In June 2025, a fabricated story spread online claiming that Volodymyr Zelensky had bought his mother a $3.2 million apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. It was built around an AI-manipulated video made to look like a report by the Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya, and it was quickly debunked: no such Al Arabiya report ever aired, and Dubai’s land registry shows no such purchase.

This document is the after-action “media case” that the Social Design Agency (SDA — Агентство социального проектирования), a Western-sanctioned Kremlin contractor, produced to claim credit for the campaign. It surfaced in the leak obtained by Delfi Estonia and reported by the Dossier Center together with OCCRP and others.

Read it as the perpetrators’ own scorecard — the apartment story is false, and every figure it cites, including its claim of more than 86 million views, is the agency’s own internal estimate. It is reproduced here exactly as written and translated slide by slide, with no edits or commentary.

Slide 1

BRIEFING NOTE

Media Case

“BURJ KHALIFA”

Date executed: 9 June 2025

Slide 2

I. Description of the media case

According to the case materials, Zelensky bought his mother a luxury apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper for $3.2 million. As reported by the Arabic outlet Al Arabiya, citing data from the Dubai Land Department, the deal was concluded on 16 September 2024 — the birthday of Rymma Zelenska, who is officially listed as a pensioner and lives in Kryvyi Rih. The purchased apartment measures 186 square meters. It is located on the 11th floor of the skyscraper and forms part of the Armani Residences complex, whose interior was designed by Giorgio Armani.

Slide 3

After the case materials began to be published, the story of Zelensky’s luxury purchase was published by major foreign bloggers with multimillion-strong audiences [their posts, screenshots]

Slide 4

The story of Zelensky’s multimillion-dollar purchase reached Russia’s largest media outlets. Vitaly Borodin, head of the Federal Security and Anti-Corruption Project, issued an appeal to the UN, in which he demanded that an investigation be carried out into the corrupt activities of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Silovoy Blok — News Agency

Menu: Home · Politics · Army · Society · Service · Weapons · Abroad · Economy

POLITICS Borodin calls on the UN to investigate Zelensky for corruption after his property purchase in the UAE

Author: Elena Evstratova

Slide 5

As the case materials spread, Ukraine’s «Center for Countering Disinformation» refuted the claim that Zelensky had bought his mother an apartment in the tallest building in the world. The body, which operates under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, noted that Al Arabiya’s website contains no information about the Ukrainian leader purchasing luxury real estate, and that the narrative of Zelensky’s corruption is one of the most popular among «Russian propagandists».

Center for Countering Disinformation (@CforCD) ❗ Fake information is being spread on X claiming that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly purchased an apartment in the Burj Khalifa “for his mother” for $3.2 million. [accompanying image overlaid with the text “as a birthday gift for his mother Rimma Zelenska” and stamped “FAKE”]

Slide 6

Some comments from social-media users outraged by Zelensky’s multimillion-dollar spending:

Slide 7

II. Publication of the media-case materials

A) Publications in the foreign segment of the internet

• 19 of the Project’s contractors shared the media-case materials on social media. Views of the case materials via contractors — 10,178,900.

• Organic distribution of the content across foreign media and social networks gathered 35,971,000 views.

In the foreign segment of the internet, the case materials gathered a combined total of 46,149,900 views as of 09.06.2025.

B) Publications in the Russian segment of the internet

As of 09.06.2025, Russian mass media and social-media blogs had published 415 items about the case, with a combined reach of 39,664,400 views.

C) Refutation of the case materials

As of 09.06.2025, 22 refutations had been published on social media and on foreign news resources, with a combined reach of 410,800 views.

D) Total reach of the materials about the case

In the Russian and foreign segments of the internet, the materials about the case and the refutations gathered a combined total of

86,225,100 views

(in English — 21,405,200 views; in French — 5,950,400 views; in German — 148,300 views; in Ukrainian, Spanish, Italian, and other languages — 19,056,800 views; in Russian — 39,664,400 views) as of 9 June 2025.

This is a leaked internal after-action report from the Social Design Agency (SDA — Агентство социального проектирования), the Moscow political-technology firm run by Ilya Gambashidze and operating under the supervision of Russia’s Presidential Administration. It documents “Operation ‘Pig Head,’” an Islamophobic provocation carried out on the night of 8–9 September 2025, in which a six-person team placed severed pig heads marked “MACRON” at ten mosques and Muslim cultural centers around Paris, timed to coincide with France’s “September 10” protest mobilization.

The report surfaced in the leak obtained by the Dossier Center with Shomrim, Le Monde, and the OCCRP consortium. Read it as the perpetrators’ own self-congratulatory account. The operatives behind this and related stunts were Serbian nationals, several later arrested and convicted in Europe. Russian-language original pdf-file can be viewed here.

Report on Operation: “Pig Head”

Location: Paris, France

Date: 8–9 September 2025

Carried out simultaneously with the “#10September” operation.

Operation summary

In Paris, severed pig heads — 10 (ten) in total — are delivered to the city’s mosques and Muslim cultural centers. On each pig’s forehead, the surname of the country’s president — “MACRON” — is written in blue marker or other permanent ink.

Photographs of the heads before the operation began (08.09.2025):

Method of execution

A team of 6 (six) people was engaged to carry it out.

IMPORTANT (!): The operatives had no contact with the team responsible for the “#10September” operation and are unaware that it took place.

The team arrived in Paris on 07.09.2025. On 08.09, reconnaissance of the area was conducted, the pig heads — purchased in advance through a network of intermediaries — were delivered, and other supplies were procured. The operation was carried out at night, between 00:00 and 05:00, on the night of 8–9 September 2025. After carrying out the operation, the team successfully left the country.

Results of the operation

Target No. 1: Mosquée (Institut des Cultures d’Islam – ICI). Address: 56 Rue Stephenson, 75018.

Result:

Target No. 2: Mosquée Islah Montreuil. Address: 70 Rue des Sorins, 93100 Montreuil.

Result:

Target No. 3: Association Islamique Al-Ghadir. Address: 15 Pl. du Général de Gaulle, 93100 Montreuil.

Result:

Target No. 4: Mosquée Anwar El-Madina. Address: 27 Rue Etienne Marey, 75020.

Result:

Target No. 5: Mosquée (Union des Musulmans de Malakoff). Address: 1 Rue Avaulée, 92240 Malakoff.

Result:

Target No. 6: Mosquée Khalid Ibn Al-walid. Address: 28 Rue Myrha, 75018.

Result:

Target No. 7: Mosquée de Javel. Address: 47 Rue de Javel, 75015.

Result:

Target No. 8: Mosquée de Montrouge. Address: 51 Rue Racine, 92120 Montrouge.

Result:

Target No. 9: Association Musulmane De Gentilly. Address: 140 Rue Gabriel Péri, 94250 Gentilly.

Result:

Target No. 10: Mosquée de Saint-Ouen. Address: 3 Rue des Docks, 93400 Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine.

Result:

While attempting to access this location, the operatives encountered the mosque’s round-the-clock armed security, which prevented them from entering the restricted premises. As a result, the pig head was placed at the entrance. When they attempted (at the operation coordinator’s insistence) to return and move the head to a backup location, police were already on the scene. It was therefore decided to leave the head where it was.

Additional notes

1. A USB flash drive containing 28 (twenty-eight) photographs of the completed operation is attached to this report.

2. The operation received wide coverage in world media:

French-language sources (access via VPN):

• Libération

• Le Monde

• Le Parisien

• TF1

• Le Figaro

• The Local France

• France 24

• La Provence

• Paris Match

• …and many others

English-language sources (access via VPN):

• CNN (USA)

• CBS News (USA)

• Reuters (USA)

• Barron’s (USA)

• AOL (USA)

• TRT Global (Turkey)

• Ynet News (Israel)

• Morocco World News (Morocco)

• Middle East Eye

• The Straits Times (Singapore)

• Free Malaysia Today (Malaysia)

• Maeil Business Newspaper (S. Korea)

• Bilyonaryo News (Philippines)

• Al Arabiya (UAE)

• Mathrubhumi (India)

• Fakti BG (Bulgaria)

• …and many others

Russian-language sources:

• RIA Novosti — “Pig heads dumped at mosques in Paris” (09.09.2025)

• Gazeta.ru — “Pig heads marked ‘Macron’ found near mosques in France”

• Argumenty i Fakty — “Pig heads marked ‘Macron’ found near mosques in France”

• RIA Novy Den — “Someone scattered pig heads at mosque entrances in Paris” (09.09.2025)

• Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK) — “Pig heads marked ‘Macron’ dumped at Paris mosques”

• Regnum — “Pig heads dumped at Paris mosques”

• EurAsia Daily (EADaily) — “Pig heads marked ‘Macron’ dumped at mosques in Paris” (9 September 2025)

• RuTube — “Pig heads marked ‘Macron’ found in front of mosques in Paris” (video, posted 9 September 2025, runtime 00:04:24)
  

  Putin is convinced that in Ukraine he is fighting the “collective West” — and across the continent, a full-fledged hybrid war is already underway. In this section I track it and collect the original-source documents behind it. Subscribe to stay updated, it is and will forever be free.

  
  

This is an internal planning file from the Social Design Agency (SDA — Агентство социального проектирования), a Moscow political-technology firm run by Ilya Gambashidze that operates under the direct supervision of Russia’s Presidential Administration, with reporting lines to first deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko and some reports said to reach the country’s “top official” — possibly Putin himself. It surfaced in a leak obtained by Delfi Estonia and reported by the Dossier Center together with Shomrim, Le Monde, and the OCCRP consortium.

Titled “Projects 2026,” the file catalogues the firm’s ongoing and planned influence operations against France, Germany, other Central European states, and Armenia — among them a fake “think tank” built to pass as an independent research institute, systems for monitoring and manipulating social-media “opinion leaders,” and “self-populating knowledge bases” (essentially Wikipedia clones designed to outrank the originals in search and quietly seed Kremlin-friendly narratives), all framed internally as “cognitive strikes” meant to hide the Russian hand.

Read it as the agency’s own self-reporting: the figures below are its stated targets and claimed progress, they have not been independently verified.

The original Russian-language PDF is available here

PROJECTS 2026

1. Think Tank

A website has been created. The English version has been launched. Design improvements and technical work on concealment and infosec are underway. Once this work is finished, analogous sites will be launched in German, French, and Spanish. Social media accounts will also be set up: FB and X.

Project targets for each site (4 sites total):

• 50 publications per month — reworking and summaries of reports from respected think tanks on topics favorable to us.

• 6 original publications (one per topic).

• 2 original reports.

Monthly total:

• 230 texts.

• 500 images.

• 300 social media posts.

2. Opinion-Leader Circles

A trusted contractor has been selected; the technical specifications for the infrastructure and software suite have been worked out.

Project targets:

Daily replenishment of the post database from 10,000 accounts (scraping). Posting messages on social media (narrative injection) — 2,000 per month. Monthly analytics on narrative propagation, mutual influence among opinion leaders, and discussion trends.

3. Opinion Tracker

Monitoring the accounts of the 100 most prominent French opposition opinion leaders and publishing 30–40 of their posts daily on the site, with screenshots and links to the original posts.

Project targets per month:

• 1,000 publications (text, link, screenshot).

• 5 original overview pieces.

4. Self-Populating Knowledge Base — Germany

Servers have been launched and web shells created, and the content corpus is being assembled (the database already holds over 200,000 pages).

Project targets:

• Editing 100 articles per month.

• Creating graphic content for the articles — 100 per month.

• Search-engine promotion of the edited articles via “behavioral factors” — 200 per month.

• “Training” 6 AI platforms on the edited articles — 500 per month.

5. AI News (France)

Creating and running accounts for 3 projects across 6 social networks, with daily content.

Project targets per month:

90 video clips commenting on the current news agenda, adapted to the formats of the 6 distribution platforms and social networks — 540 videos in total.

6. Russian Wave

Creating and populating three websites: Russian, German, and French.

Project targets per month:

• 200 longreads.

• 200 news items.

• 500 illustrations.

Translation and adaptation for two countries: France and Germany.

• 400 longreads.

• 400 news items.

Social media management: VK, Dzen, Telegram, Facebook, X — 100 posts per country on each platform.

7. Yerevan First!

A licensed media-outlet website has been launched.

Project targets per month:

• 200 longreads.

• 200 news items.

• 500 illustrations.

• 10 video products: interviews, overview videos.

Social media management: VK, Dzen, Telegram, Facebook, X.

8. Self-Populating Knowledge Base — Armenia

Servers have been launched and web shells created, and the content corpus is being assembled (the database already holds over 50,000 pages).

Project targets per month:

• Editing 100 articles per month.

• Creating graphic content for the articles — 100 per month.

• Search-engine promotion of the edited articles via “behavioral factors” — 200 per month.

• “Training” 6 AI platforms on the edited articles — 500 per month.

Slide 1 — After Victory (Cover)

Slide 2 — Expectation and Reality

RISKS (left column)

WWII remains the only reference image of VICTORY in the public mind. This time it will be different.

• No “Act of Surrender.” Wars haven’t ended that way for a long time. Even WWII dragged on after Germany’s surrender and Japan’s first act of surrender.

• No “We took Kyiv.” That was never the objective.

• “Denazification” is being carried out on the battlefield.

• At the time of the framework agreement, Zelensky will most likely still be in power.

• In the information age, victory is never one-sided. The US, the West, and Ukraine will frame their own — as we saw with Iran, the US, and Israel in summer 2025. Western media are already prepping the line: “Ukraine’s survival is its victory.”

• There will probably be a framework agreement first. Standard practice in complex conflicts. But easy to spin as another “Khasavyurt” or “New Minsk.”

• The agreement will be a compromise, to one degree or another.

MOST LIKELY SCENARIO (Right column)

• Format. A framework peace agreement. Likely US–Russia and US–Ukraine.

• Territories. All of the DPR and LPR transfer to Russia. Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts split along the line of contact. Russian forces withdraw from Sumy and Kharkiv.

• Demilitarization. Neutral status. A buffer zone.

• Denazification. Symbolic, limited.

• Sanctions. The US lifts theirs. European sanctions stay in place.

• Money. Part of the frozen assets goes to rebuilding war-affected territories — both in Ukraine and in Russia.

Slide 3 — The Image of Victory. Argumentation

The peace Putin achieved is a huge victory. Putin made the West bend. We thwarted the West’s plans to expand and prolong the conflict.

Victory over whom? Over international imperialism and globalism. Not Ukrainian nationalism — a far stronger, more skilled, more powerful enemy: the united West.

Victory for what? To protect our compatriots, the Russian people of the Donbas. Russia defended Russians and showed we don’t abandon our own. We built a shield for Russian-speakers across all of Ukraine.

Russia won, and won big. Gains: territory, people, resources. More than one-fifth of Ukraine (117,000 sq km) — an area the size of Bulgaria, Greece, or North Korea. Coal, rare earths. Especially fertile soil in Kherson and Zaporizhia. A land corridor to Crimea. The entire Sea of Azov coast — new resorts and recreation zones for millions of Russians. Millions of new fellow citizens, ethnically Russian.

The masks are off; everything is in its place. The whole world has now seen who is right and who is wrong. We showed that we are tougher, taller, better, more humane. The Ukrainian Nazis showed they really are Nazis, sadists, and moral degenerates. The Ukrainian elites had a full coming-out.

There will be no Ukraine after the defeat. Politicians aren’t saying it out loud, but Ukraine will cease to exist within 10–15 years. No people, no money, enormous debts, factories that don’t run and never will. Everything sold off. People are fleeing.

The EU is stagnating after its defeat. Brussels has shown its helplessness. It dragged its members into a needless, counterproductive standoff with Moscow. Every EU country is economically worse off. The EU is fractured.

Respect for the victor. Most of the world stood with us. During the SMO, our neighbors were sort of helping us while also testing us. After the victory, that’s behind us. Looking ahead, our victory could lead to integration around Russia.

Know when to stop. Going too far is defeat. Continuing the SMO would be a Pyrrhic victory.

Strength in unity. Those who left were the so-called elites who first betrayed and then fled. Russia has been cleansed and has closed ranks — that is our victory.

The joys of victory. Airports reopen, sanctions come off, trade picks up. Crucially for the defense industry: Russian weapons have been battle-tested — orders for Russian arms and Russian food will be huge again.

Slide 4 — Problem Audiences

“Armchair ultrapatriots” — Track: Pride / Risks of Continuing the War

Characteristics:

• Extreme emotionality

• Did not personally serve in the SMO

• Tunnel vision — one image of victory: “all the way to Kyiv,” “capitulation”

• Dominant in the public conversation

Approaches:

1. “Emotional flip” of their frontmen

2. Signal that “discrediting” the army is off-limits

3. Rationalization — why this is a Victory, why now, why dragging it out would have hurt Russia

4. Amplify moderate voices in the media

Veteran-ultrapatriots — Track: Pride / Risks of Continuing the War

Characteristics:

• Share the ultrapatriot image of victory, but have a right to be angry

• Socioeconomic losses, personal triggers

• Capable of organizing and acting decisively; can attract media attention

Approaches:

1. Environment control, support through the Foundation and veterans’ organizations

2. Emotional alignment — acknowledging negative emotions, mourning losses, validating disappointments

3. Channeling into conventional social activity (memorial events, future-oriented discussions, integration into political parties, rebuilding the territories)

4. A new contract — deployment to the Africa Corps on overseas missions

The tired, who want a normal life — Track: Win — For the Sake of Life

Characteristics: desire for a full return to “normal life,” expectation of a social thaw and growth.

Approaches:

1. Showcase “good news”

2. Restore normalcy — communications, flights

3. A traditional postwar amnesty (for those who spoke out in support of peace)

Defense-industry and NGO staff — Track: Win — For the Sake of Life

Characteristics: fear of losing income and work; possible layoffs; a drop in core activity.

Approaches:

1. Oversight, support

2. Showcase opportunities — promote export wins, replenish reserves, conversion (e.g., into drones)

Slide 5 — The Pride Track. Key Messages

HOORAY! RUSSIA HAS WON. THIS IS BEYOND DISPUTE.

• Russia defended its independence and uniqueness, its right to decide its own fate. Victory confirms we are on the right path.

• And the right of every country to sovereignty. We changed the world. (Putin, 2022: “in the new world order, everyone must hear everyone out, take into account every point of view — every people, every society, every culture, every worldview, every set of ideas and religious convictions, without imposing a single truth on anyone, and only on this basis, recognizing our responsibility for the fate of peoples and the planet, build the symphony of human civilization.”)

• Russia defended justice. Saved our own. Prevented a humanitarian catastrophe in the Donbas.

• Russia’s strength is recognized worldwide. Held the line against 50 countries. Nazism and globalization bowed before our might.

• Maximum result without general mobilization and without putting the entire economy and daily life on a war footing.

• Gained territory and won recognition.

ANYONE WHO BELITTLES THE VICTORY IS NO PATRIOT OF RUSSIA.

WE BELIEVE IN THE PRESIDENT. ONCE AGAIN HE OUTPLAYED THEM ALL! PUTIN KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING — BETTER THAN ANYONE.

WE’RE PROUD OF OUR OWN. WARRIOR-VICTORS. AN IMMORTAL FEAT.

• Our army turned out to be the most combat-capable in the world, facing down the full might of the West.

• We have grown more united as a society — that, too, is a victory.

• The military, labor, and spiritual feats of ordinary people expanded Russia’s possibilities. We also discovered that anyone can become a “big person.”

Org. measures (the block with the image on the right): celebratory events; award ceremonies; congratulations from senior officials; interpretation of the meaning of unconditional victory; meetings with veterans; mourning rites and memorials. A signal to ultrapatriot influencers — including on the inadmissibility of “discrediting” the army.

Slide 6 — Risks of Continuation. Key Messages

The continuation that fringe ultrapatriots are demanding would mean abandoning core positions — declaring general mobilization, putting the entire economy and daily life on a war footing, losing years. Expensive. And no payoff to be had — we couldn’t feed 30 million Ukrainians anyway.

Economic risks. Good thing we didn’t tip into economic catastrophe. Putin’s goal is the country’s peaceful development and the quality of people’s lives — he has always said so. But in a war of attrition, development takes a back seat.

• Tightening sanctions pressure (we lost European markets during the SMO)

• Resource depletion

• Likely tax and fee hikes

• Layoffs as business has to adapt

• Cuts to social spending

• Inflation

Security.

• Possible mobilization — somehow our armchair patriots aren’t lining up to serve

• Strikes deep into Russian territory

• Drones, “Carpet” alerts at airports (the air-defense protocol that grounds flights)

• Rising terrorist pressure from the Ukrainian regime

Demographic risks.

• We can’t afford to fall into a new demographic hole

• Russia needs people. We have to work for the future. And it shouldn’t be migrants who fill the gap.

Geopolitical risks.

• Possible erosion of our position in the world

• The US could outmaneuver us in the contest over zones of influence and the architecture of the new world order

• Risk of losing position in promising territories — the Arctic and elsewhere

The country’s and people’s image. Russia is no aggressor. We won with dignity. We’re capable of finishing Ukraine off, but we are not at war with the country or its people — we are simply protecting our own citizens. We came to bring peace, as the Russian soldier always does.

Org. measures (the block with the image on the right): expert appearances; individual expert statements; reviews and analytical pieces; social media commentary; demonstrating that this position aligns with anti-Russian European maximalists (i.e., framing those who demand continuation as in agreement with hawks hostile to Russia).

Slide 7 — The Win-for-the-Future Track. Key Messages

Finally, we are returning to normal life.

• Life is becoming safe and comfortable again. Air-raid alerts are over. Terror attacks on airports and residential neighborhoods are over. Normal mobile service is back. You no longer have to fear for yourself or your children.

• Resources and attention are shifting to the simple, day-to-day questions of life on the ground.

• You feel the stability immediately. There will be no new taxes.

• It’s possible to travel again, and goods are returning.

Russia gained a great deal. Russia has acquired a macro-region with enormous economic potential. The cost of rebuilding is nothing compared to the gains.

• Russia incorporated its historical territories with a population of about 5 million.

• The Sea of Azov has become a Russian inland sea.

• These territories generated up to 30% of Ukraine’s GDP. Their economic integration is underway.

• Reliable water supply secured for Crimea, Sevastopol, and Donetsk.

• Confirmed coal reserves in the DPR estimated at roughly 10 billion tons.

• The new territories can yield at least an additional 5 million tons of grain per year.

• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — Europe’s largest, capacity 6 GW.

• The sanctions cost Europe dearly.

• A stronger national currency.

• Russia continued its socioeconomic development, opened new markets, and secured technological sovereignty.

Time to think about the future. The country has a great future ahead. Clear prospects for markets and technology. BRICS opportunities. Opportunities for children and young people, including in education.

Org. measures (the block on the right with a futuristic image): discussions of the future (round tables, forums, etc.); good news; amnesty; return of mobile service, flights, and so on.

Slide 8 — For the Sake of Life. Key Messages

A bad peace is better than a good quarrel. Victory means the blood is no longer being spilled.

Peace that saves lives and lets us move into the future — that is victory. Our forces will be redirected to peacetime problems and the management of threats. Ukraine isn’t the only thing on our plate — the country has many tasks ahead. We need the strength and resources to develop the vast territories of the Far East, Siberia, and the Arctic.

Only Europe needs the war to continue — Europe, which was bent on grinding Russia down. The strain is already showing. We cannot allow a collapse.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Putin offered peace many times, and stopped the fighting the moment it became possible. Putin and Trump are the good guys; Biden has blood dripping from his teeth.

The heroes of the special operation died fighting for peaceful skies over our heads. By restoring peace we make their sacrifice meaningful, not in vain.

Sidebar slogan (over a silhouette of Vera Mukhina’s “Worker and Kolkhoz Woman”): “FOR THE SAKE OF LIFE ON EARTH!”

Org. measures: celebratory events; online flash mobs; criticism of the narratives coming from European maximalists and the foreign opposition, to show that the push to continue the war is unacceptable.

Slide 9 — Projects

1. Agenda-shaping sociology (formative polling).

2. Online campaigns — Victory and Memory of the Fallen.

3. The Future Is Everywhere. Discussions, round tables, a steady stream of news about normalization, reports on social projects and social-infrastructure build-out. IT, pharma, the creative industries — different markers of progress.

4. “A Celebration with Tears in Our Eyes” (quoting the Soviet Victory Day song): congratulations from leadership; celebratory events; moments of silence and remembrance of the fallen.

5. Integrative project — “Russia’s Victories.” A package of media formats describing the various ways conflicts have ended, dispelling the idea that capitulation is the only kind of ending. Russia’s victories beyond the Patriotic Wars of 1812 and 1945. Tying announcements to historical victory anniversaries (e.g., in the Far East — the annexation of territories under the Treaty of Aigun). An educational track — lectures, round tables, debates and other projects on what kinds of victories exist (the “Znanie” Society and the academic community, popular history bloggers).

6. “Russia After Victory.” A futurology agenda focused on postwar development. Round tables, media discussions, articles. In different framings: victory, win. Lecture series and media formats: “We won. The next step is the future. What will it look like?” (the “Znanie” Society, “Sirius,” regional “Growth Points” centers, blogs, documentary series).

Slide 10 — Projects (continued)

7. Promoting the right behavioral track for SMO veterans — public-service ads, blogs, news, artistic formats. On the model: “NN became a respected member of the community / bought a Russian car / rebuilt his house / started his own manufacturing or service company / hotel / got into a prestigious university. His fellow soldier, meanwhile, drank away everything he earned / killed himself / wound up in prison.” Promote the norm, not the extremes; push new heroes and opinion leaders to the front.

8. The return of “postwar” culture as a background project. Modeled on the cinema and literature of the 1960s “Thaw.” Focus on human, peacetime themes. The aesthetic of “a return to normal.” A managed thaw. Bringing humor back into the political conversation, rehabilitating the word “peace,” overturning convictions.

9. Lowering the temperature on radicalism and bellicosity. Limiting the media presence of the “nuclear-option” turbo-radicals. Reorienting or marginalizing the most uncompromising of them.

10. Media formats about BRICS and success stories in the “new international politics.” New investment projects, factories, technological partnerships — explained in plain language. Moving away from a Western-centric framing of foreign policy and culture (”what’s interesting in China, who’s at the top of the Brazilian charts, what was invented in India”).

11. An amnesty in honor of victory. A tradition and a marker. Russia has practiced this since the end of the Crimean War. Above all for those who spoke out in support of peace. Rehabilitation (decriminalization) of the word “peace” and of the concept itself. A peace-loving disposition is part of our character and our traditions — we have always strived for peace and continue to do so. Emphasis on Russia’s peacemaking acts throughout history — historical excursions.

12. Introducing symbols of the people’s sacrifice in the SMO and of the victory. Erecting monuments, opening churches, maintaining archives.

    
    

    Share

    Thanks for reading How to Slay a Dragon! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.