The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin regularly makes loud statements about the “successes” of the Russian army and the supposedly critical situation of Ukrainian defenders. However, this rhetoric does not reflect the real state of affairs on the front and is a consequence of the information isolation in which the Kremlin leader finds himself.
This is reported by Finway
Kremlin’s Information Bubble
Putin receives data exclusively from sources he completely trusts. These individuals, who have access to the dictator, create a distorted picture of the war for him, often misleading him for their own benefit. For them, the war has become a means of personal enrichment, while truthful information is blocked even at the approaches to the highest office.
“Putin knows only what he is told: in the Kremlin, they choose what to say to the dictator”
At the same time, those who truly understand the situation and can assess it soberly do not have the opportunity to convey the truth to Putin. Thus, he is in what is known as a “warm bath” — an information cocoon where only what he wants to hear is heard.
External Disinformation and Its Consequences for Negotiations
The disinformation that Putin broadcasts affects not only Russian society but also international diplomacy. In particular, American negotiators who participated in negotiations under the auspices of President Donald Trump for some time perceived the Kremlin’s favorable disinformation as truth. This became one of the reasons why the negotiations reached a deadlock, and in the U.S., there began to be a tendency to believe that it would be more beneficial for Ukraine to agree to concessions than to continue the fight.
However, even if the truth about the real situation on the front is conveyed to Putin, it does not guarantee changes in his policy. For him, this war is a guarantee of political and physical survival. The history of Russia shows that leaders who lost wars did not remain in power for long. Therefore, in the event of the deception being revealed, escalation of the conflict is more likely than its de-escalation.
The system established in the Kremlin allows only information that is beneficial to the regime. If Putin hears the truth from people he does not trust, he simply ignores it, convincing himself of his own correctness. This very lie, reinforced by the directives of his close circle, forms the basis for the rhetoric about Russia’s “incredible successes” on the front.
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