Interview with Putin: Russian leader distorts Western picture of the world again

The long-awaited full interview with Tucker Carlson is getting millions of views and is expected to get a billion.

Photo: Kremlin.ru

During the interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a historical insight about the reasons for the emergence of Ukraine and its place in the world. He also explained the reasons for the special military operation, the reasons that led to the collapse of the USSR. He also talked about relations with Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, etc.

Many viewers were impressed with Putin's 30-minute history discourse. Comments like "Imagine Biden giving an uninterrupted history of America for 30 minutes" are getting tens of thousands of likes.

"Putin spent over 28 minutes going through 1,000 years of Eastern European history without a single note in his hand, Biden has no idea what he had for lunch. It's terrifying."

Interestingly, world media paid first priority attention to yesterday's news about Zelensky's decision to dismiss Zaluzhny and replace him with Alexander Syrsky. Of course, they did not say that Ukrainian soldiers call Syrsky "General the Butcher” and "Commander 200" (designation of the killed), nor do they that Syrsky is a native of the Russian Federation, with a Soviet-Russian military education, whose mother and relatives (in Russia) like posts in Putin's support.

American journalists, in particular, said that the importance of the interview was overestimated. They also stressed that millions of people would thus know Russia's position, whereas the Russian president demonstrated "tactical confidence in his abilities” while his opponents were experiencing a "dangerous moment.”

The New York Times said that the Russian president called on the United States to negotiate on Ukraine.

"In a two-hour interview, President Vladimir Putin of Russia was more direct than usual about how he sees his Ukraine invasion ending: not with a military victory, but a deal with the West," The NYT said.

The interview also demonstrated the following:

• Ukraine is experiencing difficulties on the battlefield,
• further military assistance to Kyiv has stalled,
• the number of Russia-friendly politicians in the world is increasing on both sides of the Atlantic.

"Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin went exactly how everyone expected, as not so much of an interview, but a demonstration by Putin of the ease with which he could utterly overpower one of the United States' most prominent media figures,” Rolling Stone wrote.

The Guardian sang its own story. British journalists assumed that the interview marked a new level of infamy for Carlson, who often criticised US support for Ukraine and called Ukrainian President Zelensky a "Ukrainian pimp” and a "rat-like oligarch.”

American journalist and musician Joey Mannarino admitted that the fact that Carlson made the interview happen and gave the world an opportunity to hear Putin's point of view was very positive.

The BBC strongly disagreed with what ordinary Americans thought of the interview. From the point of view of the BBC, Putin talked a lot about the beginning of the "invasion,” while claiming that Russia did not attack Ukraine. According to Putin, Moscow was simply reacting to national security threats.

British journalists also wondered why Carlson did not ask Putin about most important (for whom?) — fictitious war crimes in Bucha, the evacuation of Ukrainian children to Russia (where they could feel safe and rest in Artek resort), the arrest warrant from ICC, the jailed extremist blogger and so on and so forth.

CBS News said that the interview was a silver bullet that was shot overseas into the heart of the old world order.

Business Insider noted that while Tucker Carlson was promoting his interview with Putin, the US support for Ukraine reached a new low.

Mirror US quoted Keir Giles, author and researcher studying Russia, who could not find a better thing to say other than:

"Tucker Carlson's interview with Putin is good news for everybody involved. The only problem is, everybody involved is an enemy of the United States, of the West, of democracy and of genuine journalism."

The Wall Street Journal is upset that Carlson's interview provided Putin with an opportunity to speak to Americans directly in prime time the day when negotiations on additional aid to Ukraine began in the US Senate.

The Daily Mail pointed out a very important aspect in the interview. Putin made a sensational statement for the West that a peace agreement on Ukraine was once almost reached, but the United States and its allies wanted to continue the conflict for as long as possible.

Al Jazeera noted that Putin did not conceal the fact that his government was in contact with the United States, whereas a peaceful resolution to the war would only be possible if Washington agreed to stop arms supplies to Ukraine.

Many American media did not appreciate the historical insight that Putin gave in the interview. They called it deceptive (like CNN did) because it differs from the Western picture of the world, in which, for example, it was the USA that defeated Hitler and the USSR "only helped the Americans defeat Nazism"…