How conspiracy theories help to maintain Vladimir Putin’s grip on power in Russia --- (podcast, 25 min) ( theconversation.com )

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9995756

As soon as the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony was announced in February, conspiracy theories about who was behind it began circulating in Russia.

“That he was killed by his puppet masters from the west, not the Kremlin. That he was killed by them because his murder would actually make Putin look awful in the eyes of global community,” explains Ilya Yablokov, a lecturer in digital journalism and disinformation at the University of Sheffield in the UK.

Yablokov studies the spread of conspiracy theories in post-Soviet Russia, and says the stories about Navalny are the most prominent of many circulating ahead of a presidential election that looks certain to keep Putin in the Kremlin until at least 2030.

MushuChupacabra ,
@MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world avatar

Having all of his political rivals murdered also helps.

Pronell ,

I already think Putin is awful.

My reaction was "What the fuck? Why now? What does he have to gain in this moment?"

photoncollector ,
@photoncollector@mastodon.social avatar

@Pronell @0x815
The purpose of the war is to preserve and strengthen the ruling elite's grip on POWER. He needed a war.
This is the meaning behind the slogan
WAR IS PEACE.

Pronell ,

Thanks.

From a western perspective it makes no sense as he has an ironclad grip on power.

But that's my view, not the truth. I suspected there was a good reason to play a card that could never be withdrawn.

photoncollector ,
@photoncollector@mastodon.social avatar

@Pronell
He does have that grip, but it requires a constant and increasing use of force to maintain it.

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