Contributor#8523328
On the eve of President Putin’s self-proclaimed “annexation” of Ukraine’s regions, trouble was brewing in Russia—and everyone knew it. Social media was abuzz with the anticipation that Ukraine’s Armed Forces were about to reclaim Lyman from the Russian invaders. The mood in Moscow was a lot different than the 2014 celebration of the annexation of Crimea. Crowds that were bussed-in for the rally half-heartedly chanted “hooray,” and Putin himself seemed to be forcing the look of jubilation. Sergey Mardan, host of the radio show Saturday Mardan, openly questioned the propriety of organizing a celebratory concert during the same time when Russian troops were fighting, bleeding, and retreating from Ukraine’s Lyman.
Appearing on Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, head of RT Margarita Simonyan was so furious about Russia’s latest defeat in Ukraine, she admitted not wanting to even come to the show. Her recipe for boosting the morale was simple: total disgrace and brutal punishment for those who dare to disappoint fellow imperialists. Seething with anger, Simonyan recited: “Cowardice, willful abandonment of strategic positions without coordination with higher command, the collapse of command and control of the troops, inaction of power.” She qualified that these charges led to the execution of General Dmitry Pavlov, his deputies and other commanders of the Western Front during WWII.
Simonyan added: “We’re terribly concerned, terribly upset, I didn’t even want to come here, because to grieve and to panic would amount to helping the enemy, indirectly working towards the success of the collective CIA which for decades has worked—and continues its work—to destroy our country. What else is there to say?” To cheer up the viewers, Simonyan reminisced about the horrific scenes that unfolded during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, pointing out: “Our entire country was laughing out loud… Of course, it wasn’t right to laugh, because people were dying, but there was so much there for us to mock them [the West].”