Russian propaganda machine runs: Eyes go to publications

Many questions arose

A few weeks ago, as the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, it was no coincidence that a brochure reminiscent of the content of the Soviet era about « the » marches of the Reds of the Reds in East Prussia « was found in the mailboxes of one of the city’s metropolitan residents.

The publication is a soft power tool for propaganda, stimulating nostalgia in the Soviet system of the former Soviet republics, including Lithuania, perhaps in the preparation of the soil for new interventions.

According to witnesses, the brochure was released in high quality, printed on good paper.

The question was, who printed this publication? If it is released in Lithuania, what is the responsibility of publishers in this regard?

If it is printed outside Lithuania, how did it enter the country and are the import of propaganda prints prohibited?

Representatives of the Customs Department informed that there are no prohibitions on the entry of propaganda publications into the EU territory in the EU regulations that establish prohibitions and restrictions on Russia and Belarus.

Paradoxically, Lithuanian legislation also does not prohibit the import of these publications.

Representatives of the Customs Department said that there are isolated cases where publications of disinformation, propaganda content or various goods containing symbols of the USSR are imported into Lithuania.

In recent years there have been two cases where Lithuanian customs officers have detained propaganda printed material.

« March 14, 2023, 1,28 kg of printed books was detained for € 25,000. 3 October of the same year were detained 3 units for € 2.43.

Experience: Printing House and publisher S. Jokužys recalled the story, when one Russian-speaking figure at his printing house wanted to release large posters depicting the explosion of this ship before coming the LNG ship-rage to Klaipeda. / Photo by Vytautas Petrikas

International code is required

According to the Lithuanian Publishers Association, which unites 55 members, there are about 80 active publishers in the country.

Lolita Varanavičienė, who headed the Lithuanian Publishers Association for three terms, assured her that she had never encountered or heard that she would have asked for publishers to release propaganda or manipulative publications.

Antanas Stanevičius, the head of the publishing house Eglė, confirmed the same thing: no one applied to his publishing house for the release of similar content.

« Now that there is modern technology, anyone can make a layout and then print the content with a better printer. It is therefore very difficult to catch such » publishers « . Thus, this brochure could have been released in Lithuania, not somewhere in Belarus, but at any larger stationery store, where copying services are provided, ”says A. Stanevičius.

He claimed that the content of each book published in his publishing house was carefully read.

Especially in all cases, ISBN, an international standard book number, which is a unique book identifier used in the world since 1970.

This code used by publishers, libraries and book trade organizations shows that the book is not « sams ».

“If, in the case you mention, there is no ISBN code, then the publication is released in a household, as a » teaching « measure or simply a drawing notebook. I have never offered such a content publication, and even if they offer, they will not be able to seduce me with their bloody money. But there are all kinds of people, especially from mixed families. If we love Lithuania, why should they not mention Russia? It’s like a natural feeling. They were so born. On the other hand, maybe it is good that they are, we do not let us fall asleep, ”joked A. Stanevičius.

They will not tempt me with their bloody money.

For the poster – a ship’s explosion

Saulius Jokužys, head of the publishing house, did not hide that he had received all kinds of suggestions for his long years of work, including printing labels for the output of the underground sprat factory.

“I remember the case where the construction of the liquefied natural gas ship » Independence « was completed and had to be brought to Lithuania soon, a Russian-speaking figure wanted to order a poster depicting an explosion of such a ship. Similar crazy and provocateurs always occur. But our company has internal rules and common sense, so such things would not slip anyway. What did we answer for that character? We presented the address of the psychiatric hospital, ”said S. Jokužys.

The printer is convinced that the poster was then approved by the customer on his own initiative.

S. Jokužys supported his colleague A. Stanevičius that the recently disseminated publication of manipulative content could have been published in Lithuania as well.

« However, nowadays a serious printing house, which has a prestige and protects the company’s reputation, will not be involved.

Antanas Stanevičius / Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis

The compiler did not want to speak

One before May 9, Andrei Fominas, a resident of Klaipėda, was the compiler of the brochure « Pobeda! Victory 1945 ».

The author was not spoken when trying to find out what publishing house and printing house was published in the publishing house and printing house.

« I’m not in Klaipeda now, I’m not, no, no, no, thank you, » Fomin said so much, hearing that journalists were calling.

A. Fomin’s name was the last time in 2019, when the traditional publication competition « Klaipeda Book 2018 » was presented by his « History of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church », which had a propaganda and manipulative shade.

Although the author himself thought that his book was only historical facts.

However, the publication, under the guise of the history of the Orthodox Church, spread the clear news that Lithuania was never a Western and a pro -Russian state.

This book was published by Druka, a publishing house, by the way, the competition book was not presented to the public, but by its financial sponsor Alexander Popov.

According to the organizers of the competition, even during the Soviet era, the history of the Church was presented in a more moderate way than in that book.

In other words, the book was then removed from the competition.

Former teacher A. Fomin is a doctor of philosophy, who once taught at the Baltic Russian Institute in Klaipėda Branch and worked for Rutenija, which was a training center representing the Moscow Industry State University.

The activities of this institution were terminated by the decision of the state.

A. Fomin was also elected to the Klaipėda City Council. It was twice from 2000 to 2007, early with the Lithuanian Russian Union and later with the political party in the Russian Alliance.

The co -author was heard

Vaigutis Stančikas, the second compiler of the Brochure « Pobeda! Victoryful 1945 », as he himself points out in his biography to the Central Electoral Commission (because he also participated in the election) is a history teacher.

Five years ago, this teacher translated a book « Documents opens the doors of secrets » published by Russian propagandist Alexander Diukov Riga in Riga five years ago.

The subtitle of the prison for the academic publication is recorded – « The Director of the Director of the State Security Department of the Republic of Lithuania A. Povilaitis’ Removed Case ».

In the Russian summary of the book, the author does not hide that « this is the result of many years of research, which allows the Kremlin’s action to be motivated by the Baltic States in June 1940. »

A. Diukov has been famous for such new « glances » into the interwar history of the Baltic States and the Soviet Union, which has eventually closed to Lithuania at all.

2014 May 2 By decision of the Lithuanian Migration Department, it is included in the national list of persons whose presence in Lithuania is undesirable.

2014 In August, A. Diukov had come to Vilnius to participate in the presentation of his book about the Holocaust, but the border guards returned him to Moscow.

It was repeatedly sounded that « Russian citizen A. Diukov was a man of Russian special services, who was trying to justify the crimes of the Stalinist regime, » Russian citizen A. Diukov was not admitted to Lithuania. « 

Propaganda: It is no coincidence that the inhabitants of one metropolis of the 80th anniversary of the Second World War have been found in their mailboxes with a clear manipulatory brochure. / Photo by a newspaper reader

And his book from Russian was translated by the same V. Stančikas, who claimed that the Russian was not allowed into Lithuania because he disagrees with the official position of Lithuania in the history of history.

V. Stančikas published the latter obviously manipulative brochure « Pobeda! Victory 1945 », along with A. Fomin in Russian and Lithuanian.

This time neither the publisher nor the printing house, even the circulation is not specified.

According to A. Stanevičius, it is very reminiscent of a kind of « sample » or self -leaved – printed and distributed lecture. This time the publishers undoubtedly had their goals.