Forbes Journalist | Lecturer | Rising Leaders Fellow Aspen Institute UK | TEDx Alumni
Dec 11, 2024
Russians Are Not Brainwashed by Putin’s Propaganda—He Gave Them What They Wanted to Hear and What Unites Them
I want to start by sharing a deeply personal story, one I would probably never share under normal circumstances because it feels too private. But I believe it can help you understand Russia and Russians better. I was born in 1990, so this story takes place around 1992 or 1994.
When Russian propaganda or even its opposition claims that Russians are simply “brainwashed,” I strongly disagree. They have always been like this toward Ukrainians. How else can you explain a grandmother humiliating her own three-year-old granddaughter simply because the child is Ukrainian and the grandmother is Russian?
Today, I see narratives being pushed where causes and effects are reversed. People claim that Russians behave the way they do now because they’ve been brainwashed. But the ugly truth is, they have always been like this. Historical events, such as the Holodomor, the genocide of Ukrainians, and political repressions, prove it. They have always harbored this mindset, and the propaganda they hear now is just reinforcing what they already believe. Putin and his propaganda didn’t change Russians—they simply united them further and strengthened their belief that they are right.
My grandmother on my father’s side was Russian. I never called her softly grandmother — “babushka,” only “baba Verka” or “kacapka Verka”. She was a very unpleasant, mean woman, and for some reason, she used to bully and humiliate me. She used to tell me I had been switched at birth in the maternity ward, that I was a freak, a spawn of hell, and a child of Satan.
I remember one time, when I was probably 2 or 3 years old, I had an accident and pooped myself. I didn’t know how to clean myself properly. She mocked me, insulted me, and refused to help. Nobody else was home, and I was left to figure it out on my own. I remember standing in the bathroom under the faucet, washing myself with my bare hand and crying, while she stood in the doorway laughing at me. She refused to help and said things like, “That’s what you khokhli deserve, that’s what you get, khokhlushka. Hahaha.”
She made sure I understood that being “khokhlushka” was something shameful. Whenever she had the chance, she would insult Ukrainians in front of me, as if it was her duty.
I couldn’t understand why someone would carry such hatred, especially directed at a child, but it felt like her own national identity required her to be this cruel. She would say, “I hate you khokhli,” with such conviction that even as a child, it left a mark on me.
“Babka Verka” would endlessly insult Ukrainians, and her disdain seemed tied to her identity as a staunch nationalist for Russia.
For me, this struggle wasn’t abstract or distant—it was personal, ingrained in the way I was treated by my own grandmother. It was a battle I didn’t ask to be part of, yet it shaped my understanding of identity and belonging.
#russia #ukraine
Comment from :
Joseph Conrad did quite well by extrapolating past ruZZian history into the future, and so far he had been proven right over the time span of 104 years, probably longer. Conrad knew ruZZians well having spent his early youth as a Pole under ruZZian occupation:
“The oppressors and the oppressed are all Russians together; and the world is brought once more with the truth of the saying that the tiger cannot change his stripes nor the leopard his spots.” – Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes, 1920, the End of the Author’s Note.
As an ethnic russian, born in Ukraine, I can confirm that I came across russians treating me as an untermensch on mutltiple occasions. I spoke russian better than most of them, but “born in Ukraine” was kind of a label. “Ukrainian women are prostitutes” was another, very popular one.
Thank you for sharing this story. It was very difficult to read. I’m sorry this happened to you and I pray Ukraine will be properly supported by NATO and Russia will get what’s coming to them.
Alexander T.
I’m shaken to my core reading this. Your story is deeply painful and profoundly moving—it hits like a wave, leaving both sorrow and anger in its wake. To endure such cruelty as a child, especially from someone who should have been a source of love and safety, is unfathomable.
What’s even more heartbreaking is how this wasn’t just personal—it was a reflection of a deeply rooted hatred, woven into an identity and perpetuated by those in power. Leaders like Putin didn’t create this—they’ve simply amplified it, turning it into a weapon to justify oppression and violence. It’s revolting to see how such bullies wield power, using propaganda to reinforce something so dark and destructive.
Your courage in sharing this raw truth is extraordinary. It’s a searing reminder of the real battles being fought—not just on the ground, but in the fight for dignity, identity, and humanity. Thank you for your voice, your strength, and your refusal to let this hatred define you. You’ve touched something deep and lasting, and your story will resonate with anyone who believes in standing up to injustice.
Stefan Gontschar
Though I myself have some very good and kind russian friends, denying the fact that racism is a widespread behavior among russians would be very ignorant. When you are a friend to russians, exspecially when you are German, Ukrainian or a Person of color, you have to expect racist jokes towards your person all the day long. Imagine, there is even a certain mentality among Russians which fuels the pride of raping german and ukrainian women in war as a form of rightous punishment. Also Zirinovski didn’t brainwash the russians – he was the highly entertaining media product russians are yearning for. Very poor mentality, please Russians repent, if there is truly a spark of christian faith among you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx9CeSvmasU
Ken W.
This is insane from a Westerner perspective…VERY difficult to comprehend. This is exactly why ruZZia (as it exists today) must be thoroughly isolated from the civilized world. Ukraine is standing in the breach for us, yet so many Westerners do not appreciate this fact.
I agree. Most russians (always spelled with lower case to emphasize their insignificance unless the Russian is like Konstantin and Ukraine’s Russian volunteer fighters, who are an exception to this rule) are a sub-human species that relish three things; violence, lies, and alcohol. Their goal is not to improve and to advance, but to bring others around them down to their level.