RE: Counter propaganda, russian style
I downvoted because putinist propaganda is very low quality content and I don't want to see it in Steem (horrible to see how many upvotes it has gained).
Usually these propagandists don't want to discuss. They just spread their lies or some other way distort the truth. When one lie is debunked, they just invent another one or stop discussing. This is has been continuing theme that has made serious discussions pretty much impossible.
The article that you linked has very little truth in it. There is no real freedom of the press in Russia, all voices that are critical to Putin and his government are regularly persecuted. Of course they allow some criticism, but that's usually by people who are quite crazy and won't be taken seriously.
Here you can read the latest press freedom report: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/russia
And of course the elections in Russia are controlled in the same way. Putin's support would vanish if freedom of speech were allowed for a few years and then had free elections without suppressing the opposition.
I didn't see any claims about freedom of press in the article. In no way I felt like the author would be a fan of Putin.
The article is about western propaganda and how the obvious stupidity of it is utilized by the Kreml.
What's the difference to the west exactly, where do our oppositions stand a chance? Our press here is as biased as the "putinist" in russia. The claim on the page you linked that the whole west has a free press is propaganda itself. There's no real opposition in any of the bigger newspapers or magazines here in Germany.
The article starts with a claim that Kremlin doesn't control the media, which is clearly a lie:
Even if you don't believe western media, it's not hard to read from independent organizations (like Freedom House), blogs, social media etc. how Russia has been losing the freedom of speech during Putin's reign, especially in the last few years.
Western media doesn't need to produce pretty much any propaganda, it can just report what's happening in Russia.
When western points of view are represented in Russia, they are usually heavily edited. Important stuff is left out, explanations how to interpret the message right are added, and so on, with an intention to make westerners to look like russophobics. This has been going on so long that there should be no question about it.
Because author of the article clearly lies about this, I count him as putinist. He is supporting the putinist narrative in many other points as well.
"Nazi-occupied Ukraine" is clearly a lie. Nobody else than putinists speak about "ukronazis". Russian military is clearly in Ukraine killing ukrainians. They even shot down a Malaysian passenger airplane!
In recent years Russia has attacked Georgia and Ukraine (before that they totally destroyed Chechnya), so being afraid of Russian aggression is clearly not idiotic. Only a putinist would claim otherwise.
Thanks for taking the time to comment some of the issues you had with the article. I would upvote that if there wasn't the discussion before.
Of course you are right regarding the situation of the press over there. I have a slightly different view on the conflicts Russia is and was involved in. Not that I would try to defend them, but I see a lot of efforts spent by the West to provoke situations like that.
I also do not like how everything is about Putin, and we get the impression that russians are just too dumb for a proper democracy. Their mindset is a lot different, and that's not only because of the media.
I still think the article has some good points and can help getting a grasp of that mindset. It certainly has to be taken with a grain of salt like everything in these areas. But I also still think that downvoting something you don't agree on isn't the right thing to do here. The downvotes should be used for spam or illicit materials, not as a means of discussion.
I've been living in Moscow for about a year and a half now and I walk by a new stand almost every single day on my way to work and some of the headlines you read in the countless number of media publications that are available here definitely give an indication that freedom of speech is alive and well in Russia. Putin even often hosts dinners with members of the media to discuss their differences, as in the example here:
https://www.facebook.com/inspiretochangeworld/videos/1691440384460390/
The Washington DC based "Freedom House" organization you cited isn't exactly an independent source, sir. This is a well written article and it clearly describes the reality of today, the US federal government is a joke and nobody believes a word that's coming out of its mouth.