Disinfo: Navalny is a "pocket president" trained by globalists to replace Putin

Summary

The fact that a lot of money was invested in the blogger Lyosha [Alexei Navalny] speaks volumes. First, Lyosha, with his anti-rating inside Russia was taken too seriously by the West.

Navalny is the very “pocket president” trained by the globalists to replace Putin. Lyosha himself is nobody, the same zero as the president of one very independent state [Ukraine], but he is not even required to have any particular qualities. He should become a screen for external management, and his imprisonment has broken all the plans.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Alexei Navalny. The claim that Navalny is somehow used by the West to replace Putin with a "pocket president" controlled by the globalists and to destabilise Russia is unfounded.

The author of the article uses a Russian diminutive of Alexei, Lyosha, when speaking about Navalny, in order to show his insignificance inside Russia. However, the facts speak for themselves about Navalny's ratings in Russia. Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has long been the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin. His candidacy in the 2018 presidential election was banned by the authorities over his conviction by a Russian court for embezzlement, which bars him from running for office. He has been arrested and imprisoned several times during his political career.

There is no evidence to suggest that the Russian opposition figure was, or has been, in connection with foreign intelligence services. It should be noted that an opposing narrative, that the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) is a Kremlin project and that Navalny is an agent of the Russian secret services is also pure speculation and not based on facts.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, is also indirectly targeted in this disinformation narrative, which states that Zelenskyy and Navalny are similar since both are "zero" with no particular qualities. Zelenskyy is a recurring target of pro-Kremlin outlets, which tend to present him as a puppet of the CIA, Soros, or the Turkish President, who is blackmailed by the West and whom Joe Biden will soon replace.

Read similar cases claiming that The Masters behind the meddling in Russian affairs need a new fake leader; that The West uses Navalny as a key factor in the political destabilisation of Russia; that Navalny is just a tool, not a real opposition leader; or that the neo-liberal forces behind Navalny will intensify their attempts to destroy Russia.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 232
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16/02/2021
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, US, Russia
  • Keywords: Volodymyr Zelensky, West, Anti-Russian, Alexei Navalny, Destabilising Russia, Puppets
see more

Disinfo: In the US, white American citizens are demonised and are viewed as racists and fascists

In the US, white American citizens, who were the founders of the United States, are demonised and viewed as racists and fascists who must be suppressed. White Americans are seen as second-class citizens and “enemies of democracy”.

Disproof

The article combines recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the alleged victimisation of white people in American society and about racial war and state of collapse in the United States.

The narrative about the alleged persecution of white people in America was spread by several pro-Kremlin outlets in the context of the 2020 racial justice protests in the US. The narrative was again amplified by these outlets in the context of the 2020 US election.

Disinfo: The White Helmets are organising a false flag provocation in Idlib, Syria

The White Helmets are organising a false flag provocation in Idlib, Syria. The Russian Ministry of Defence has evidence that the White Helmets militant group has arrived in North-East Syria to organise a provocation and accuse Syrian government forces of attacking settlements in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

The Russian army has observed an increase in the operations of the Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group in the village of Al-Fuah, north-east of Idlib. Members of the White Helmets have also been observed there.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying the White Helmets as a Western-backed terrorist proxy and, implicitly, denying the responsibility of the Assad regime for chemical attacks perpetrated during the Syrian civil war.

There is no evidence to support the article’s claim that the White Helmets are planning a false -flag attack in Idlib.

Disinfo: Belarus and Russia withstood attempts of a soft coup d'état

The technology for a velvet revolution was widely used in the summer of 2020 in Belarus. Later, the same toolbox was attempted in Russia. Both countries withstood the attempts of a soft coup d’état.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about protests in Belarus and Russia. The EUvsDisinfo database contains almost 400 similar claims, attempting to describe protests anywhere in the world - from Venezuela to Hong Kong and currently in Russia- as a result of foreign involvement.

The protests in Belarus have continued for over six months, despite severe police repression. The protests erupted to contest the results of the presidential election in Belarus on the 9th of August, which were not monitored by independent expertsand are largely considered fraudulent by both international observers and a big part of Belarusian society. On 19 August 2020, the European Council called the Belarusian elections neither free nor fair. In October 2020, the EU-Council imposed sanctions against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, as well as for misconduct of the electoral process.