Pekka Kallioniemi

“ How to recognize a pro-Russian propagandist? They don’t like to talk about Russia.

They’ll demonize the US, NATO, Ukraine, NED, CIA and the “globalists”, but if you ask Max Blumenthal, George Galloway or Aaron Maté anything about Russia, all you get is deafening silence.

— Pekka Kallioniemi [1]

• Twitter: @P_Kallioniemi

• YouTube: @TheSoupCentral

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “You Can’t Keep Politics Out of Sports – Especially in Russia”

Vatnik Soups

• Official website: Vatnik Soup

• “Vatnik Soup” - Too Hot for Moscow’s Apologists’ Taste

• hashtag: #VatnikSoup
  • It’s not my hashtag, it’s for everyone.

Concepts

Russian World

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll discuss Russkiy mir, the “Russian World”. It’s a concept that comprises of core culture of Russia, including its traditions & interactions with other cultures. This series is an attempt to explain motivations behind Russia’s actions & motivations”, December 22, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll continue talking about Russkiy mir, the “Russian World”. This time I’ll focus on the Russian idea of nationality, “Narodnost”, and I’ll also discuss Russian imperalism.”, December 23, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Kremlinism/Propaganda

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll discuss Russia’s disinformation and propaganda campaigning in more detail, and go through four of the main ”big“ themes around which most of their propaganda is based on.”, January 7, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Firehose of falsehood

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll be talking about the Russian style of online propaganda and disinformation, “Firehose of Falsehood”. It’s a commonly used Kremlin strategy for Russian information operations, which often prioritizes quantity over quality.”, May 4, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Donbas

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup and another edition of “You pronounced this nonsense, not me” we’re going to talk about the “genocide in Donbas” disinformation and propaganda trope, that’s been debunked many times but just refuses to die in the social media sphere.”, January 8, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

russia/Journalism

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup I’m going to be talking about the most dangerous profession in Russia: journalism. Many investigative journalists have sacrificed their lives to shed light into corruption, kleptocracy and war crimes committed in both Soviet Union and in Russia.”, March 14, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

NATO Expansion

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup and the newest edition of “You pronounced this nonsense, not me”, I’ll talk about the NATO expansion and how - according to Russia - NATO and the West are actually at fault for the war in Ukraine.”, March 14, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Events

Euromaidan

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup and another edition of “You pronounced this nonsense, not me”, I’ll talk about an event called the Revolution of Dignity AKA Maidan Revolution. It was a wave of demonstrations in Ukraine that took place in 2013 and 2014.”, March 13, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “As a little dessert for today’s rather heavy #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a real coup that was supposed to be done by Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, with the help of Putin. This conspiracy was revealed by a former People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Oleg Anatolyevich Tsaryov.”, March 13, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

russian invasion of Ukraine/Deportation of children

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In this thread I’ll be discussing 🇷🇺 genocide in Ukraine. I’ll focus on the child abductions & will be providing evidence that 🇷🇺 has planned this for a long time and that their intent has been announced in the state-owned media at least since the beginning of April, 2022.”, November 7, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Kremlintarianism/Rage Against the War Machine Rally

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup I’m going to talk about the “antiwar movement”. After Putin organized the fake referendums in the four Ukrainian Oblasts,various pro-Kremlin parties started calling for immediate peace in Ukraine. Unsurprisingly, the movement was planned by the Kremlin.”, April 29, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Organizations

Kremlinism/Terrorism/Wagner

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group. I have written about the topic before, but now that it’s been designated as a Transnational Criminal Organization by the US, we should reiterate some key points and update the latest news about them.”, January 22, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

The Grayzone

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce one of the biggest disinformation and propaganda blogs on the web: The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews). It’s best known for misleading reporting, disinformation and love of authoritarian regimes and dictators.”, January 1st, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Codepink

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a US non-profit organization CODEPINK (@codepink), and its founders Jodie Evans (@MsJodieEvans) and Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin). It’s best-known for its anti-US stance & for its support of totalitarian regimes around the world.”, May 17, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Vatniks

Max Abrahms

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup I’ll introduce an American academic, political scientist and Quincy Institute author, Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms). He’s best-known for his pro-Russian and pro-Syrian views, and especially for trying to fit them into an academic framework.”, March 17, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Lauren Boebert

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and gun rights activist, Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert). She’s best-known for her support of the QAnon conspiracy theory, for her support of Donald Trump, and for her pro-Russian voting patterns and hot takes.”, April 10, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Max Blumenthal

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup (thanks Mike Edward, @OpsATX for the name!) I’ll be introducing the Editor of the @TheGrayzoneNews, Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal). In his previous life, he reported on prestigious publications such as NYT, LA Times and Al Jazeera English...”, November 1st, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Noam Chomsky

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American author and academic, Noam Chomsky. He’s best-known for his long history as a political commentator and left-wing activist, and for his staunch criticism of the US foreign policy since the 1960s.”, May 18, 2023 (thread1 thread2) (pdf) (audio)

Donbass Devushka

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American propagandist and podcaster, Donbass Devushka. She’s best-known for her fake Russian identity, for her pro-Russian podcast, and for spreading false, pro-Russian narratives on social media.”, April 15, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Jimmy Dore

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll be introducing a comedian-turned-propagandist and conspiracy theorist, Jimmy Dore. He’s the host of The Jimmy Dore Show, a comedic talk show but without any comedy.”, January 28, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Nigel Farage

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a British politician and TV presenter, Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage ). He’s best-known for his prominent role in the Brexit campaign, and for his bootlicking of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.”, May 10, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Tulsi Gabbard

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and political commentator, Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard). She’s best-known for blaming absolutely everything on the US Democrats and NATO, and for being a fan of totalitarian regimes like Russia and Syria.”, January 17, 2023 (thread) (pdf) (audio)

George Galloway

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll be introducing a British reality TV star and a propagandist, George Galloway. He’s best known for his appearance on Big Brother, affiliation with Russia state-media & his love for various authoritarian regimes around the globe.”, January 17, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Caitlin Johnstone

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll be introducing an Australian “citizen journalist”, astrologer and conspiracy theorist, Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz). She’s best-known for promoting outlandish conspiracy theories, and for blaming the US and the West for absolutely everything.”, May 16, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American conspiracy theorist, lawyer and politician, Robert Kennedy Jr. (@RobertKennedyJr). He’s best-known for being the nephew of JFK, and for constantly promoting conspiratorial and false information.”, May 15, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Karin Kneissl

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup I’ll introduce an Austrian diplomat, journalist and politician Karin Kneissl. She’s best-known for serving as Austria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, blogging for RT, and being in the supervisory board of Russian integrated energy company, Rosneft.”, March 16, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Roger Köppel

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Swiss politician and journalist, Roger Köppel (@KoeppelRoger). He’s best-known for his weekly magazine, die Weltwoche, and for his pro-Kremlin commentary on social and Russia-sponsored media, as well as on his magazine.”, May 3, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

LaRouche

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a US& German political cultists, Lyndon LaRouche and Helga Zepp-LaRouche. They’re best-known for running the far-right, cult-like LaRouche movement, and for promoting conspiracy theories as well as pro-Kremlin and pro-CCP narratives.”, June 5, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

John Laughland

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce a British euroskeptic, pro-Russian and anti-American author, John Laughland. He’s best-known for his work for the Russia-funded Institute of Democracy and Cooperation and for Thierry Baudet’s political party, Forum voor Democratie.”, February 23, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Marine Le Pen

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup I’ll introduce a French lawyer and politician, Marine Le Pen. She’s best-known for her attempts at becoming the president of France and for her connections to the European far-right movement and to Vladimir Putin.”, March 26, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Caleb T. Maupin

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American pro-Russian propagandist, communist and “journalist”, Caleb T. Maupin (@RealCalebMaupin). He’s best-known for running a communist, cult-like, pro-Russian “think tank”, Center for Political Innovation.”, April 17, 2023 (thread) (pdf) (audio)

Dmitry Medvedev

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup,I’ll discuss a man who’s small in every sense. He’s the ex-president of Russia,Dmitry Medvedev.He’s currently working as the deputy chairman of the Security Council, but he’s best known for his aggressive social media behavior and sucking up to Putin.”, December 27, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Elon Musk

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American businessman and social media figure, Elon Musk (@elonmusk). He’s best-known for being the wealthiest man in the world, running companies like Tesla Inc., SpaceX and Twitter, and for parroting Kremlin’s propaganda narratives.”, June 25, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about Starlink. First I thought I would just add this to the second part of the @elonmusk soup, but it is such a complex topic that I think it requires a thread of its own.”, June 26, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a South African-American(!) businessman and social media figure, Elon Musk (@elonmusk). He’s best-known for being the wealthiest man in the world, running Tesla Inc., SpaceX & Twitter, and for parroting Kremlin’s propaganda narratives.”, June 28, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Dmitry Peskov

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov.He has worked in this position since 2000. This means that he’s been covering up events such as poisonings of Litvinenko, the Skripals & Navalny, as well as the 2nd Chechen War & Russo-Ukrainian War.”, December 29, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Jordan Peterson

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Canadian psychologist, author and media commentator, Jordan Peterson (@jordanbpeterson ). He’s best-known for his battle against the “woke culture”, and for his strong support for Putin’s “Christian values” and Russia’s war in Ukraine.”, June 9, 2023 (thread ) (pdf)

Vladimir Putin

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, voted by you, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and president, Vladimir Putin. He’s best-known for turning Russia into a totalitarian state, and for waging war in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine.”, June 21, 2023 (thread ) (pdf)

Matteo Salvini

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup we’ll do our first trip to Italy as I introduce an Italian politician and Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi). He’s best-known for his Russia-related funding scandals, and for his Euroskeptic and pro-Putin views.”, March 15, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Olga Skabeyeva

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup, I’ll introduce a Russian TV presenter and propagandist, Olga “Iron Doll of Putin” Skabeyeva. She’s best-known for her hot takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War on Russian TV.”, February 26, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Tara Reade

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American podcaster, RT columnist and former political aide, Tara Reade (@readealexandra). She’s best-known for her allegation about Joe Biden sexually assaulting her, and for supporting Putin and Russia’s genocidal war in Ukraine.”, May 31, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Wyatt Reed

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American pro-Russian propagandist, Wyatt Reed (@wyattreed13). He’s best-known for his work for Sputnik, and for parroting the classic Kremlin narratives such as “Ukrainian Nazis”, “genocide in Donbas” & the “corrupted Kiev regime”.”, May 3, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Scott Ritter

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce an American arms inspector, convicted criminal and a pro-Russian propagandist, Scott Ritter (@RealScottRitter). He’s best known for his biased takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War, his propaganda work for RT and for his sex offenses.”, February 2, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Dmitry Rogozin

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce a Russian right-wing politician and a raging spaceman called Dmitry Rogozin (@DRogozin). Rogozin has also been very active on Twitter, threatening people from Elon Musk to former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly). ”, December 24, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Donald Trump

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about the Trump 2016 presidential campaign, and how it was connected to various Russian actors. In this retrospect, I’ll introduce some of the people who worked in Trump’s 2016 campaign for the presidency, outlining their activities.”, May 5, 2023 (thread) (pdf) (audio)

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician, media personality and businessman, Donald Trump. He’s best-known for serving as the 45th president of the US, and for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints regarding Putin and the Russo-Ukrainian war.”, June 17, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about post-truth politics and how they have changed our society - in my opinion - for worse. This analysis relies heavily on the work done by academic John Hartley, and by journalist Adam Curtis.”, April 13, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Mick Wallace

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce an Irish politician and a MEP from (South) Ireland: Mick Wallace. He aligns himself strongly with another Irish MEP, Clare Daly, and his love for both Russia and China has been evident in his recent comments and appearances.”, January 11, 2023 (thread) (pdf) (Mick Wallace, Clare Daly)

Roger Waters

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a British musician and activist, Roger Waters (@rogerwaters). He’s best-known for his involvement in Pink Floyd, and for his love for the totalitarian regimes and their lies around the world.”, May 30, 2023 (thread) (pdf)

Maria Zakharova

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup I’ll introduce a russian spokeswoman and a birthday girl, Maria Zakharova. She’s been working at this position since 2015. Maria married Andrei Makarov in a glamorous ceremony in New York in 2005. This soup consists of pictures from this lavish event.”, December 25, 2022 (thread) (pdf)

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

• Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatnik soup and in the 2nd edition of “You pronounced this nonsense, not me”, I’ll introduce some of the outlandish lies and disinformation regarding Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and how he has managed to counter these smear campaigns.”, December 2, 2022 (thread) (pdf)