At the outset of the invasion, Russia seemed to be anxious to keep the ink—both literal and digital—flowing. Vladimir Putin had spent the better part of a decade pushing the idea that Ukraine is under the thumb of a neo-Nazi cabal and building up the idea that Russian speakers in the eastern part of the country were suffering from constant abuse and suppression. The justifications that seemed absolutely ludicrous to the rest of the world when Putin issued his pre-invasion statement were old hat inside Russia.
Russia has always been at war with Eastasia always been fighting against the neo-Nazi junta conducting a terror campaign across Ukraine (to be clear, everything in this sentence up to this point is sarcasm), and even the “independent” news sources rarely disagreed. As to the outcome of the invasion, that was already predetermined. The stories of complete Russian victory were already written, including the word that "Ukraine has returned to Russia."
But as each day of the invasion has continued, the only thing disappearing faster than Russian tanks left along the roadside seems to be war news inside Russia. For the last two days, Russia has been limiting access to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Some of this seems to be in response to actions from those companies that flag articles from Russian state media. Facebook claims that it has even gone so far as to stop promoting Russian propaganda outlets with its vaunted “algorithm.”
Still, it’s not just social media that is getting more scarce in Russia. Media outlets inside the country appear to have selected this moment—when there is apparently no news worth reporting—to simply take a break. That includes Russia’s best-known independent news station and a prominent radio station, both of which were blocked on Tuesday for their coverage of the war in Ukraine. This makes Dozhd TV just one of many media outlets and reporters that have been designated as “foreign agents” over the last few days.
In the short term, Putin’s probably finding it a lot easier to go to war against people armed with pens than those with rifles. In the long term … maybe not so much.
Tuesday, Mar 1, 2022 · 7:07:02 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
In one of the most bizarre instances in this already bizarre war, Russian forces appear to be communicating on ordinary civilian radios—walkie talkies ala Radio Shack. This means their communications are not encrypted or secure, but being broadcast en clair to anyone listening.
The inability to secure their own communications may say more than anything else we’ve seen about the sorry state of the Russian military.
Tuesday, Mar 1, 2022 · 7:16:10 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Russia’s efforts to block Twitter — and vice versa — have had a sudden and notable impact on conversations on the social media site. Posts that would have generated an almost immediate denigration of President Joe Biden, or praise for Donald Trump, are generating surprisingly reasonable responses.