Pick and Mix

I see it more that they are doing a pick and mix of different tropes and elements. Dugin, for instance, he is clearly very bright and has a real grasp on symbolism, which is probably why he’s so successful because there’s not that many people around who do understand it. But as the Russians did with Wagner, which is really clever what they did with Wagner. And I’m not even sure that they understand what they did by linking in with the foundation of the Germanic people.

Source: Magic as Propaganda Disguised in Disinfolklore

They don’t really understand what they’re doing, but they are brilliant at it. And they’re using symbols and tools which are… politicians and are army people or are specialists in disinformation, for instance, they’re not at the races, they don’t get it at all. They’re not even valuing it.

Source: Magic as Propaganda Disguised in Disinfolklore

Russian War Magic operates as pastiche — a pick and mix of mythological symbols, from the Wagner Group’s Germanic roots to Soviet imperial nostalgia. The paradox: they are brilliant at deploying symbols they do not fully understand. The specialists in disinformation “don’t get it at all.” But the symbols work regardless.

← Previous: Contagion | Back to War Magic | Next: Artifact in a Museum →