DISINFO: The West calls for Russian state to be destroyed
SUMMARY
The West, led by the United States, has launched a large-scale information campaign to discredit [Russia], directly calling for the destruction of Russian statehood.
Growing information and ideological impact on Russian society is aimed at destroying basic Russian spiritual and moral values, and family traditions, reformatting historical memory, splitting society along national, cultural, and religious lines, as well as promoting terrorism and extremism.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation claim accusing the West/US of anti-Russian policies, aggressive Russophobia and allegedly belligerent and hostile agenda, in particular towards Russian moral values. See also Russian Myths: no.5 Encirclement.
From the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of a new and democratic Russia and up to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the West has been trying to establish good-neighbourly relations with Moscow. According to the 1997 Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation, Russia was viewed as a partner of the alliance.
The EU has conducted half-year summits with the Russian leadership for years until 2014 in an effort to enhance relations. EU has also tried to change the course of Russia's aggressive actions and give diplomacy a chance such as with the efforts of HRVP Josep Borrell - see here.
US President Joe Biden, speaking recently in Warsaw, addressed Russian citizens, assuring them that the US does not seek to destroy or control Russia. French president Macron stated that "Russia must be defeated but not crushed."
Pro-Kremlin sources often claim that President Vladimir Putin saved Russia’s values and identity from the threat of Western decadence and that he is the only world leader that protects traditional European and Christian values. “Threatened values” is one of the most common narratives used by pro-Kremlin outlets. Read more here.
The EU imposed restrictive measures on Moscow in 2014, which have been amplified and broadened since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
For background, read our analysis: The “Russophobia” Myth: Appealing to the Lowest Feelings.