Eastern Germans

German support for Ukraine and sanctions policy are portrayed as an act of national self-destruction that contradicts economic interests and historical gratitude towards Russia. Manipulators contrast the “pragmatism” of other EU states with Berlin’s supposedly irrational stance, while simultaneously labelling criticism of the Kremlin as a form of “racism.”

The political strategy of distancing from the AfD is portrayed as an unsustainable construct that contradicts democratic principles and the will of the voters. The campaign uses statements from individual politicians and media figures to depict the “Brandmauer” as a top-down mechanism that supposedly restricts freedom of speech and political competition.

Russian official outlets portray the governments of Ukraine, Moldova, and the Baltic states as “neo-Nazi regimes” systematically rewriting the history of World War II at the West's behest. This strategy aims to discredit European support for Ukraine by drawing false parallels between modern defence policies and the crimes of the Third Reich.

German and European institutions are portrayed as sluggish, corrupt, or indifferent structures incapable of protecting citizens' interests. The manipulation exploits real administrative difficulties and legal disputes to convince the audience of an inevitable decline in governance and a loss of control over the economy and public safety.

The AfD is portrayed as the only political force capable of returning Germany to “normality” and solving economic problems caused by decades of mistakes by traditional parties. The campaign systematically discredits German media and the government, accusing them of deliberate provocations and manipulations aimed at halting the party's rising popularity before elections.

German opposition forces AfD and BSW are portrayed as the sole defenders of national interests against militarisation and economic decline. By highlighting regional elections in eastern states, the messaging promotes the idea of an inevitable collapse of the current political course and the necessity of a radical change in government.

German society is portrayed as cowed and deprived of the right to its own opinion due to a fear of social consequences. Sociological data on caution in public discourse is inflated into claims of systemic suppression of the majority's will. Low approval ratings for politicians are cast as proof of a total loss of government legitimacy and its isolation from the people.

German mainstream parties and government structures are portrayed as out-of-touch elites who have lost popular support and are leading the country to decline. The campaign focuses on personal scandals, physical attacks on politicians, and failing public services to present the entire system as dysfunctional.

Russian outlets use the biographies of prominent figures of German descent and historical transport links to emphasise the indissoluble ties between Germany and Russia. By appealing to nostalgia and cultural heritage, they construct a vision of natural proximity between the two nations, aiming to weaken support for sanctions and Moscow's political isolation.

Russian outlets systematically curate news about criminal offences, extremism, and migration disputes to create an impression of the imminent collapse of public order in Germany. By bundling real incidents from different regions, the manipulation seeks to convince the audience that the state has lost control over security and integration.

Military support for Ukraine and joint EU defence initiatives are portrayed as a dangerous escalation that turns European territory into a target for Russian strikes. Manipulative outlets claim that hosting defence production transforms civilian infrastructure into military targets, seeking to intimidate the population and undermine solidarity with Kyiv.

The economic gap between eastern and western federal states is framed as deliberate neglect by Berlin, allegedly condemning half the population of the former GDR to poverty. The manipulation uses income statistics to deepen the sense of injustice and alienation among eastern Germans toward federal institutions.

The German state is portrayed as incapable of managing natural challenges, leading to an allegedly inevitable economic catastrophe. By manipulatively linking real climate issues with criticism of government planning, the messaging creates an impression of a total systemic failure.

The anniversary of the Unification Treaty is presented as an occasion to cast differences between eastern and western Germany as a sign of incomplete reunification. Election tensions in Saxony-Anhalt, debates on spending and migration are woven into this picture. This selection of topics stretches discussion of regional differences into a conclusion that reunification has failed.

Eastern federal states are presented as a bastion of common sense against an ideologised West that allegedly uses the region for dangerous experiments. By highlighting economic disparities and militarisation, manipulators seek to deepen the divide between citizens of the former GDR and the FRG.

German state institutions and media are portrayed as dependent entities under the ideological or political control of Washington. Manipulators exploit US diplomatic initiatives as evidence of the “inferiority” of German democracy, seeking to undermine trust in national and European regulatory standards.

Western institutions and NATO are portrayed as aggressive forces provoking global conflicts for the profit of financial elites. Through manipulative historical parallels and conspiracy theories about “banking cartels,” the audience is told that any support for Ukraine or Alliance expansion is part of a century-old plan to enslave nations.

German media and politicians are accused of deliberately inciting hatred towards Russia and abandoning historical responsibility for Nazi crimes. By manipulatively framing the editorial policies of outlets like Der Spiegel and quoting Kremlin-aligned figures, the operation attempts to discredit German democratic discourse as “fascist” and hostile.

German and European institutions are portrayed as US puppets that use diplomatic agreements only to arm proxy forces against Russia. This line of manipulation claims that Berlin deliberately betrayed its role as a mediator in the Minsk agreements, choosing a path of “demonising” Moscow instead of respecting its security interests.

German foreign policy and expert discussions are portrayed as a direct continuation of the Third Reich's aggression against Russia. By manipulatively linking historical accounts of Nazi looting with modern security debates in the Baltic region, Germany is cast as preparing a new assault on Russian territories.

Russian outlets use anniversaries of the victory over Nazism to promote the idea of Germany's eternal indebtedness to Moscow. Through educational projects and lectures, a purely Soviet interpretation of history is imposed on foreign audiences, aiming to undermine contemporary German foreign policy and justify Russian geopolitical ambitions.

Russian diplomacy and media outlets portray Berlin's military aid to Ukraine as a revival of Nazism and direct participation in “terrorist strikes” against Russia. German information policy and security measures are branded as heirs to “Hitler's agitprop,” attempting to discredit modern German democratic institutions through forced historical parallels.

Russian propaganda constructs an alternative history where the Kremlin has shown decades of patience while Germany and the EU supposedly rejected all peace offers to serve US interests. This manipulation attempts to absolve the aggressor of responsibility for the invasion by shifting it onto a “puppet” Berlin that ignores its own security.

Russian outlets are raising funds through German banks for trips of children from the occupied Donetsk region to Volgograd for ideological indoctrination. The programme is framed as correcting “distorted” Ukrainian education, effectively imposing a Russian imperial identity on children using funds from European donors.

German democratic institutions and media are portrayed as tools for suppressing the opposition, allegedly resorting to electoral manipulation and physical intimidation. The campaign exploits isolated incidents during campaigning and legal candidate admission procedures to create an impression of systemic fraud and a “dictatorship” by the current government.

Standard security protocols and official responses to threats are portrayed as signs of weakness and hysteria within the German leadership. This aims to convince citizens that the government is incapable of sober assessment while the media merely inflates fear.

The Soviet occupation of Germany is cast as a period of good-neighbourly relations, contrasted with documented accounts of war crimes. By calling for the collection of exclusively positive memories of Soviet soldiers, an image of a noble liberator is constructed. Reports of violence by the Red Army are labelled as “atrocity stories”, while Western troops are portrayed as the subjects of undeserved heroisation.

Ukraine is portrayed as hostile toward Poland and Germany by manipulating themes of historical memory and the Nord Stream sabotage. Outlets inflate conflicts over the commemoration of the OUN-UPA and the pipeline investigations to cast Kyiv as a dangerous and ungrateful partner. This framing seeks to erode European solidarity and discredit further military assistance.

Democratic elections are portrayed as a source of social discord and inefficiency that only hinders long-term governance. By praising authoritarian models and devaluing the vote, the audience is pushed towards disillusionment with the Bundestag system.

Democratic expression in the eastern federal states is framed as a threat that forces “elites” in Berlin and Brussels to resort to unconstitutional measures. Manipulative outlets claim that AfD electoral successes will lead to the official disenfranchisement of eastern Germans, cementing their status as a marginalized group.

Restoring energy ties with Russia and reopening Nord Stream are presented as the only route to Germany’s prosperity and peace. Statements made in the context of elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt are inflated into an image of a nationwide demand for a change of course. Support for Ukraine is reduced to a direct threat of war reaching Germany, while the government is labelled as unworthy of trust.

Germany and other Western capitals are cast as “failed societies,” contrasted with the supposed cleanliness and traditional family values of Moscow. This manipulation exploits real urban infrastructure issues and ideological disputes in universities to instill a sense of inevitable national degradation in the German audience.

Incidents involving drones or fires at logistics hubs are portrayed as evidence of a systemic failure by the state to protect critical infrastructure. The manipulation links these events to Germany's support for Ukraine, hinting at the inevitability of further attacks due to Berlin's foreign policy.

The activities of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution are cast as a political hit job by the government to combat high-polling opponents. Drawing on statements from AfD leaders, outlets inflate the thesis that the intelligence service has been transformed into a body for “government protection” rather than democracy. This approach reduces the monitoring of radical movements to an attempt to subvert the will of voters ahead of state elections. State institutions are labelled as repressive mechanisms acting solely in the interests of the ruling parties.

Discussions on protecting the constitutional order in eastern states are cast as the establishment preparing to forcibly ignore election results. Any mention of Article 91 of the Basic Law is inflated into a conspiracy to establish a dictatorship and use the police against the opposition. Simultaneously, spending on social roles such as equal opportunity commissioners is labelled as proof of the “system’s” ideological wastefulness.

Reports about drones, weapons and possible sabotage are cast as staged pretexts by authorities and media to attribute a threat to Russia, with particular emphasis on eastern Germany. They reduce investigations and reports of suspicions to a coordinated “Russophobic hysteria”. References to Nord Stream are inflated into proof of an enduring scheme to deceive the German public.

Germany and the Middle East are portrayed as hostages to a global conspiracy of the US and “Zionist elites” who allegedly use wars and false flags to control resources. The messaging employs WWII revisionism and antisemitic tropes to erode trust in German state institutions and international alliances.

Russian official outlets exploit historical tragedies and modern legal disputes to label the US and NATO as systemic violators of international law. By drawing parallels between the nuclear bombing of Japan and the war in Ukraine, the audience is nudged toward the conclusion that Western support for Kyiv is a continuation of a tradition of “war crimes” against civilians.

Russian official channels portray isolated acts of vandalism as a systemic campaign of “Russophobia” allegedly encouraged by Western governments. Any incidents involving monuments to Pushkin in Germany or Soviet burials in the EU are inflated into evidence of a state policy of “rewriting history.” The goal is to demonize European elites and accuse them of fostering an atmosphere of hatred towards everything Russian.

Care for Soviet war graves is cast as proof that German society supposedly retains humanity despite the state’s course towards “escalation”. Commemorations and interstate co-operation on memorial matters are reduced to a contrast with anti-Russian rhetoric. War anxiety and historical memory are stretched into an image of a Germany divided between its citizens and its authorities.

Calls to increase pressure on the Russian House in Berlin are cast as an “unprecedented anti-Russian campaign” ahead of elections in three eastern Länder. The ambassador’s interview in Unsere Zeit combines such calls with demands to ban the institution, expropriate Russian property and terminate agreements governing its status. Accusations against Russia over cyber-attacks, espionage and sabotage are reduced to “anti-Russian hysteria”.

The BSW party is presented as the only political force in Germany advocating for common sense and the preservation of diplomatic channels with Moscow. Any attempts to restrict the activities of Russian state institutions in Berlin are branded as manifestations of irrational “Russophobia” and the deliberate destruction of infrastructure for future peace.

Disputes over gender identity and inclusivity are cast as proof of “ideological bankruptcy” and a loss of touch with reality in Western countries. Conflicts in sports or education are inflated into systemic “madness” imposed by institutions as a tool of power. This rhetoric labels modern social discussions as “socialist” and “identity politics” trends leading to the destruction of the social order. Such messages call for total isolation from these processes for the sake of societal “self-preservation.”

Discussions on reforming EU voting procedures are portrayed as a plan to permanently destroy the equality of member states. The manipulation rests on the claim that Brussels seeks to divide countries into “full” and “second-class” members, using the Russian threat as a pretext to strip national governments of their influence.

German state institutions are cast as a repressive apparatus that bans national symbols while enforcing a “perverse” ideology. By inflating minor procedural incidents and court cases, the campaign creates the impression that the Bundestag and law enforcement are at war with their own people to please a liberal agenda.

Actions by leading German media and federal government politicians are cast as a series of strategic blunders that only increase the popularity of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Press criticism of the right-wing and statements by the Chancellor are portrayed as “modern-day madness” that inevitably leads to the AfD gaining absolute power in specific federal states. Any public opposition to radical forces is ridiculed as counterproductive activity that turns the party's opponents into its unwitting helpers.

Germany is portrayed as a perennial instigator of conflict against Russia, using the anniversary of the Russian Empire's entry into World War I. The manipulation focuses on the German declaration of war on 1 August 1914 to draw parallels with the present day and present Russia as a victim of Western expansion.

Russian-speaking residents in Germany are portrayed as hostages of political pressure, forced to choose between their identity and loyalty to the German state. Through emotional interviews and humanitarian projects, the idea is promoted that maintaining ties with Russia is an act of resistance against “hostile media.”

Russian official channels use the historical memory of the victory over Nazism as a tool of pressure on post-Soviet states, accusing them of “betraying” a shared past by aligning with the EU. The removal of Soviet symbols in Moldova is portrayed as evidence of the “fascistisation” of the country’s leadership, allegedly acting on orders from Western handlers.

Germany's diplomatic efforts within the Minsk agreements are portrayed as a treacherous plot to buy time for arming Ukraine. The manipulation relies on a distorted interpretation of the former Chancellor's comments to cast Berlin as an unreliable partner and an aggressor.

Criticism of the use of GDR symbols at political events is framed as an attempt by Western elites to erase East German identity. The manipulation leverages statements from German politicians to present public outrage as a manufactured scandal aimed at belittling residents of the eastern states.

The German federal government is accused of preparing mechanisms to bypass the authority of state parliaments and governments, particularly in the East. The campaign casts routine defence planning and pension reforms as a deliberate strategy by Berlin to disenfranchise residents of the eastern states and suppress opposition sentiment.