The tone is becoming increasingly extreme as the media raises conspiracy theories about how Ukrainian troops are slaughtering their civilians in Bukha to make Russia look ugly or to throw the line to rid Ukraine of the Nazis. even the idea of ​​the country must be destroyed. This chamber of hysteria has unleashed on the Russian people a whirlwind of terror, anger and rage, which justifies more war. This hysteria makes peace even less likely, as it hinders the progress of negotiations, let alone success. Even without the conspiracy chorus, it was hard to believe that the Russian “negotiations” were being held in good faith, as they were led by Vladimir Medinsky, a man who describes Ukraine as a “historical ghost.” Now, however, even Medinsky is considered a traitor by the nationalist media, simply because he tried to find common ground with the Ukrainians. He felt uncomfortable with the criticism, tried to pedal back and was last seen mentioning Hitler on his Telegram channel. But it may be too late for him. A military analyst has suggested that he be replaced by Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechen region. No one could question Kadyrov’s enjoyment of the war, which he declared a “jihad” for the Chechens. Kadyrov is becoming increasingly frank in his criticism of Kremlin officials, particularly Putin’s Dmitry Peshkov. He accused Peshkov of infidelity after Peshkov described the popular TV presenter, Ivan Urgad, as a “patriot”, despite criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine. Kadyrov also threatened that “something must be done” about Peshkov’s inability to recognize true patriotism. This can reasonably be seen as a covert threat, given Kadyrov’s history as a former rebel who sided with Russia during Chechnya’s second war, for which he was rewarded with dictatorial forces he used in complete abandonment. His forces, known as Kadyrovites, are responsible for countless human rights abuses at home, including kidnappings, torture and murder. Thousands of them are now fighting in Ukraine. Given Kadyrov’s support for Putin’s massacre of the Chechen people and the leveling of Chechen cities, it may come as no surprise that he should support similar tactics in Ukraine. But that may be one of the few things that can be predicted for Kadyrov, whose disobedience reflects an atmosphere in which nationalist war hysteria threatens to spiral out of control.
Following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Kremlin seemed taken aback by the media’s appetite for further action in Donbas. This campaign sowed the seeds of propaganda that the Kremlin is reaping today. TV news and newspapers were full of stories of illegal Nazi coups in Kyiv, SS-worthy atrocities, genocidal intent against the Russians, raising expectations that Putin would annex Donbass to the Kremlin’s demand. despite a calculated choice. To end the hysteria, the state media had to implement a sharp change of tone, shifting sharply to the positive focus on Putin as Russia’s savior and Russia’s return to the regime of the great power. But making such a transition will be much more difficult this time around, as the stakes are much higher and the chances of an obvious win are much lower. Framed by Kadyrov, the extreme nationalist agitators that Putin has flirted with since 2014 to advance his imperialist dreams are now quickly gaining ground. Everything raises the worrying spectrum that Putin’s vertical power may well sway, but in the direction of growing anger rather than logic. Jade McGlynn is a Senior Researcher at the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies