DISINFO: Certain forces have encircled Russia with an explosive geopolitical belt
SUMMARY
A gigantic effort will indeed be required from the Kremlin along the entire perimeter of the Russian state border. You can start with Finland, then walk along with the Baltic troika, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Further – Central Asia … And so on up to the Pacific Ocean and Japan. You just need to understand that there is an openly explosive geopolitical belt, with which certain forces, working for decades, have ringed Russia. And this “martyr’s belt” was closed in the South Caucasus.
RESPONSE
The article appeared in the context of the recent escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh which is a continuation of the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It is a conspiracy theory framing Russia as the ultimate target of international events, conflicts, revolutions and protests, based on a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia being encircled through a so-called “Anaconda plan”, as well as narrative about NATO's aggressive agenda toward Russia.
This recurring pro-Kremlin narrative paints all manifestations of popular discontent in the region as colour revolutions, portrays entire nations of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as pathologically Russophobic, and alleges that the West is attempting to encircle Russia and create instability around all Russian border.
Read similar cases claiming that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favours US interests, someone wants to divert Russia from Belarus and Syria, that the escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is directed against Russia, that clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh are part of an Anaconda Ring plan against Russia, that the US is creating a destabilising belt around Russia, or that the West is creating a “fire belt” around Russia through protests in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan.