In addition, the military has its own massive propaganda budget. Since Russian expenditures on its forces reaches approximately 5% of its GDP, compared to 2% or less most NATO countries, the Kremlin obviously expects an acceptable Return On Investment.
Alina Kabayeva, the president of the largest ‘private’ media conglomerate, has stated bluntly, “Information work today, in the condition in which we live and fight for our country, is like a weapon of war. … It is as important as a Kalashnikov rifle.”
Invading Russian soldiers have quickly cut off residents of newly occupied areas from the global internet and censor content by routing all internet traffic through Moscow.
This restricts access to information and forces the locals to accept only Russian misinformation about the war. In essence, the inhabitants are bound into a ‘cyber control zone’. TV news outlets established in Russian-occupied areas are staffed with Russian journalists from other regions so that the new programming adheres to the ‘right messaging’. Thus, Russia is not an invader but a ‘liberator of the residents from Ukrainian Nazis, providing economic benefits and protecting family values’.
