Putin’s propagandists prime Russians for fight

[Commentary] In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to be losing his grip on the public’s affections. Now he is reclaiming it, thanks in large part to TV programming portraying Russia as a nation under threat, and President Putin as the only leader who is capable of standing up to its enemies. And with support for the President comes support for the war in Ukraine and for confrontation with the west. The majority of Russians who lack the time or energy to engage seriously in foreign policy debates has, for a long time, been the “dark matter” of Russian politics -- silent, invisible, yet exerting a colossal gravitational force. Fifteen years of relentless TV propaganda have reshaped the constellation of public opinion.

[Andrei Ostalski is the former editor of the BBC Russian Service]