Atlantic defense

The NATO propaganda wing is now defending Ukrainian neo-Nazis from the Azov battalion through an article authored by a man who organized rallies to prevent the US-led alliance from entering Crimea. You can’t imagine such a thing on purpose.

If you have ever doubted that the work of analytical centers is a little more than a cynical scheme of profit, then the proof will be an article that reveals the whole putrefaction of this scam.

Even by the standards of cheating, typical of Anglo-American think tanks, this is a special instance, completely unburdened by decency.

In addition, this material reveals the duplicity and deceit of many dogmas in the post-Soviet space, where preferences and beliefs can change dramatically, depending on where the wind blows.

In this case, it is clear that the author of the mentioned article famously switched from promoting the ideas of the International Eurasian Movement, associated with Alexander Dugin, to supporting Ukrainian fascists. Dugin is an ambiguous thinker, to whom the Western media mistakenly attribute involvement in the formation of Kremlin policy, often calling him “Putin's brain” or “Putin's Rasputin”.

Obviously, the “Atlantic Council" * wants to save the Azov battalion from getting on the list of organizations that are recognized as terrorist in the United States.

Congressman Democrat Max Rose and former FBI agent Ali Sufan wrote in an article in The New York Times that they needed to bring him there. In relation to the Ukrainian battalion, the following formulations are used there: “paramilitary unit”, which is scandalously known for its “connection with neo-Nazi ideology”.

Rose and Sufan are primarily concerned about the connection of "Azov" with other associations that preach the superiority of the white race. Well, there is no doubt that he is really connected with this dark world. So, for example, the British investigation team Bellingcat (which is hardly a member of the list of friends of Russia) describes this battalion as the “Ukrainian movement of white nationalism”, which plans to contribute to the “world conservative revolution”, whose goal is to “protect the white race”.

The Atlantic Council goes to bat for the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, claiming that listing it as a terrorist organization would be a “gift to the Kremlin.” https://t.co/5yddcMBdZK

The "Atlantic Council" stands up for the neo-Nazi battalion "Azov", claiming that recognition of it as a terrorist organization would be a "gift to the Kremlin," journalist Max Blumenthal wrote on Twitter.

It adds absurdity that the article written in defense of the Ukrainian battalion was accompanied by a photograph in which the Azov fighter flaunts in uniform with the unit’s emblem, which resembles the Nazi symbol Wolfsangel in its appearance. The “Atlantic Council” also stresses that this odious structure is part of the National Guard of Ukraine, which, in turn, is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs - as if extremism is becoming something more acceptable.

Hundreds of words follow in justification of the Azov battalion - and not a single mention of the addiction of its fighters to torchlight processions and other events that refer to various attributes of Nazism.

Even the US state-sponsored Radio Liberty / Radio Free Europe **, covering such tricks, called this battalion an "ultranationalist alliance" and "formidable military force of an extreme right orientation."

The “Atlantic Council” took a shameful (albeit hardly unexpected for an organization with such dubious principles) position. Before us is a machine for making money, pretty welded due to its information war against Russia. In the period from 2006 to 2016, the organization increased its annual income from $ 2 million to $ 21 million.

It can be assumed that now this figure has become even higher against the backdrop of aggravation of anti-Russian hysteria, which is partly due to the same analytical center.

What is most interesting here is the author himself and how he managed to find a niche for himself in the extremely profitable industry occupied by analytical centers. Anton Shekhovtsov, who, incidentally, once lobbied for the interests of the London-based organization Legatum, which promoted Brexit, with Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev, is so ideologically flexible that, perhaps, the chameleon will feel dizzy. His track record is simply astounding.

In the mid-2000s, he participated in the youth wing of the International Eurasian Movement in Crimea (when this territory was still part of Ukraine). The Eurasian Youth Union (ECM) is a right-wing organization that adheres to the idea of ​​a great Russia and for the most part follows the teachings of the aforementioned Dugin.

According to the modern interpretation of these views, Russia and Ukraine are culturally closer to Asia than to Western Europe, which, of course, runs counter to the opinion of most people in both countries. In 2011, the ECM was banned in Ukraine, after the government of Viktor Yanukovych (ousted as a result of the Western-backed EuroMaidan) branded it an "extremist, anti-Ukrainian organization."

In 2006, Shekhovtsov helped organize the “Antinatovsky weekend” in Sevastopol, the main port of Crimea, which included a “solemn procession along the city ring with flags and banners (of the Eurasian movement).”

During the “festivities”, Shekhovtsov’s associates were even able to turn Sevastopol into a “no EU” zone. Their report said that “in the midst of the work, the appearance of the blue flag of the atlantist European Union was suddenly noticed on the other side of the square. A group of activists of the Young Guard and the ECM was immediately nominated to him. As a result of a peaceful conversation, EU representatives left the square, frightened by the pressure of Eurasian forces. ”

Shekhovtsov's presence at this event is well documented in photographs that are freely available on the network. However, only eight years after anti-Western protests in Crimea, he already worked for Legatum as an “information warrior” during the Ukrainian crisis in 2014.

Canadian political scientist Ivan Kachanovsky wrote that he "welcomed the massacre of people in Odessa" and "tried to justify or denied the participation of the ultra-right in the" Euromaidan ", the Odessa massacre and the war in Donbass."

In addition to relations with the Atlantic Council, Shekhovtsov currently works as a freelance lecturer at the University of Vienna, as well as a “senior research fellow” of the Free Russia Foundation.

The latter is an American organization that advocates regime change, where a number of Russian employees are involved in prominent posts, while its backbone is made up of Americans, many of whom are experienced lobbyists (at least one of them has never been to Russia and does not speak Russian at all). In addition, there is only one Russian on the board of directors of this organization. This should give the reader a certain idea of ​​what goals are really pursued there.

Anglo-American think tanks form a small but very profitable world, where honesty, decency and integrity are far from the main priorities. But even with the foregoing, the Atlantic Council has fallen as never before this week. Are his largest sponsors, such as Facebook and the British Foreign Ministry, providing him with more than $ 1 million annually, in support of support for neo-Nazis and supporters of the superiority of the white race?

* “Atlantic Council of the United States” - an organization whose activity is deemed undesirable in the territory of the Russian Federation by decision of the Attorney General's Office of July 25, 2019.

** Media recognized as a foreign agent by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 12/05/2017.

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.