Mobilization, on conscription on the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
This series by Donetsk director Vladimir Agranovich takes place in
Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast in February 2022, during the first days
of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It centers on three friends, who each have different reactions to the beginning of the war.
One of the ideas described during this film is to portray Russia as "having been provoked by Ukraine and NATO"
to invade first. Russia is shown as having tried to establish a
productive dialogue with Ukraine, but to no avail. The main character
sits at home and anxiously reads the news. In the first episode, one
friend criticizes the Minsk agreements, which no one has been able to
"fulfill for 8 years," while a lot of people were still dying. But he
also has great enthusiasm in remembering Russian militant commanders Givi and Motorola as shining examples of patriotism.
The second character, one of the friends, a soldier, volunteers to
fight, but loses his foot to a mine. The second friend is conscripted
and sent to the front, where he is captured by Ukrainian forces and
executed. The series thus tries to convince its viewers that Ukrainians
are remorseless murderers. Through the action of the series, the main
character grows to fully support the war, and later goes to the front as a war correspondent.
The series claims to have been filmed entirely in Donetsk "under shelling and bombing from the front."
Like the Perviy Kanal series, Mobilization tries to convince its audience of the righteousness and necessity of Russia's aggression.
Rather than focusing on the Ukrainian enemy, this series centers on
people in Donbas who become convinced of the righteousness of Russia's
full-scale invasion as a necessary defense against NATO's provocations.
It thus teaches its audience that Russia's war is really defensive in
nature, and is the only choice to protect Russia and the people of
Donbas.
The Best in Hell: on the Wagner mercenary company
This film debuted in October 2022,
notably
before the aborted rebellion by Wagner forces in June 2023. In the
"documentary", units on a "white" team carry out an assault operation to
capture buildings. Their task is to occupy an observation post and
direct attack aircraft to targets behind enemy lines. They are opposed
by units on a "yellow" team, who have dug in in these buildings and are
also ready to fight to the end.
"We have a contract. A contract with the
company. A contract with our homeland. With our conscience. We know
we're going to hell. But in hell, we will be the best."
The film is essentially a recruiting advertisement for the Wagner mercenary company,
both encouraging its audience to join for a righteous cause and
enticing enthusiasts with information inserts about the weapons used by
each side. Wagner is widely known for its savage brutality against both
its own soldiers and their enemies, but this film tries to convince its
audience that it is an organization of holy, elite warriors with the
best equipment in the world fighting in a noble, professional manner for
a righteous cause.
As Russia continues to wage its war against Ukraine, its propaganda
aims to justify the righteousness and necessity of its aggression to
domestic audiences. By presenting a skewed version of reality, Russia
manipulates public opinion and reinforces nationalist sentiments to
ensure support for its genocidal conquest of Ukraine.
