apply psychological pressure on the audience with the use of banned technologies. That has been tested by many persons! Some of the patriots, having watched news programs on Russian television channels as a kind of experiment, later on admitted that just in ten minutes they had become obsessed with hatred and willingness to destroy the seemingly hostile Bandera supporters and the Right Sector members.

We have been living under the conditions of occupation for already two years, and we have gradually acquired immunity against this zombifying, but even now it is not possible to take that in large portions – it is poisonous. However, in order to answer the question asked to me, I decided to conduct a brief research in the television issue. To achieve objective results of the experiment, I intentionally avoided choosing any particular time of broadcasting, just switching on the TV set and starting to watch various channels, scrolling thorough them. And the effects were the following.

As regards films – they are either the old Soviet ones, pulling a part of the audience in their childhood or teenager period, that is, in the “ideal Soviet time”; or the modern Russian serials about the “militia – criminals” relationship; or also modern Russian serials about romance in everyday life. But this, of course, is not the main psychological impact, it is just a side-effect. And here are the examples of the main impact.

On the Oplot-TV channel, I came across Anatoly Shary, positioning himself as the Ukrainian journalist and the first Ukrainian refugee in European Union, as well as he is calling himself as the discloser of the “fakes” presented by the Ukrainian mass media regarding the events of 2013 – 2015. The aforementioned is aimed at strengthening the listeners’ trust in his words because he has been “persecuted” “for freedom”, and persuade them to follow his advice. His story is called “Should We Send Children to School?”. In his story, in characteristic for himself manner, he brutally and hundred per cent untruthfully “warns” parents that their children will be turned in “square-headed dull zombies” (quotation), and he recommends “to employ private teachers, for they are not too expensive now” to educate children at home, mentioning the system of home education of the Tsar period in Russia as the ideal model. Pardon me, but such person can by no means be considered as journalist (and no way the Ukrainian one), he may be considered just as a worker of tabloid press.

The story of one of the Russian channels (being shocked by the content of the program, I even forgot to put down which one it was) was related to compulsory education of children on sexual issues in Ukraine and Europe. According to the author of the plot, Ukrainian children are taught since the very childhood that there is no love, only sex, and that sexual intercourse should be commenced at once and with everybody. And it was mentioned also that the education of such kind in Sweden is applied to even younger children – four year old kindergarten students are given dummy genitals instead of toys. It was insisted that the people in Ukraine and Europe lack the sense of shame, so they are not humans at all. The author suggested that Russia needed a sound protection means against these mutants. The text makes us understand that Russia’s citizens are being prepared for a new “iron curtain”. And all that is quite seriously presented by the senior specialist, member of the Group of Experts on Ukrainian Issues at Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS)! It is worth mentioning that the Group was set up in the summer of 2015 when, being unable to destroy Ukraine by military means, Russia was forced to strengthen its own information ranks. Reference: “Russian Institute for Strategic Studies is a major scientific research and analytical centre, established on the decree of the President of Russian Federation. The main task of the Institute is to provide information support to the Presidential Administration of Russian Federation, Federation Council and State Duma, Security Council, governmental apparatus, Ministries and governmental departments. The Institute offers experts’ assessments and recommendations, it prepares information-analytical materials for the aforementioned structures.”

Fight against the history falsifying in the post-Soviet space is mentioned as one of the RISS’s official action directions. In reality, it is this state-sponsored organization, set up by the President of Russian Federation, which is practically involved in falsifying the history. Even at the first glance, it is clear that restoration of the empire is carried out – former Republics of the “mistakenly” destroyed Soviet Union are gathered under the supervision of Russia. This has been quite openly declared in the RISS Director L.P.Reshetnikov’s greetings letter of 02.09.2015, addressed to the president of Transnistria Y.V.Shevchuk: “…In the regard of this celebration, we wish Transnistria and its citizens peaceful sky above their heads … and firm and decisive orientation to achievement of the great historical objective that is shared with Russia”. (See the full text here) . I am horrified, seeing how a part of my motherland is turned by Russia in one more “free Transnistria”.

May be this Institute was developed with quite good intentions, but one of its former employees explained how obscurantism increasingly spread within it, especially after change of its leadership.

History, even the latest one, is constantly falsified in “DPR” (“Donetsk People’s Republic”). For example, local channels broadcast regularly military reports which include description of the existing situation in a precisely upturned manner, and movies about the war in Donbas are filmed in a similar way. For instance, the film “Ukrainian Agony” was repeatedly screened in the cinema “KinoKult” (“FilmCult”) free of charge with the aim “to educate young people as patriots” and “in order all that remains in their minds forever”. At the same time, everyone who leaves the occupied territory for Ukraine sees that it is “DPR” which is agonizing.

I have not watched television for more than one year, but now, having viewed some programs, I saw again all those lies, shocking with their shamelessness, which arrived in our homes together with the Russian television channels Rossiya 24 and LifeNews. The peace march for United Ukraine of April 28, 2014, in Donetsk comes to my mind. Unarmed patriots, carrying just flags and ribbons were walking down the main street of the City. Militia had been tasked to guard them, being positioned along the perimeter of the column of patriots. But when angry “Titushki” (young people, acting as agents – provocateurs), equipped with metal bars and clubs with nails (to cause more serious damages) reached the column, the militia officers simply let them proceed, and next the militia were calmly observing the beating of the peaceful citizens. The people ran away, looking for shelter in backyards and staircases, but they were caught and beaten again. My acquaintances saved a girl whose artery on the neck was cut by a club with nails. They are just doctors carrying some first aid means with them, and it was miracle that they were near the girl at the moment. And the ambulances arrived only when the beating was finished. Russian television channels were shooting the events on the spot. But when we returned home and switched on the TV sets, our peace march was on the news program, only it was supplemented by a text stating that they were pro-Russia citizens who were the participants of the peace march, and they were attacked and severely beaten by Ukrainian nationalists.

It was shock then. I had never imagined that the mass media’s lies would be so striking. But it is just the implementation of the same technologies. In this particular case, it is the technique of neuro-linguistic programming. The more paradoxical, stupid and duller lies are, the more shocking they are, thereby capable of bursting open the consciousness and penetrating the subconsciousness. It is a kind of infection, and such infected person will believe faster the next lies, he will really trust in the possibility of crucified and pickled newborns. People do not gain knowledge here, but their consciousness is manipulated, being impacted by untruthful shocking information. And the person is now convinced that he “knows”, because these lies have already penetrated his visceral entirety. He even becomes bent on such kind of information. And that is not because it is better, more truthful, veritable, but because some replacement has taken place. Memory always records extraordinary experience, later on the negative shade may be deleted, and only the strong feeling itself (it was shock) will remain, being perceived by subconsciousness as “celebration”.

That is why these Russian channels use shock in their presentation of information, and the shock may be even not connected with the text, for their main objective is to burst open the consciousness and make the audience easier to manipulate. This is the real information warfare. And it should be admitted that Russia has succeeded in it, if the word “succeed” may be applied to destruction of human nature in human.

Veronica

This article is the seventh in the series “Letters from Donetsk”, within which some Donetsk resident (her real name is not disclosed because of security considerations) shares her on-scene views on the military conflict ongoing in Ukraine.