Disinfo: The West hates Russia because of its strong state and traditional value system

Summary

Recent years have brought the United Kingdom and the West, in general, a new reason for the hatred of Russia. After Russia had managed to rise from its struggling condition after the 1990s, it started, like the Soviet Union did before it, to offer an alternative to the world built by the Anglo-Saxons. Britain demands of Putin, day and night, to cease to undermine the world order.

One wonders here: What is the nature of this “undermining”, and what is the secret behind the exaggerated reaction to it? Ultimately, Russia cannot challenge the West economically; it even depends on it. Militarily, Russia is several times weaker than NATO and cannot, by definition and common sense, initiate any aggression against the West. Russia cannot impose its will on the West in any way.

But it is simply because the Anglo-Saxon Empire, like any large empire, is on the way to collapse from within, under the weight of accumulated economic distortions, pervert and unsustainable social relations. This cannot be described as a struggle of political ideologies, especially since Russia, unlike the Soviet Union, no longer has an ideology. So the conversation here is about something much deeper than that; it is about the collapse of the value system.

Russia adopts a strong state model that is based on conservative and traditional values. It refuses to accept same-sex marriage, maintains the family value as one of the undisputed values, and proposes and defends that vision as an alternative.

Disproof

This message is in line with a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the West's moral decay aimed at portraying Russia as superior to the West in terms of values and morals. This narrative often claims 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.

According to these narratives, the liberal societies of the West are depraved, they seek to destroy traditional values and to promote deviant sexual behaviour.

The West does not "hate" Russia. While aware of pro-Kremlin disinformation campaigns, the West is trying to keep open channels of communications and cooperation with Russia. For instance, NATO has created cooperation bodies – the Permanent Joint Council and the NATO-Russia Council – to embody its relationship with Russia. It also invited Russia to cooperate on missile defence. The Warsaw Summit Communique 2016 describes NATO's official policy towards Russia as following: "The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia. But we cannot, and will not, compromise on the principles on which our Alliance and security in Europe and North America rest." Furthermore, the EU and its member states have maintained a clear policy of reaching out to Russian society and youth, mainly through the Erasmus+ student exchange programme and other people to people contacts, in line with five guiding principles of relations with Russia

Read similar cases claiming that Western societies are decadent, worship money and are devoted to the obsessive search for pleasure and that Western Europe is moving away from its Christian roots and is dominated by materialism and the pursuit of money.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 194
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19/04/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Arabic
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: UK, Russia
  • Keywords: Western values, West, Russophobia
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