"Anti-Russian hysteria rolls over": how the characters of the cartoon "Masha and the Bear" became "agents of Moscow"

In the British newspaper The Times, a material was published in which the Russian cartoon “Masha and the Bear”, intended exclusively for a children's audience, was called “an instrument of Russian propaganda.” In particular, this opinion is shared by the professor at Buckingham University, Anthony Glees.

The expert is particularly disturbed by the fact that the domestic animated film has become extremely popular not only in Russia, but also abroad. Thus, the total number of views of the “Masha and the Bear” issues on YouTube reaches 40 billion. More than 4 million users subscribed to the English-language channel of the cartoon. Thanks to such a mass audience, Moscow may well use the cartoon for “soft propaganda” aimed at children, the professor believes.

“Masha is assertive and even unpleasant, but at the same time she is resolute. She jumps over her head, "- The Times quoted the words of Anthony Glees.

Moreover, the professor hints that Masha’s behavior could allegedly be associated with the course of action of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom has already commented on the publication of The Times on the page of the diplomatic mission on Twitter.

“An important issue was raised by The Times today: how can the UK find salvation from Masha and the Bear?” Open a special anti-multiplication center somewhere in the Baltic? Include all multipliers in the EU sanctions list? Obviously, a decisive and very expensive approach is needed! ”- says the embassy’s ironic message.

The authors of the Russian cartoon also did not disregard the article. As the head of the Animaccord studio Dmitry Loveiko noted in an interview with TASS, people who have found elements of propaganda in the children's series have a “rich imagination”. The studio preferred to take the findings of the British professor with humor.

From World Cup to Bear

In the UK, Anthony Glees is considered an expert in the field of security, and also specializes in the history of the special services. The professor had already attracted the attention of the press when he said that Moscow could send girls to the players of the English national football team so that they would distract athletes from the preparation for the matches during the 2018 World Cup.

“I know that the English national team does not have high hopes for victory in the 2018 World Cup. If suddenly the team’s chances increase, the Russians will prevent victory - by using food poisoning or seducing players with gorgeous Russian girls, but they will do it. This behavior is in the style of a country where the state and the fans are not separated, ”Glice said a few months before the world championship.

At the same time, Anthony Glees is not the first Western expert who saw political overtones in the Russian cartoon. A similar opinion is shared by the teacher of Tallinn University, Priit Khybemyagi. From his point of view, the Bear, who cares for the little girl Masha, personifies, according to the authors, the Russian state. Thus, young viewers subconsciously form a positive image of Russia.

Last year, Hybemyagi declared that this popular cartoon could pose a threat to Estonia. In Moscow, the conclusions of the Baltic expert called speculation and manifestation of "pathological Russophobia." The Lithuanian political scientist, the head of the Center for the Study of Eastern Europe, Laurinas Kasciunas, spoke earlier about the propaganda background in the children's cartoon.

The animated series “Masha and the Bear” was released in 2009 and quickly gained popularity not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders. According to the authors of the cartoon, this is a purely commercial project, which has no relation to state structures.

"Lose sense of proportion"

According to experts, the publication of an article by The Times about the Russian animated film Masha and the Bear may well hide the “order” of a political persuasion.

“On the one hand, this publication can be viewed as a political order, but on the other hand, it can also be a matter of the desire of the speaker himself or the authors of the article to be noticed and appreciated by the authorities,” said Kirill Koktysh, associate professor of the MGIMO political theory department.

According to the expert, in the course of a broad public campaign some kind of excesses, absurd cases are inevitable.

“This is a cheat for general paranoia, panic about the fact that the“ Russians are coming ”and are supposedly controlling everything. Probably, in the UK, hysteria is intensified not least in order to switch public tension, discontent with Teresa May and the situation around Brexit for another reason, ”Koktysh suggested in an interview with RT.

As a political scientist, chief researcher at the Institute of Economics, RAS, Boris Shmelyov, explained in an interview with RT, in the information war that the West has unleashed against Russia, the media sometimes lose their sense of proportion.

“Any criticism should be smart and reasoned, and not so thoughtless as it is now replicated in the West. Such publications do no honor to publications. Everything suggests that anti-Russian hysteria in the West just rolls over, it has become self-replicating, ”says Shmelev.

According to him, the flywheel of Western propaganda continues to gain momentum, and this can be a rather alarming symptom.

A series of "interventions"

The theory that the cartoon about the adventures of a little girl is allegedly part of the Russian “propaganda campaign” looks ridiculous, experts say, recalling that unfounded accusations are being leveled against our country not for the first time.

For example, it suffices to recall the information campaign around the so-called Russian intervention in the elections in the United States in 2016. According to a number of American politicians, during the presidential campaign, Moscow allegedly could support the candidate of the US Republican Party, Donald Trump. From their point of view, the Russian side could make efforts to discredit the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

At the same time, no evidence of such a campaign has yet been given, although for a year and a half a special investigation has been going on in the States under the direction of Special Prosecutor Robert Muller. The American leader Donald Trump and his team categorically deny any collusion with Moscow. The Russian side has also repeatedly denied allegations of “interference” in the American election campaign.

• Voting in the US presidential election, November 8, 2016
• Reuters
• © Mario Anzuoni

Considering that the administration of the 45th President continues to adhere to the sanctions regime against Moscow and even periodically tightens it, the version that the victory of the Republican candidate, including Russia, could provide, sounds quite absurd, political analysts say. The investigation of “Russian interference” in the American elections is a topic that has not left the pages of the Western media for the past two years. Moreover, foreign journalists and politicians are constantly looking for new reasons for replicating “sensational” plots on anti-Russian topics. Another example, analysts say, is the case with Masha and the Bear.

Moreover, in October of this year, the same The Times published material in which it was told about how the Russian authorities allegedly influence British teenagers through Internet forums.

According to the journalists of the publication, Russian agents on the Internet posing as fans of the books of JK Rowling about Harry Potter, in order to influence the outlook of the British youth and provoke conflicts in society.

Earlier, as part of a campaign to demonize Russia, employees of the American edition of The New York Times prepared a series of video clips under the general title Operation Infektion. They tell about the stages of “development” of Soviet and Russian propaganda. According to the authors of the film, an effective scheme of misinformation was developed by the KGB and is now being actively used by Moscow against Western countries.

Anti-Russian hysteria injected in the United States and some European countries, including the United Kingdom, in some cases reaches enormous proportions.

So, in October, the head of the relevant committee of the House of Commons of Great Britain, Damian Collins, refused to believe that Moscow did not interfere in the democratic processes in the United Kingdom, although it was precisely this conclusion that the Cabinet of Ministers came to earlier. The parliamentarian demanded a special investigation into the influence of Russia, similar to that led by US special prosecutor Robert Muller.