Corruption-propaganda anti-aircraft defense. Why were anti-aircraft systems deployed in Moscow?

The deployment of air defense systems in Moscow and the Moscow region is hardly a topic that the Ukrainian public aspires to, пишет Aleksey Kaftan, editor of the international policy department of "DS".

Illustrative photo

Deployment of air defense systems in Russian "decision-making centers" continues. According to Russian mass media, the residence of Vladimir Putin in the Valday district (this is the Novgorod region) is now covered by the Pantsir-S1 complex. Previously, similar systems were placed on the roof of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on Frunzenskaya embankment, on the roof of the business center in Teterynskoye lane, which is a few kilometers from the Kremlin, and on the building of the Sytin printing house, not far from the government building of the Russian Federation. The excitement in social networks in this regard has been going on since January 19, when the first reports appeared about the placement of missile-gun complexes on the roofs of high-rise buildings.

Even earlier — on January 6 — a video of Pantsir-S1, located, as the author claimed, in Zarechye, in Odintsovo, which is 10 km from Putin's residence in Novo-Ogarevo, hit the Internet.

Meanwhile, the S-400 system was located on the experimental fields of the Timiryazev Academy. Another one was deployed in the long-suffering national park "Losyny Ostrov".

The most pleasant version of these actions for Ukrainians boils down to the phrase "Kyiv was taken in three days, and now we have to defend Moscow." However, let's be frank: neither now nor in the near future, the Armed Forces of Ukraine can launch massive airstrikes on the Russian capital. The strikes on the Engels strategic aviation base demonstrated that the Tu-141 "Stryzh" target scouts, which were produced by Kharkov in Soviet times, are quite suitable for "dusting" into kamikaze attack drones. And their range - up to 1000 km - allows you to send gifts not only to Saratov, which is 500 km from Kharkov, but also to Belokamennaya, which is 630 km away. However, the intensity of the use of this weapon suggests that there are few of them and they are guarding them. And if the result of the use of "strizh" against the Russian bombers forced the enemy to redeploy and disperse them, then what could be the result of an attack on Moscow? Besides moral satisfaction, of course. In the best case, the building on Frunzenskaya will be damaged. Or Putin will have to urgently look for a carrier of a second suitcase for autocratic shit. In the worst case, if the guidance system fails, "innocent citizens" will perish. We, of course, know that in Russia "we are not to blame" except for babies, and citizens are absent as a species, but the picture on television will turn out to be bad for us: they say, Ukrainians and Russians stand by each other, and a similar vendetta for for example (but, of course, not only) the Dnieper is still a barbaric affair. This may well affect the aspirations of the allies to help Ukraine with weapons.

These calculations, of course, do not represent any secret for the Kremlin. Therefore, the matter is different. And again, hardly in the second favorite version of ours: they say, Putin is insanely afraid. That is, he, in all probability, was really scared, and probably this fear strengthens his environment in every possible way, trying to get some advantages in exchange for influencing the bunker ghoul. However, calculation is much more important here. Even when the question arose of capturing 300 (officially) recruits, the Russian leadership was faced with the problem of motivation - both of the people and society as a whole. Since then, almost the main task facing the Kremlin's propaganda machine, a task that it cannot solve more or less effectively, is mobilization. Not the one that is "partial" but the mobilization of society as a whole. That is, the rallying of the council of a common — determined by the leader — goal.

Simply put, Russia's leadership needs a working narrative of the Great Patriotic War. What is characteristic is that he is always needed when a war of aggression begins to go wrong. This has already happened three times: under Alexander I, under Nicholas II, under Joseph Stalin. And it somehow worked three times. But none of them fell into their own philological trap, because a "military special operation" cannot be a "great national operation". And this strongly limits the possibilities of traditional means of propaganda, so the directive formation of this narrative has to be changed to a "native" one.

In addition, opinion polls show that even among the defeated "cotton soldiers" the majority is ready to go to war only in case of an immediate threat to the homeland. So, a missile attack on the capital would be very useful here - and if there is none, then preparation for the defense of the "First Presbytery" (mathematics for Russians has always been a state problem) will also come in handy: this is very clear evidence that the "Family is in danger." Especially if they place anti-aircraft complexes in clearly visible locations, in broad daylight, and even spice up this action with appropriate comments such as "the state leadership is taking all necessary measures to protect the population."

However, there is a second plot in this performance. It concerns Moose Island. This forest massif within the limits of Moscow has the status of a national park and reserve, but for more than ten years there have been battles between nature defenders and developers around it. Who (who would have thought!) constantly "gnawed away" pieces of the protected zone for new housing estates. In March 2019, then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev publicly announced that the boundaries of the forest park would be changed, because the Shchelkovsky highway, which needs to be modernized, would pass through it. This was never done, but new deryban projects immediately appeared - which also stalled at different stages. But here came the Minnapadeniya - and cut down a section of forest for the purpose of protecting the capital. Only the S-400 complexes have wheels, and the operational situation can change at any moment. The scheme is like a scheme, fully working.

Read also on Newsky "Already 11 European countries have announced new military aid to Ukraine" and look at Boring Pence YouTube channel.

To always be up to date, subscribe to TG channel Newsky. We also recommend the current discussion of friends of Ukraine in North America on Rashkin Report YouTube channel.