Putin Hailed as Humanity’s Savior as Kremlin PR Machine Kicks In

Vladimir Putin may have caught the U.S. and its allies off guard by striking Syria, but his propaganda machine was ready.
“A hundred dead terrorists,” a news presenter on Russia’s No. 2 network announced early Thursday, just hours after the bombing of what Putin has called “evil-doers” began. She then cut to a correspondent in Syria who lauded the precision of the strikes as aerial footage of the attacks supplied by the Defense Ministry aired.
Over on Channel 1, the most-watched station, a parade of politicians, analysts and religious leaders — both Christian and Muslim — rolled by justifying the use of force on both legal and moral grounds.
“This is more than just military strikes against Islamic State,” said the editor of National Defense magazine, Igor Korotchenko, after parliament unanimously authorized the use of force. “We are protecting the values of humanity and taking a stand against the most extreme forms of obscurantism and terror.”
‘World War III’
Putin has used control over all national broadcasters to rally the public behind his policies throughout his 15 years in power, most dramatically after he annexed Crimea. With state TV stoking a patriotic fervor, his approval rating reached a record 89 percent this summer from 64 percent two years ago, defying the first recession in six years.
While his support remains above 80 percent, discontent is growing as the economic contraction drags on and zeal over Ukraine fades. Fifty-five percent of Russians are satisfied with the direction in which the country is headed, down from 64 percent over the summer. But that poll, by the Levada Center, was taken in September, before the Kremlin’s media handlers found a new cause to champion: the global fight against terrorism.

 

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