Disinfo: EU economy at the point Russia was in early 1990s

Summary

The liberal economic model is crumbling. The US seems to abandon this model. When it comes to the EU’s economy, it is seriously deteriorating. The situation with the EU's economy is very similar to what Russia witnessed back in 1990-1991.

Disproof

This article draws false parallels between the EU's economic development and that of the USSR's and fits into a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU's alleged imminent collapse.

Despite the Kremlin's decision to limit gas supplies to Europe and the effects of Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, the EU economy is recovering from the crisis created by COVID-19. The summer 2022 economic forecast projects that the EU economy will grow by 2.7% in 2022 and 1.5% in 2023, as reported by the European Commission in July 2022. According to data from the World Bank, Russia’s GDP in 1990-1992 contracted by over 15%.

Unlike the USSR, which was a totalitarian state with communist ideology as official policy, a command economy, and very limited civic and political rights, the EU has a market economy, high standards of human rights protection, and no dominant ideology, contrary to the allegations made. There is no evidence to support the claim that the EU is facing the same problems the late USSR did, particularly given that the EU is a supranational entity consisting of sovereign countries rather than a centralised totalitarian country as the USSR was.

Pro-Kremlin outlets often paint ungrounded gloomy forecasts for the EU’s economic and political prospects. For instance, during the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, they claimed that a number of EU countries were teetering on the brink of default, that the coronavirus put the EU’s existence into question, and that many European countries will likely cease to exist at all.

Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik on 20 October 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 314
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20/10/2022
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, EU
  • Keywords: USSR, Economic difficulties
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Disinfo: Ukraine decided to strike Kakhovka dam

Kyiv decided to strike at Kakhovka hydropower station dam. An environmental disaster will happen if this plan is executed.

Disproof

No evidence given.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, accusing Ukraine of plotting and carrying out war crimes, aiming to deflect attention from the actions of the Russian army.

Disinfo: Ukraine never existed before the 20th century, it was created by the Bolsheviks

Ukraine, as an independent, sovereign state, was unknown to history until the early 20th century.

The creation of the Ukrainian state is the fault of the Bolsheviks, and Vladimir Lenin personally.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative designed to denigrate the history of Ukraine and its statehood, as well as to justify the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and occupation in parts of Ukraine via illegitimate referenda. It offers an absurd interpretation of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine with the use of the classic disinformation narrative about the Russian world.

Ukraine is a well-defined nation with a long history and its own literature and identity. The history of Ukraine dates back to the era of the Kyivan Rus’ in the 9th-13th centuries. A fully independent Ukraine only emerged in the 20th century, after long periods of successive domination by Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Disinfo: Europe is a colony serving the interests of the American military-industrial complex

Europe is serving the imperialist interests of the US. The US is utilising the war in Ukraine, in order to foster its world hegemony, even as China and Russia are competing with them for world leadership. The EU’s colonial behaviour will harm its citizens and the first indicators are the lack of food and energy.

Disproof

The article presents an often-utilised pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing the EU and its member states of a lack of sovereignty. Pro-Russian outlets often describe European states as puppet-states or colonies of the US, in this case, using it to support the American defence industry. This article also pushes the narrative that Europe is freezing and starving (see narrative 3 of our article Smoke, mirrors and gas: the Kremlin deflects blame for the energy crisis).

Contrary to the claim about the EU’s subordinance to the US, the EU is a sovereign entity, created by the voluntary initiative of European nations. Furthermore, it has its own, independent foreign policy and EU citizens are directly represented in the European Parliament. EU member-states are represented in the Council of the EU and the European Council.