12.01.2021, Moscow.
An unbridled propaganda campaign to hype up vaccination against the novel coronavirus in Russia has contributed to a divide in the society, which is somewhat comparable to a religious schism, said political scientist and the leader of the Essence of Time movement Sergey Kurginyan on November 24, commenting on the open letter of 11 chief doctors of Russian COVID-specialized hospitals to the “opponents of vaccination”.
According to the political scientist, the problem lies not even in the PR campaign that has unfolded in Russia around the topic of vaccination, but in the very strategic project it serves.
“As for the disease and what it has to do with support of the project, I’ll tell you what it is about. There is a very old guideline, according to which, during information warfare, one must be arrogant, blunt and rude; yell, scream and shout; threaten the opponent, be obnoxious with him, etc,” explained Kurginyan.
This old guideline was developed for a completely different purpose, and it cannot be applied to the delicate case we are dealing with, noted the expert. Nevertheless, these techniques have been used for quite a long time to push vaccination.
“And the result of this action – not because of those who oppose it, but because of the action itself – the schism in the society has become a reality”, said the political scientist.
Now, Russia is in a very difficult situation, and that’s without any additional undesirable pressure, stressed Kurginyan. All sorts of “storm clouds are looming” over the country: in the direction of Ukraine, in the south, in the east, and even in the north.
“The current schism in the society is harmful to us more than ever, but we have made it. An unbridled information campaign, crude, useless, looking like a guideline even if it’s not… It produced a result, it turned out to be terribly effective in two ways,” believes the political scientist.
Firstly, in terms of rejecting everything related to vaccination, and secondly, in terms of a schism in the society. The forces that blatantly push for vaccination have made an actual divide possible, “a divide similar to a religious schism”.
“Do you understand that this is mortally dangerous?” – stressed Kurginyan.
Earlier, the Russian mass media published an open letter from 11 chief doctors from COVID-specialized hospitals in which they appeal to certain Russian citizens, as well as “other opponents of vaccination”. The authors of the letter invited those whom they consider to be the “anti-vaxxers” to visit the so-called “red zones” and hospital morgues in order to change their attitude towards the problem of vaccination. Sergey Kurginyan was also included in this list of invitees.
On November 24, the letter was quickly promoted by the media early in the morning. Later, some of the signatories have made additional comments through the media or social networks, repeating the tone of the letter itself. The overwhelming majority of the addressees of the letter also replied to it during the day in various electronic media.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
