In Donbass, I plan to interview civilians about what they've experienced under Ukrainian shelling, and also to interview journalists who have been covering this.
I also have an interview I'll conduct in Moscow, but prefer to wait until I've done so before speaking about it.
VM: You've said that the protesters in Moscow turned out to be the most apathetic of those whom you have seen, and that they got more energetic only when the singers and the bands began performing. Maybe it's because most people did come not for the action, but just to see their favourite performers?
EB: That's the impression I got. My point about apathy was this: if one truly believes in the cause he/she is advocating for, that passion shows during protests. What I observed was people who periodically chanted for a brief period, and then just stood there. In all the protests I've participated in, I've never seen such lackluster.
It really seemed like many of those who came out on Saturday many of whom were youths might have had other reasons for attending. One obvious one was the presence of the bands/singers. I've also heard allegations that protesters are paid to attend but I can't personally verify those allegations.
VM: -You noted that the protesters on Sakharov avenue seemed to be waiting for the team from the organizers to shout certain slogans. Did you have any feeling that the organizers themselves also received instructions from the West? Don't you think that we are talking about a foreign intervention into the Russian politics, as it was in Ukraine, Egypt, Syria, Venezuela and other countries where there were staged protests?
EB: I think that is entirely possible. I don't discount that people in Russia, or Venezuela, or Syria, have genuine political grievances and want certain changes, of course they do. But if we look at the case of Syria, for example, it is now known that from the very beginning there were armed protesters who attacked security forces, and committed massacres against security forces and civilians. This was at a time when most Western and Gulf media maintained the lie that the protests were peaceful [Please see my 2015 article on this.]
I was in Venezuela for several weeks in March 2019. There were massive protests (video) in support of the government . Those protests were filled with people who were very politically-aware, informed and could articulate what they were defending. I did try to attend opposition marches, but they never materialized. [Related: US is manufacturing a crisis in Venezuela so that there is chaos and 'needed' intervention]
Back to your question: given the amount of media hype around these considerably small protests in Moscow, and given the long-held Western hostility against Russia in general, as well as the US embassy in Moscow essentially advertising last Saturday's protest, it is not at all far-fetched to suspect that there is foreign intervention going on here.
VM: Every independent journalist who dares to contradict Western propaganda about Russia is instantly called an employee of RT/Ruptly. And it does not matter whether you left a comment or you wrote the author's column, or sent a stream. You were affected, too. Do you feel that Western media is jealous to the success of this TV company? Western viewers increasingly prefer RT and they are called as propagandists by real propagandists from BBC, CNN, Radio Liberty and other media.
Now highly oppositional Maria Baronova and moderately oppositional Ekaterina Vinokurova joined the RT team. Also opposition journalist Anton Krasovsky cooperates actively with this media. The opposition labeled them immediately as sold ones to propagandists, but in fact the involvement of such professionals to the work for the state media is the sign of real democracy and the success of the RT management presented by Margarita Simonyan. How do you feel about the success of RT around the world and the attempts of the Western governments to block their broadcasting?
EB: -Western leadership are threatened by RT, otherwise they would not ban RT's participation in conferences and meetings, as they did recently in the so-called "media freedom" conference in the UK. Both RT and Sputnik weren't permitted to participate. The irony is that actual propagandists and spreaders of disinformation (CNN, Sky News, Channel 4, CBC, BBC, CNN, etc) were not only able to attend but highlighted. [See my: London's 'media freedom' conference smacks of irony: Critics barred, no mention of jailed Assange]
Earlier this year, when the Lima group met in Canada, again Russian media and Telesur weren't able to attend.
As for myself, yes, when I am smeared by Western media and those who disagree with my observations, one of the first things they will say is that I'm "employed" by RT. In fact, I am a freelancer, and contribute to a number of platforms, only one of which is RTand I maintain that I'm grateful that I have this platform, where I am not censored. I also maintain that whatever I publish on RT I would have otherwise published on my blog. It isn't that RT dictates what I write or influences me in any way, its merely that RT offers a platform for my views the be read. Further, if you look at the list of contributors to RTs op-ed section, its a long list, and likewise they are not "employed" or "owned" by RT. [See my earlier: Those Who Transmit Syrian Voices Are Russian Propagandists?]
VM: -Canada has got a very large Ukrainian Diaspora. One of the first visits abroad of the new President of Ukraine was to Canada. Do you follow what is happening in Ukraine? I know that you were in correspondence with the journalist Kirill Vyshinsky and interviewed his lawyer. Do you think he is a hostage of the Ukrainian authorities? How do you feel about the fact that radicals in Ukraine are shelling TV channels, scaring journalists. Why does the West support this regime in Ukraine and does not notice all these horrors?
EB: -Unfortunately, because Canada's Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland's grandfather has a Nazi collaborator background, I believe that is one major factor that influences her decisions. I haven't been able to follow Ukraine as closely as Syria, given that I've spent much of the past six years going to or writing on Syria. However, I'm aware of the basics, and that FM Freeland is whitewashing the crimes of neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
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