A circus clown called Pravda!
Putin’s mouthpiece is a flabbergasting piece of shambles
On September 24, 2009, Pravda published news (and last month uploaded explicit videos too!) that featured a Russian based US diplomat Kyle Hatcher cavorting pleasurably with prostitutes. US Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, defended and clarified that the tape was “clearly fabricated.” As per Beyrle, “the video spliced genuine footage of diplomat Kyle Hatcher in a Moscow hotel room with staged footage of a couple having sex.” The attempt to frame Kyle seemed so ludicrous it could well have been managed by a high school kid. But then, this kind of zany tragicomic news is no stranger to Pravda. Take this multi-part series they had on the topic of sex in 2007. On April 18, 2007, Pravda presented their own version of a juiced up adultery survey on various countries. Fair enough. But six day later, the paper published news on sex museums, following the same within a week with a detailed report on how “future technologies may destroy sex as the ultimate pleasure for humans.” On May 7, 2007, the editorial team came out with a deeply thought review of breasts – about how various media outlets portray breasts differently.
Oh, what all it could have achieved; and look at where it has ended. To say that the Russian government’s official mouthpiece (former, they claim), Pravda, has descended into becoming a ludicrous two crap piece of dimwit news creation, is to state only the tip of the Kremlin iceberg. There has been a lot of talk about Vladimir Lenin’s legacy. It requires no reiteration to praise his role in the development and progress of the Soviet Union. When it came to the Pravda of old, he left no stone unturned to take it to new heights and to make sure that it echoed the voice of the nation. Pravda used to follow Lenin’s editorial stance regularly and voiced what came to be known as Leninism. It was actually after the October Revolution of 1917 that Pravda started selling nearly 100,000 copies daily. Pravda expectably became an official publication of the Soviet Communist Party and a channel for announcing official policy. Decades – and many Soviet premiers – later, it fills one with sadness to see the pathetic state that Pravda has been left in. Sample a few of its breaking news.
One year earlier, in January, 2006, Pravda had headlined an article on Condoleezza Rice as follows: “The US Secretary of State released a coarse anti-Russian statement. This is because she is a single woman who has no children.” Their brilliant analysis commented, “[Rice] loses her reason because of her late single status. Nature takes it all... Such women are very rough. They are all workaholics, public workaholics. They can be happy only when they are talked and written about everywhere.” That sounds nothing compared to what they did in July 2008. In an article titled, “George and Laura Bush to divorce after election because of Condi Rice?” Pravda confirmed that “George W. Bush has been having an affair with US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. A former employee of the presidential administration told The National Examiner [sic!] that Laura Bush once spent her night in a hotel to stay away from the White House… Laura Bush will reportedly be paid $20 million in case she divorces her husband…” Another article was titled, “Condoleezza Rice’s sexual worries...”
It’s sad that Putin has chosen to ignore the ridiculous bunch of editors’ mob running the scallywag show in Pravda. Or perhaps he hasn’t. Whichever way it is, Pravda presents a huge opportunity for Putin to develop his international image in an intellectual manner. His recent dalliances with Russian Patriarch Kirill seem to be paying off double time with Kirill visiting many anti-Putin countries and regions in a successful attempt to change perceptions about Russia. Putin may not realise this, that despite the editors, Pravda has a huge international brand value. And yes, some of the current news reports seem to have obtained a saner tint. Even the website has become pretty upbeat. But unless Putin leverages Pravda to run international commentaries from the Krugmans and Friedmans of the world, the media vehicle’s potent strength would never be realised... Last we checked, Pravda was running Cindy Crawford’s bikini clad photographs as the opening views on its home page.
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