Suvi Hurri
Nina wrote earlier this week about Russia and commentators asked for current PR trends In Russia. I tried to answer this demand and drilled into newspapers. I found an illustrative example of black PR, one of the issues Nina wrote about.
In the end of October EUobserver.com published an article which claims that Russian state-owned news agency Ria Novosti is trying to white-wash the image of Joseph Stalin. EUobserver is a Belgian non-profit organization concentrated on EU issues. The article says that Ria Novosti has a new public relations campaign, and one of the goals is to improve the image of Russia abroad. This sounds innocent, but there may be dubious agendas.
According to EUobserver, Ria Novosti has a partner, a consultancy called RJI Companies. This agency has recruited other PR firms in this campaign. Here is one part of the conversation between RJI Companies and a major PR firm from Brussels:
PR firm: Do you want us to say that Stalin was not such a bad guy?
RJI: Well, I know it will be difficult.
PR firm: So, you want history to be rewritten?
RJI: Yes, in a way.
Ria Novosti says the claims EUobserver made are “utter rubbish” and denies launching any new projects on Russia's image. Co-operation with RJI Companies is focused on events abroad and the distribution of the Arabic-language edition of the Moscow News weekly, Ria Novosti objects.
If the claims are true, it verifies that the golden era of propaganda has a heavy legacy. If not, we have to ask who benefits of these accusations. If this case is only a bullet in the Russian media war, why would PR professionals from Brussels pull the trigger?
Some Russian journalists are assured that the restoration campaign of Stalin’s image exists and is being executed. Journalists’ opinion is based on for example recent school books with positive expressions of Stalin and statements politicians have made about him in the near past.
In my opinion this kind of image restoration campaign would be dangerous. Obvious attempts to change strong public opinion can create counter reaction and discussion which would only raise Stalin’s crimes on the table over and over again. In that case the campaign would work against itself. If something, campaign could harm Russia’s image because other countries lose their faith on Russia’s ethics.
For me it is also difficult to understand where this need to alter Stalin’s image originates? Valery Shiriaev, the deputy editor of Moscow-based paper Novaya Gazeta explains that it is important for the psychological health of the old Russian elite because otherwise they see themselves as cannibals.
Every country and every generation has their burdens. Russians should just carry theirs and eventually start to focus more on present and future.
EUobserver’s article: New pro-Russia campaign comes to EU capital
Ria Novosti’s answer: Ria-Novosti hits out against claims that it launced a PR campaign to improve Stalin's image
That seems insane that they would try to turn Stalin into a national hero. Also, as you say, it seems dangerous. History can be rewritten, I guess, but why would you want to do that when there's the danger of it then repeating itself?
ReplyDeleteNice current news you've found on the topic.
I do not see the point in this matter. It is a known fact that Stalin was a brutal murderer and no PR campaign can save him (or his victims) from this fact.
ReplyDeleteLast autumn I was in Russia, in Nadvoitsy which is located in Russian Karelia. The White Sea-Baltic Canal runs beside the small town. Stalin ordered the canal to be built and about 100000 inmates (among them artists, noble people, dissidents, jews...) participated in building it. It is estimated that about 86000 people died while building the canal and in the end, Stalin didn't even like the canal because it wasn't big enough!!! Tell the families of these victims that Stalin's image should be rethought!
Hi!!
ReplyDeletewell, as I understood the article, they wanted to rebuild Stalin's image in order to improve Russia's image. I agree with Suvi that is not very reasonable to rebuild Stalin's image. They should focus on present and future instead. Maybe it would be a good idea to improve Putins image.. (well, just a joke) My home country Austria has a huge burden as well, but we won't dare to rebuild Hitlers image..
Maria
I'm so glad that you brought this up. I always get chills when I encounter this topic..brrr. I believe that there is some kind of a restoration campaign of Stalin's image inside Russia. (And it has already been going on some time.) But to spread it abroad? Why? What do they think they can achieve with that?
ReplyDelete"Russians should just carry theirs (burden) and eventually start to focus more on present and future." (from Suvi's text) Yes, they should, but the problem is, that they have not even dealt with the past properly. There is such a reluctancy to discuss openly the past horros and crimes - people rather clung on to the "greatness" of Stalin's times.
I have actually met some Russians who think that Stalin was quite a great guy in fact... boy, didn't really know what to say.
Hi!!
ReplyDeleteyou are right the Russians have to deal with their past. but is that the right way to do that. i guess not.. This is the opposite in my opinion: they try to embellish their past.
maria
Hey, if you work you're PR well enough, you CAN rewrite history. For example, I've heard that American school books still teach that Christopher Columbus discovered America, though there must've been someone there for the conquistadors to have a conquest. It's perfectly possible to change people's opinions on history, once they've forgotten it.
ReplyDeleteThere are already Mao t-shirts, Che Guevara t-shirts - maybe Stalin is the next it thing.
This is interesting. In one blog there where discussion about genocide of Rwanda, Hitler has been mentioned few times and here we are remembering the "great" times of Stalin. If Nina K. has heard that Stalin was a "cool guy", I have unfortunately same kind of experience concerning about Hitler.
ReplyDeleteI also find it quite horrible that there are countries who are seriously questioning for example the holocaust. Apparently world's history is not the same in everywhere. How can you fight against these kind of thoughts or goals as this restoration campaing of Stalin's image, if there are things "forgotten" from our history books? Aren't these that kind of things that should be remembered? Only that way we can try to avoid repeating history like this ever again..
Where are the ethics of PR practitioners who are willing to re-write this kind of history?
The tone of this discussion is so gloomy that I have to bring some light in it. A study made in 2007 among Russian PR students stated that students consider ethics as a very important aspect in their studies and future job. Things are changing, but not over night.
ReplyDelete"Who controls the past, controls the future; who controls the present controls the past."
ReplyDelete-George Orwell.