DISINFO: Stoltenberg’s visit to the South Caucasus was a signal for the terrorist act in Moscow
SUMMARY
The terrorist act in Crocus City Hall in Moscow is a bloody sign of the strategic loss that the West is suffering in Ukraine. The West actively contributed to the creation of Al Qaeda and ISIS and is good at incurring asymmetrical damage to geopolitical opponents. The terrorist attack is an attempt to dramatically change Russia’s foreign policies. The signal for the attack was given by Stoltenberg’s visit to the South Caucasus. This visit indicates that the Anglo-Saxon “Anaconda ring” strategy is in action. The West is ordering terrorist acts in Russia and is trying to inflame the South Caucasus region to play down its own failures in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
This is a mix of false statements and conspiracies consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the belligerent West trying to encircle and destabilise Russia.
It links NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's recent tour of the South Caucasus countries on 17-19 March 2024 with the terrorist act in Moscow on 22 March 2024, falsely presenting both as part of the West’s anti-Russian strategy.
This disinformation story is part of a wider campaign by Russian officials and media–including by Vladimir Putin himself–to baselessly blame Ukraine and Western countries for the attack. There is no evidence implicating Western countries or Ukraine in the attack. Likewise, the claim that the West cultivated terrorists organisations, including ISIS, is false.
The Anaconda plan was a military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the American Civil War. It has nothing to do with modern politics and despite frequent disinformation claims in this regard, there is no evidence backing the idea that a so-called 'Anaconda ring' or a similar strategy exists.
The term 'Anglo-Saxons' in such cases normally stands for the US and UK and often means “evil”, “belligerent” and “morally corrupt” Westerners, as explained in our earlier analysis. As a negative catch-all term, the 'Anglo-Saxons' term is a useful building block for pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories. You can find plenty of examples in our database.
See similar disinformation cases claiming that Kyiv uses the same methods as ISIS to recruit children, that The Kyiv regime is a global terrorist threat, that the war in Ukraine is a part of the Anglo-Saxon Anaconda ring strategy, and that ISIS claiming responsibility for Moscow attack looks like a fake.