How Conspiracy Theories Helped Putin Secure Power

posted on December 4, 2022 by Alex Umiker

Western governments have repeatedly charged Russia with engaging in

imperialist expansionism, nuclear espionage, the militancy of food, energy, and the
winter, as well as a number of other hostilities that put the welfare of millions of
people in danger, as the length of the conflict in Ukraine approaches nine months. But
a counternarrative that is gaining ground in Moscow asserts that the West actually
wants to make life miserable for the average person. An urban legend from the final
years of the Soviet Union is known as "the golden billion.". It asserts that a cabal of 1
billion global elites is plotting to amass all of the world's wealth and resources while
leaving the rest of the population to suffer and go hungry.

President Vladimir Putin and other top Kremlin figures are increasingly
supporting the theory, which has been a fringe theory in Russia for years, as a weapon
against the West amid a breakdown in relations over the conflict in Ukraine.

For the uneducated and the weak, conspiracy theories are, in my opinion, a last
resort. Whether they were shouting in the streets or using the internet, outsiders who
thought ominous, enigmatic forces were in control of world events were easily
identifiable. Inside the palaces of power, they were more knowledgeable. As British
civil servants like to say, when something goes wrong, it was typically "a cock-up, not
a conspiracy.".

However, conspiracy theorists are now found in boardrooms instead of on the

streets. They have been chosen to lead many countries, including Turkey and Brazil,
as presidents. There are conspiracies against Donald Trump, who is gearing up for his
political comeback in the US. The most dangerous conspiracy theorist of them all is
Vladimir Putin, who is presently posing a nuclear war threat to the entire world.

He was full of conspiratorial notions in his speech last week, which announced
the illegitimate annexation of a portion of Ukraine. According to Putin, the entire west
"wants us to be a colony; they do not want us to be free. ". dot . They're trying to rob
us. In the past, Putin and his closest advisers have made passing references to the
"golden billion" hoax. This theory holds that the west intends to split up Russia and
take its resources because it believes that there are only enough resources in the world
to support a billion people. He claimed last week that "satanism" had replaced religion
in western countries.

More and more evidence points to the fact that Putin actually believes in many of
the conspiracies he promotes. He's been driven by a profoundly conspiratorial
worldview for years, which influences his behavior. He has repeatedly insisted that
the "colour revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia weren't truly democratic uprisings,
but rather were manufactured "coups" by western intelligence services.

One particular threat comes from Putin. He is not, however, the only president
who holds conspiracies to be true. Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro, who may lose the
election, is advancing the idea that a significant leftist plot is under way to steal the
vote from him. He also agrees with the wild theory that the Covid-19 virus was
produced in a laboratory. I'm curious to know if conspiratorial rhetoric is a precursor
to authoritarianism, a sign of authoritarianism, or just an ongoing political tactic given
how prevalent it is in politics worldwide under all types of regimes. I personally
would support the latter, but what fascinates me most is the interaction between
conspiratorial rhetoric and authoritarianism. Putin spoke to the Russian media, over
which he obviously has considerable control, in order to support his conspiracies. He
would undoubtedly retaliate against any media outlet that challenged his assertions.
As a result, I believe there is a cyclical relationship between conspiracy theories and
media censorship, with conspiracy theories serving as justifications for governmental
control of the media while media outlets broadcast those justifications.