There’s a lot of performative militarism in Russia at the moment, which is unsurprising given that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is still stalled halfway through the fifth year of the war. The style is more Mussolini than Hitler, however, and the effect is more tacky than terrifying.
For example, pro-war comedian Mikhail Galustyan recently pitched his idea for a reality TV show called ‘Battle of the Drones’ to President Vladimir Putin at the ‘Everything for Victory!’ forum in Moscow. School kids, veterans and celebrities would play at being drone pilots in the show, presumably killing fake Ukrainians.
“This is an opportunity to explore the topic and make it understandable, engaging and popular,” said Galustyan, and Putin approved it on the spot. “Good luck,” he said. “Propaganda is an extremely useful thing.” In the country where the first Potemkin Village was built, it feels like a perfectly comfortable conversation.