Parallel worlds: what counts as news in the West; what counts as news in Russia

Yesterday I received the following message from a friend in the United States.

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This from a good military observer from US

The UA mounted a concerted offensive against Crimea and Sevastopol by cruise, anti ship missiles and water drones. In each case Reaper, Global Hawk drones and in one instance a manned French ISR platform.

UA used 5 Su-24 bombers to launch cruise and anti-ship missiles on Sept. 13. We seem to be pushing the Russians into dramatic offensive action.

It looked like a significant UA strike, at least in resources used. Plus we’re launching the largest military exercise in Russia doorstep in several months. Full on stupid. I think DC may be pushing the Russians too far. Putin has exercised great restraint to this point, but his advisors, generals and public want him to deliver a crushing blow. Now, if the Germans provide Taurus Missiles, he may finally pull the trigger and settle the matter on the battlefield.

Are they saying this on TV, etc.?

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Indeed, Western media are filled with stories written in Kiev on how they have fired missiles at Russian military installations on Crimea these past days and used surface drones to attack Black Sea vessels of the Russian navy.

I responded as follows:

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The Sixty Minutes show, all 5 hours of it in the daily afternoon and evening editions, has been filled with two topics:  1) the Western reactions to the visit of Kim to Russia (terror in the hearts of the Western infidels) and 2) Russia's devastating blows against the attacking Ukrainians across the front     Coverage of the Ukrainian missile attacks has been minimal.    We also see that the Russians are FINALLY devoting serious resources to destroying the Ukrainian fortified areas just outside the city of Donetsk, which is where the daily shelling of the city has come from.  This leads me to take seriously the accusations that the Kremlin has allowed this to go on for the purpose of consolidating Russian public opinion.

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Put another way, each side has selected from the day’s developments material that will distract viewers from what it would rather they not hear, while highlighting developments that show its own activities to best advantage.

That said, there is one topic in the news that both Western major media and Russian major media can enjoy setting out and explaining to their audiences: the scandals of judicial persecution being pressed by Democrats and Republicans in the United States against the likely candidate from the other party in the 2024 presidential race.

In remarks to the Plenary Session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok last week, Vladimir Putin spoke directly about this issue, saying it demonstrated the rottenness of American political life and sweeps away all possible claims of the United States to give lessons to others about democracy. Meanwhile, day after day both the Vesti news programs of Russian state television and the Sixty Minutes weekday programs to which I allude above give prime time to photo montages of Hunter Biden and Joe while discussing the charges of corruption and pay-offs to both father and son from Chinese and Ukrainian officials during Biden’s service as Vice President. Though the Kremlin has no particular liking for Donald Trump and Putin reminds his people that sanctions against the country rose vertiginously during the Trump years, the legal proceedings against the former president are presented as further proof that America is a failed democracy.

For its part, American mainstream is also wallowing in the breaking news over the first time ever indictment of the son of a sitting president for federal crimes. I watched a half hour of last night’s CNN reporting that weighed the likelihood of the investigation into the Bidens moving on from the son’s lying over his drug addiction when purchasing firearms to the substantive issues that lie behind the charges of tax evasion.

The Russian media have been speculating for some weeks on whether the judicial persecution of the candidates will cross what ‘red lines’ still exist in America as a First World country and progress to assassination of Trump, say. They have been speculating on whether their own favorite American journalist Tucker Carlson can survive his revelations about the gay life of Barack Obama.

If there is anything in contemporary American political life that amuses Russians, it is the prevailing gerontocracy in Washington.  Having had their fill of old and feeble leaders during the last years of Leonid Brezhnev and the during the short reigns of his immediate successors, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, the Russians are delighted to have a relative youngster in the person of Vladimir Putin, even if he is 70, and to poke fun at the foibles on stage in full view of the cameras of the demented American president.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023