Arte on the Ukraine war: The truth is a needle, it pricks

No more "West splaining": That's what Arte's new documentary series "Tracks East" promises.

The discourse on the war in Ukraine should no longer be led by Western European intellectuals.

People from south-eastern Europe, Russia and the Baltic States should have their say.

In 10 episodes, Arte documents the work of artists, activists and journalists from the post-Soviet region and frees up the slot for the weekly magazine "Tracks", which usually deals with pop-cultural events.

Filmmakers from the post-eastern generation were hired for “Tracks East”, children of Russian-German migrants who used their innate network and brought Eastern European journalists on board.

And you can tell: The choice of protagonists is impressive.

There's the Ukrainian DJ, now forced to take up arms.

There is the Lithuanian journalist who painted the lake red in front of the Russian embassy in the city of Vilnius.

And then there is the more than 70-year-old artist Yelena Ossipova, who takes to the streets in Saint Petersburg with posters she has painted herself, although standing for long periods of time is becoming increasingly difficult for her.

The documentary series shows how Russian women, draped in gold jewelry and wrapped in fur coats, insult the elderly woman.

But Osipova would never leave Russia.

"Silence means consent"

From influencer to warfluencer

The first episode of "Tracks East" shows the grim reality of war, which has long since hit social media.

Russian bloggers spread the Kremlin's propaganda, soldiers show everyday wartime life on Tiktok.

The Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil appears on her social media channels with the ESC winning band Kalush and has now written a song called "Putin go home".

Involuntarily she became a warfluencer, even if she sees herself more as a peacefluencer.

But such subtleties play no role in war.

The employees of Russian state media are also becoming influencers - sometimes more, sometimes less voluntarily.

The Fake News Criminal Code enacted in March prohibits spreading “untruths” about the Russian military.

Since then, it has been easy for the Russian government

to silence opposition voices.

Channels are blocked, journalists flee abroad.

Masha Borzunova from the opposition TV station Doschd is now working from exile.

The Fake News host analyzed Russian disinformation for years until Dozhd was banned and she was labeled a "foreign agent".

Parallel to the ten episodes of "Tracks East", "Fake News" is now being published for the first time as an English-language edition on YouTube.

The first issue shows shocking things.

The Kremlin's propaganda cannot be surpassed when it comes to bizarre claims.

In the news program of the TV channel Rossiya 1, presenter Dmitry Kiselyov threatens Great Britain with nuclear weapons.

The British Isles are so small that a single missile could sink them at sea.

And further: Russia is the only country that can turn the USA into radioactive dust.

Also, a lie that has been circulated for years has been that the US had laboratories in post-Soviet countries to develop bioweapons.

Insects are being bred in a laboratory in Georgia to infect Russians with malaria.

And the vaccination against the corona virus contains a chip with a turn-off button that can end the life of the vaccinated person at the push of a button.

Behind it is – of course – Bill Gates.

These hair-raising claims are known in Germany as conspiracy stories from the lateral thinker scene.

In Russia they are broadcast by state television.

"Fake News" conveys in no uncertain terms how Putin is driving his information war and shows television clips from Russia that Western European viewers are rarely confronted with in their entirety by domestic media coverage.

When asked how Masha Borzunova protects herself if the Russian government becomes aware of her cooperation with Arte, she can only smile wearily: "Even if they find out about it.

So be it.

I just have to keep working.”

The spectrum of the remaining “Tracks East” episodes ranges from life in exile to a solidarity that has been revived in Europe to the imperial legacy of the Soviet Union.

Ukrainians who fled Mariupol and settled in Berlin are also portrayed.

In terms of its topicality, "Tracks East" can hardly be surpassed.

In cooperation with Deutsche Welle, the documentary series will also be published in Russian and contribute to finding the truth.

According to Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil: “Truth is a needle.

The lie is a soap bubble.” With the new documentary series, Arte could succeed in bursting it – at least in some heads.

The first episode of the

documentary series has been available in the media library since June 3rd and will be broadcast on Arte on June 7th at 10:55 p.m.

The show Fake News with Masha Borzunova will start on June 9 on Youtube.