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A Russian state TV commentator and longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin is encouraging Russians to die rather than lose to Ukraine and the West.
Margarita Simonyan, the head of RT who is not eligible for conscription because she is a woman and media member, said during the most recent broadcast of Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov that the war is worth people dying because the world is at a "dead end" due to lack of values.
She blamed the development, or lack thereof, of "the Western world" for accelerating "the destruction of mankind" that she said will lead to demise even if no war existed.
Simonyan also invoked culture and biology, mentioning how she will someday be "prohibited" from putting dresses on her daughters, or explaining to her son that he is male.
"This is already happening in many countries," Simonyan said in a video tweeted by Russian watchdog and The Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis. "For me, it's unbearable. For me, this is worse than war. Indeed, it's worse than war.
"Another 50 to 100 years and no one will give birth anymore. No one will be able to give birth. With all the hormonal therapies, with their pharmaceutical lobbies, with brainwashing the mentality of their own nation and others, their own people and their own empires."
Simonyan and other commentators on Solovyov's program also spoke about remarks by Putin during his recent appearance at the Valdai Discussion Club.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, asked Putin about nuclear proliferation and not being in a "hurry" to get to heaven. It led to a lengthy pause by the embattled president.
"You've stopped to think," Lukyanov said. "That's disconcerting."
"I did it on purpose to make you worry a little," Putin responded, drawing smiles and laughs from the audience. "Mission accomplished."
Simonyan made Putin's comment the centerpiece of her remarks and perspective, calling his actions part of a worldwide transformation and a "source of hope."
"For me, it was a session of psychotherapy, as meetings with Putin customarily tend to be," she said, adding that war brings tragedy, pain, pride and personal growth.
She added that "it's better to go to heaven right away" while others "croak."
"What does that ultra-liberal fascist trash have?" Simonyan said. "I don't know. It spreads as an uncontrollable tumor, against which the chemotherapy is ineffective. If you allow it anywhere near your borders, before you know it, you'll be living in a country that is dictating that you must live a certain way. With our mentality, to live this way is unbearable."
Professor Dmitry Evstafiev posited that if Russia lost the war, the colonial-loving West would show off Russians in zoos like animals.
Other Russian state TV commentators, such as Moscow State University professor Andrey Sidorov, have admitted to underestimating the U.S. and the West in its support for Ukraine.
Days before Russia again attacked critical Ukrainian infrastructure, potentially showing a shift in military strategy from nuclear threats, Putin mentioned "necessary conditions" that could possibly enable a peace deal with Ukraine.
Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin for comment.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek investigative reporter based in Michigan. His focus includes U.S. and international politics and policies, immigration, ... Read more