Latest news with #YevgenyPrigozhin
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Russian novels brainwashing teens into enlisting
A new sinister genre of nationalistic fantasy fiction is on the rise in Russia, targeting the country's most impressionable demographic. Teenagers and young men are being pulled into patriotic fervour by 'Z literature', which delivers a simple message: Enlist, fight, and glorify the Russian state. The books, a reference to the 'Z' symbol used to promote the invasion of Ukraine, have echoes of the heavy-handed propaganda of the Soviet Union. 'What the state is trying to do to create a culture in which everyday life is militarised,' Dr Colin Alexander, senior lecturer in political communications at Nottingham Trent University, told The Telegraph. 'It is normalising the idea that to be a good citizen, a good patriot, a good man, you go and fight in the war, because Russia is surrounded by enemies.' 'Z literature' books have illustrated covers showing soldiers mid-charge, framed by firestorms, tanks and Russian flags. They purport a world where Russia is surrounded by enemies, its soldiers the only hope in the face of Nazis, with tales of brotherhood and glory in death as plot lines. The books are stocked in mainstream bookstores, discussed in Russian media, appear in schools, and have even been shared by the deceased Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. 'The environment, the culture, is just suffused with this material,' said Ian Garner, Assistant Professor of Totalitarian Studies at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw. 'Militarism becomes normalised. And for some young Russians, it becomes pretty much all they ever see.' In the Soviet era, posters and busts of figures like Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and heroic workers or soldiers were part of everyday life. Children were targeted with toys and figurines depicting Red Army soldiers or cosmonauts. Today, the focus is on shaping teenagers and young people with media, be it in paperback or online. According to Dr Alexander, 'Z literature' is targeted specifically at young men and teenagers who will soon be the focus of enlistment drives to boost Russia's presence in Ukraine. He added that the content especially appeals to those who might be disenfranchised and vulnerable to ideologies that promise strength, belonging and a sense of purpose. In the novel Colonel Nobody, by Alexei Sukonkin, a down-and-out young man changes his life for the better by joining the Wagner Group upon his release from prison, where he follows a redemption arc, finding a new sense of brotherhood and ultimately sacrificing his life for the cause. 'There is often a sense of brotherhood, that you can turn into a good citizen, a good patriot, a strong man, a man who can provide for his family, a man who defends the country and the community,' said Dr Garner. The books often carry the message that Russia is the only country fighting for a better world, and that it is completely alone in doing so. 'The message is very clear in these books: Russia is fated to be attacked by outside powers,' explained Dr Garner. Mikhail Mikheev's White Z on the Front Armour follows this theme, with a brutal Russian agent, posing as a liberal journalist, infiltrating Ukraine after the full-scale invasion. He travels across the country, killing evil characters and delivering one-liners like, 'You wanted Crimea, pigface?' 'The underlying narrative is always that Russia as a state, as a country, has been wrong in the past, and through these heroes, we can rectify Russia's greatness and its destiny,' said Jaroslava Barbieri, a doctoral researcher into Russian foreign policy and post-Soviet affairs at the University of Birmingham. The characters in 'Z literature' are often a mirror image of iconic heroes in Western action films. Crimean Cauldron by Nikolai Marchuk reads like a fever-dream rewrite of the 1985 film Commando, where a lone Russian hero, in true Arnold Schwarzenegger style, kills the enemy by the dozen to emerge in glory. It depicts a world where everyone, including North Korea, has turned against Russia, who is fighting against Nazis in Crimea and ultimately ends the war by seizing the Capitol Building in Washington DC. In PMC Chersonesus, by Andrei Belyanin, a group of heroes join together to undertake a mission to return artefacts and museum treasures to Crimea. During the mission the trio - modelled upon the Greek gods Aphrodite, Heracles, and Dionysus - encounter evil figures and even zombie Nazis. The final mission involves stealing Scythian gold from the Netherlands, referencing real treasures awarded to Ukraine by Dutch courts and never returned to Russian-occupied Crimea. 'The most extraordinary aspect of this sub-genre of science fiction is that we have these characters that travel back in time intending to rewrite history,' said Ms Barbieri, commenting on PMC Chersonesus. 'Imagine you've read about these artefacts, and then it will pop up somewhere in the news about cultural items that they claim are Russian. 'In this is a very subversive way, the sub-genre reinforces broader propaganda, disinformation narratives that will then be amplified through the media landscape.' The books are part of a larger propaganda ecosystem that includes patriotic education, youth military clubs, and pro-war digital content, all aimed at fostering support for the war in Ukraine. Experts warned that the long-term outcome could be detrimental to ever achieving peace with Russia, as the youth is trained to see violence as the answer to conflict. 'It means that Russia can't be liberalised. It can't be democratised overnight,' said Dr Garner. Ms Barbieri added: 'Five years from now, these readers will be soldiers. The Kremlin isn't trying to appease aggression - it's cultivating it.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Russian novels brainwashing teens into enlisting
A new sinister genre of nationalistic fantasy fiction is on the rise in Russia, targeting the country's most impressionable demographic. Teenagers and young men are being pulled into patriotic fervour by 'Z literature', which delivers a simple message: enlist, fight, and glorify the Russian state. The books, a reference to the 'Z' symbol used to promote the invasion of Ukraine, have echoes of the heavy handed propaganda of the Soviet Union. 'What the state is trying to do to create a culture in which everyday life is militarised,' Dr Colin Alexander, senior lecturer in political communications at Nottingham Trent University, told The Telegraph. 'It is normalising the idea that to be a good citizen, a good patriot, a good man, you go and fight in the war, because Russia is surrounded by enemies.' Z literature books have illustrated covers showing soldiers mid-charge, framed by firestorms, tanks and Russian flags. They purport a world where Russia is surrounded by enemies, its soldiers the only hope in the face of Nazis, with tales of brotherhood and glory in death as plot lines. The books are stocked in mainstream bookstores, discussed in Russian media, appear in schools and have even been shared by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the deceased Wagner leader. 'The environment, the culture, is just suffused with this material,' said Ian Garner, assistant professor of totalitarian studies at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw. 'Militarism becomes normalised. And for some young Russians it becomes pretty much all they ever see.' In the Soviet era, posters and busts of figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and heroic workers or soldiers were part of everyday life. Children were targeted with toys and figurines depicting Red Army soldiers or cosmonauts. Today, the focus is on shaping teenagers and young people with media, be it in paperback or online. According to Dr Alexander, Z literature is targeted specifically at young men and teenagers who will soon be the focus of enlistment drives to boost Russia's presence in Ukraine. He added that the content especially appeals to those who might be disenfranchised and vulnerable to ideologies that promise strength, belonging and a sense of purpose. In the novel Colonel Nobody, by Alexei Sukonkin, a down-and-out young man changes his life for the better by joining the Wagner Group upon his release from prison where he follows a redemption arc, finding a new sense of brotherhood and ultimately sacrificing his life for the cause. 'There is often a sense of brotherhood, that you can turn into a good citizen, a good patriot, a strong man, a man who can provide for his family, a man who defends the country and the community,' said Dr Garner. The books often carry the message that Russia is the only country fighting for a better world and that it is completely alone in doing so. 'The message is very clear in these books: Russia is fated to be attacked by outside powers,' said Dr Garner. Mikhail Mikheev's White Z on the Front Armour follows this theme, with a brutal Russian agent, posing as a liberal journalist, infiltrating Ukraine after the full-scale invasion. He travels across the country, killing evil characters and delivering one-liners including: 'You wanted Crimea, pigface?' 'The underlying narrative is always that Russia as a state, as a country, has been wrong in the past, and through these heroes, we can rectify Russia's greatness and its destiny,' said Jaroslava Barbieri, a doctoral researcher into Russian foreign policy and post-Soviet affairs at the University of Birmingham. The characters in are often a mirror image of iconic heroes in Western action films. Crimean Cauldron by Nikolai Marchuk reads like a fever-dream rewrite of the 1985 film Commando, where a lone Russian hero, in true Arnold Schwarzenegger style, kills the enemy by the dozen to emerge in glory. It depicts a world where everyone, including North Korea, has turned against Russia, which is fighting against Nazis in Crimea and ultimately ends the war by seizing the Capitol Building in Washington DC. In PMC Chersonesus by Andrei Belyanin, a group of heroes undertake a mission to return artefacts and museum treasures to Crimea. The trio, modelled upon Greek gods Aphrodite, Heracles, and Dionysus, encounter evil figures and even zombie Nazis. The final mission involves stealing Scythian gold from the Netherlands, referencing real treasures awarded to Ukraine by Dutch courts and never returned to Russian-occupied Crimea. 'The most extraordinary aspect of this sub-genre of science fiction is that we have these characters that travel back in time intending to rewrite history,' said Ms Barbieri, commenting on PMC Chersonesus. 'Imagine you've read about these artefacts, and then it will pop up somewhere in the news about cultural items that they claim are Russian. 'In this very subversive way, the sub-genre reinforces broader propaganda, disinformation narratives that will then be amplified through the media landscape.' The books are part of a larger propaganda ecosystem that includes patriotic education, youth military clubs and pro-war digital content, all aimed at fostering support for the war in Ukraine. Experts warned that the long-term outcome could be detrimental to ever achieving peace with Russia, as young people are trained to see violence as the answer to conflict. 'It means that Russia can't be liberalised. It can't be democratised overnight,' said Dr Garner. Ms Barbieri added: 'Five years from now, these readers will be soldiers. The Kremlin isn't trying to appease aggression – it's cultivating it.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
UK intelligence analyses Russia's large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine last weekend
Russia launched over 900 drones against Ukraine over the course of three nights of aerial attacks from 23 to 26 May. This marked the largest combined attack in recent months and the most extensive use of loitering munitions since the war began. Source: UK Defence Intelligence update dated 30 May on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: UK intelligence reports that Russia's nighttime attacks from 23 to 26 May constituted the most extensive use of loitering munitions against Ukraine since the war began. These drone strikes were coupled with other weapons used by Russian forces, with many targeting Kyiv. In total, Russia used more than 900 attack drones over the course of these three days. Moreover, strategic aircraft were employed to launch missiles on 25 and 26 May, marking the first instance of those warplanes being used on two consecutive days since August 2024. UK intelligence also noted that the previous use of Russian Long-Range Aviation (LRA) for a combined aerial attack occurred on 24 April. "Russia's post-strike rebuilding of its stockpile enables LRA to sit ready to conduct strikes such as these with little to no notice, at a time of Russia's choosing," the update concludes. Background: One of the previous UK Defence Intelligence updates mentioned Russian general Sergei Surovikin, who disappeared after Yevgeny Prigozhin's death and recently appeared in a photo posted by the Russian Embassy in Algeria. [Prigozhin was the Wagner Group financier who led a failed mutiny in June 2023, during which he accused Russia's military leadership of betraying Wagner fighters and briefly advanced towards Moscow before standing down after negotiations – ed.] Earlier, UK intelligence suggested that Russia could suffer record losses in the war against Ukraine in 2025. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Economist
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Economist
How 'Putin's chef' built the world's most notorious private army
ON AUGUST 23RD 2023 a private jet crashed north-west of Moscow, killing everyone on board. Among the ten victims were senior members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary firm, including its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured). No one thought it was an accident. Prigozhin, once Vladimir Putin's favourite hired gun, had fallen out of favour by launching a mutiny against his boss. People who do such things rarely live long. The Kremlin denied involvement, but Mr Putin added ominously that Prigozhin had 'made serious mistakes in life'.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia 'working hard' to return Wagner POWs, Ukraine's HUR says
Mercenaries who fought for Wagner Group in Ukraine are among those at the top of the list of requests from the Kremlin in prisoner swaps, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on April 20. Speaking on national television, HUR spokesperson Andrii Yusov was asked about Moscow's priorities during negotiations for who is included in the semi-regular exchanges. "Who do they want to see first? Well, there are various lists. We can mention that since when the Wagner Group was actively operating, they have indeed been working hard on their return," he said. "Also, certain representatives from specific regions and services are very eager to get their people back," he added without elaborating. Wagner units were key to Russia's seizure of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast in May 2023. Estimates suggest that nearly 20,000 mercenaries, many of whom were former convicts recruited from Russian prisoners in late 2022, died in the battle for the city. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the then-leader of Wagner, died in a mysterious plane crash in Russia on Aug. 23, 2023. The crash came two months after Prigozhin led Wagner troops in a short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin. Wagner units were then reportedly incorporated into official Russian military structures, such as Rosgvardia. The Chechen Akhmat unit claimed in October 2023 that a "massive" number of Wagner mercenaries had joined its ranks. Yusov's comments come a day after Ukraine brought home another 277 soldiers in a major prisoner exchange with Russia ahead of the Easter holiday. The latest swap was mediated by the United Arab Emirates. "I thank everyone who made this return of our people possible," Zelensky said. "I am especially grateful to the United Arab Emirates for their mediation." According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs), 246 Ukrainian service members were released as part of the exchange with Russia. Another 31 were released outside of the exchange. Read also: 'More traitors in Russia' — Ukrainian intel officer shares secrets of recent deep-strike drone successes We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
