Russian TV Propagandists Caught Red-Handed: Same Guy, Three Different People (Spy, Bystander, Heroic Surgeon)
Pity Russian propagandists. They must stage scenes of massive and
violent demonstrations in East and South Ukraine. They must patch
together actual demonstration footage with images of exploding grenades,
intermittent automatic weapon fire, wounded pro-Russian civilians, and
menacing Ukrainian extremists, organized, paid for, and directed by
sinister outside forces. They must show valiant local civilians opposing
the Neo-Nazi and ultra-nationalist juggernaut from Kiev.
The Putin propaganda machine cannot rest. It must provide new footage daily for a viewing public eager for the next Ukrainian outrage, growing angrier with each passing day, and asking: When will our great leader, Vladimir Putin, go in and rescue our poor brethren across the border in Ukraine?
Interviews with innocent by-standers and ordinary citizens are a staple fare of the coverage. A woman shows the camera hundreds of spent cartridges she gathered after a night of violence. Extremists turn outraged local residents, on their way to visit wounded comrades, away from the hospital. A babushka, in tears, bemoans the terror in which she lives and pleads for the Russians to restore order and civilization. Pretty good stuff. I’d believe it if I did not know better.
The Russian propagandists, trapped on a racing assembly line, are bound to cross wires on occasion. They will make mistakes, which they hope that viewers will not catch. But they have made a huge blunder, for which heads are falling in TV studios in Moscow and in Crimea: Three different channels have featured interviews with one Andrei Petkov, lying wounded in a hospital in the south Ukrainian city of Nikolayev. In the three interviews, he is identified by name. He is on his back in a hospital bed, describing his experiences in the previous evening’s violence, which left him with serious wounds. Petkov is dressed in a black outfit, his nose bandaged. In each interview, he speaks softly, but with earnest conviction. He cuts a sympathetic and credible figure.
The problem is that Andrei Petkov is a different person in each interview!
Andrei Petkov, Rossiya 1 program, ordinary citizen, innocent bystander
Nikolai Petkov, Ordinary Citizen
On Rossia 1 national news (Vesti), Petkov describes himself as an ordinary citizen of Nikolayev, who went on April 9 “as usual” to protest against the new Ukrainian government. At the demonstration, he was attacked by Neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists, who had been escorted into the city in busses by the Ukrainian police on orders to disperse local demonstrators by force. Petkov testifies that the radicals opened fire on peaceful demonstrators using weapons given them by Europe and the United States. (His interview is interrupted by traumatic scenes of fleeing civilians, rapid gunfire and exploding grenades). Petkov declares that he suffered a brain concussion and other gunfire wounds, which will leave him incapacitated for six months. Petkov, himself, appears to have only a bandaged nose, and the camera crew shows no pictures of the other “heavily wounded victims of the shooting.” They, with the exception of Petkov, appear to have been dismissed from the radical-controlled hospital only one day after the shootings.
Andrei Petkov, German spy, NTV television
Andrei Petkov, German Spy
NTV national news conducted an “exclusive” interview with the same Petkov, in the same hospital bed, with the same bandaged nose, only this is an entirely different Petkov. In a contrite voice, Petkov confesses he is a German spy for a secret European organization. Since he left his native Nikolayev in 1992, he acquired several citizenships and has German, Ukrainian and Russian passports. Petkov claims to own fifteen gerontology clinics in Germany and a chateau in Switzerland. This Petkov has done well for himself.
Petkov says that he flew in from Germany, where he lives, with a half million Euros, which he received from a secret group he refused to name. He bought weapons and hired a squad of fifty European mercenaries to put down both Nikolayev’s civilian protesters against new Ukrainian government and radical neo-Nazi intruders from Kiev. He wanted a “civilized” solution, but in the melee he fell afoul of the Ukrainian extremists, who shot him in the leg and nose. He had to beg the “creepy young” Ukrainian extremists for his life. He is currently waiting to be operated on and is in the hospital under special security protection.
Andrei Petkov, prominent pediatric surgeon, benefactor, and honorable citizen
Andrei Petkov, Pediatric Surgeon, Benefactor, and Patriot
The National Independent News of Crimea interviewed a third Petkov, in the same hospital, same hospital garb, and same bandage on his nose. This Petkov is noble pediatric surgeon who saved the lives of over 200 infants and who returned to his native city of Nikolayev with an “indefinite” sum of his own money to help organize local protesters against the new Ukrainian government. Attending the nighttime demonstration as an innocent bystander, he found himself caught up in a nightmare of exploding grenades and rapid gunfire from the neo-Nazi extremists. As a physician, he attempted to tend to the wounded carried into tents, but the extremists fired into the makeshift emergency facility. During the shooting he himself was wounded in the nose and leg. The defiant Petkov declares that he is not intimidated. He will personally continue to resist until justice is achieved.
Internet viewers of Rossia 1 news and NTV report posted on YouTube caught the Petkov fabrications and expressed their outrage. The viewers of the Crimean news fairly tale were given no chance to comment.
The Putin propaganda machine cannot rest. It must provide new footage daily for a viewing public eager for the next Ukrainian outrage, growing angrier with each passing day, and asking: When will our great leader, Vladimir Putin, go in and rescue our poor brethren across the border in Ukraine?
Interviews with innocent by-standers and ordinary citizens are a staple fare of the coverage. A woman shows the camera hundreds of spent cartridges she gathered after a night of violence. Extremists turn outraged local residents, on their way to visit wounded comrades, away from the hospital. A babushka, in tears, bemoans the terror in which she lives and pleads for the Russians to restore order and civilization. Pretty good stuff. I’d believe it if I did not know better.
The Russian propagandists, trapped on a racing assembly line, are bound to cross wires on occasion. They will make mistakes, which they hope that viewers will not catch. But they have made a huge blunder, for which heads are falling in TV studios in Moscow and in Crimea: Three different channels have featured interviews with one Andrei Petkov, lying wounded in a hospital in the south Ukrainian city of Nikolayev. In the three interviews, he is identified by name. He is on his back in a hospital bed, describing his experiences in the previous evening’s violence, which left him with serious wounds. Petkov is dressed in a black outfit, his nose bandaged. In each interview, he speaks softly, but with earnest conviction. He cuts a sympathetic and credible figure.
The problem is that Andrei Petkov is a different person in each interview!
Andrei Petkov, Rossiya 1 program, ordinary citizen, innocent bystander
On Rossia 1 national news (Vesti), Petkov describes himself as an ordinary citizen of Nikolayev, who went on April 9 “as usual” to protest against the new Ukrainian government. At the demonstration, he was attacked by Neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists, who had been escorted into the city in busses by the Ukrainian police on orders to disperse local demonstrators by force. Petkov testifies that the radicals opened fire on peaceful demonstrators using weapons given them by Europe and the United States. (His interview is interrupted by traumatic scenes of fleeing civilians, rapid gunfire and exploding grenades). Petkov declares that he suffered a brain concussion and other gunfire wounds, which will leave him incapacitated for six months. Petkov, himself, appears to have only a bandaged nose, and the camera crew shows no pictures of the other “heavily wounded victims of the shooting.” They, with the exception of Petkov, appear to have been dismissed from the radical-controlled hospital only one day after the shootings.
Andrei Petkov, German spy, NTV television
NTV national news conducted an “exclusive” interview with the same Petkov, in the same hospital bed, with the same bandaged nose, only this is an entirely different Petkov. In a contrite voice, Petkov confesses he is a German spy for a secret European organization. Since he left his native Nikolayev in 1992, he acquired several citizenships and has German, Ukrainian and Russian passports. Petkov claims to own fifteen gerontology clinics in Germany and a chateau in Switzerland. This Petkov has done well for himself.
Petkov says that he flew in from Germany, where he lives, with a half million Euros, which he received from a secret group he refused to name. He bought weapons and hired a squad of fifty European mercenaries to put down both Nikolayev’s civilian protesters against new Ukrainian government and radical neo-Nazi intruders from Kiev. He wanted a “civilized” solution, but in the melee he fell afoul of the Ukrainian extremists, who shot him in the leg and nose. He had to beg the “creepy young” Ukrainian extremists for his life. He is currently waiting to be operated on and is in the hospital under special security protection.
Andrei Petkov, prominent pediatric surgeon, benefactor, and honorable citizen
The National Independent News of Crimea interviewed a third Petkov, in the same hospital, same hospital garb, and same bandage on his nose. This Petkov is noble pediatric surgeon who saved the lives of over 200 infants and who returned to his native city of Nikolayev with an “indefinite” sum of his own money to help organize local protesters against the new Ukrainian government. Attending the nighttime demonstration as an innocent bystander, he found himself caught up in a nightmare of exploding grenades and rapid gunfire from the neo-Nazi extremists. As a physician, he attempted to tend to the wounded carried into tents, but the extremists fired into the makeshift emergency facility. During the shooting he himself was wounded in the nose and leg. The defiant Petkov declares that he is not intimidated. He will personally continue to resist until justice is achieved.
Internet viewers of Rossia 1 news and NTV report posted on YouTube caught the Petkov fabrications and expressed their outrage. The viewers of the Crimean news fairly tale were given no chance to comment.
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