VZCZCXRO9151
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #2366/01 2260307
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 130307Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9442
INFO RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY 3876
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002366 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PBTS PINR PINS PNAT PREL GG RS
Ref: Moscow 2343 
 
SUBJECT: (SBU) TFGG01: Russian media continues to push anti-U.S., 
anti-Georgian message 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a tone reminiscent of the early 20th century 
"yellow press", Russian media continues its nonstop coverage of the 
South Ossetian-Georgian conflict, through the prism of Georgian 
violence against South Ossetians.  The major themes focus on 
foreign, particularly U.S., involvement and the anti-Russia bias in 
the Western media.  The ad hominem attacks on Georgian President 
Mikhail Saakashvili and his government continue unabated (reftel). 
 
Washington is (still) aiding Georgia 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Russian television news coverage continues to emphasize 
foreign, particularly U.S., involvement in the Georgian conflict. 
Rossiya, a state television channel, on its August 11 evening news 
program highlighted an article from the Israeli tabloid "Ma'ariv" 
alleging that the U.S. was sending munitions intended for U.S. 
troops in Iraq to Georgia through Jordan.  The broadcast included 
the editorial comment that "... although the White House said it was 
not going to provide military aid, Georgia is being heavily armed." 
Russian Deputy Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn was 
quoted by various Russian TV stations as calling the return of 
Georgian troops from Iraq to Georgia on U.S. military planes as a 
form of military assistance to Tbilisi.  Prime Minister Putin 
insinuated the same in comments picked up in the broadcast and print 
press: "It's too bad that several of our partners are not helping 
us, but are attempting to interfere.  I have in mind the U.S. using 
its military transportation to redeploy Georgian troops from Iraq." 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Komsomolskaya Pravda, a pro-Kremlin tabloid, had a picture 
of Saakashvili handing out assault rifles to Georgian troops on its 
August 12 front page with the headline reading "Who prepared Georgia 
for war?  And how?"  The accompanying article detailed military aid 
given to Georgia by various NATO and "unfriendly" (ex. Ukraine) 
states.  The U.S. headed the list, even though other nations were 
listed as having given more to Tbilisi. 
 
¶4. (U) Several outlets have published criticisms from a retired 
American visiting his wife's relatives in Ossetia to support the 
idea that the U.S. is directly involved in the conflict.  Newspaper 
Izvestia quoted Florida resident Joseph Mestas as saying that the 
situation in South Ossetia was worse than what Western media has 
portrayed and that said that Saakashvili and POTUS would have to 
answer for this. State-owned English language television network 
Russia Today interviewed Mestas while running the caption headline, 
"City Turns into a Human Hell."  The Russia Today correspondent 
noted that "Some Russian officials claim that Washington carries 
part of the blame by providing Tbilisi with military assistance." 
 
(SBU) Western media = Unfair 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Complaints about Western media coverage of the conflict 
continued unabated.  On August 11, Russian television aired CNN 
footage of Saakashvili running for shelter while walking around Gori 
with French Foreign Minister Kushner.  Rossiya labeled the footage 
an example of "American TV's warfare" against Russia, explaining 
that "Saakashvili was shown coming under Russian fire, but no sound 
could be heard except voices of his bodyguards."  Russian news 
website lenta.ru continued in the same vein, stating that "The West 
is trying to scold Russia, but lacks credibility, since the 
information used [by the West] is too biased." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Yet despite cries of pro-Georgian coverage, we have 
noticed that the Russian wire service Interfax has become a primary 
source for information from the region in Western media.  Possible 
reasons for Interfax's popularity include its offering of news items 
in English and its official independence from the state, unlike its 
competitors Ria-Novosti and ITAR-TASS. 
 
(SBU) Saakashvili = Hitler; Georgians = Nazis 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Drawing upon the Soviet Union's veneration of the Second 
World War, Russian media has been  quick to compare Saakashvili to 
the German dictator and the Georgian army to fascist brownshirts. 
Kommersant, a business-oriented daily, quoted Speaker of the Russian 
Duma Boris Gryzlov as comparing Georgian actions in South Ossetia to 
Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.  Speaker of the Federation 
Council (Russia's upper house of parliament) Sergei Mironov chimed 
in by comparing the Georgian government to Nazis.  Putin compared 
Saakashvili to Saddam Hussein. 
 
¶8.  (U)  Many broadcast news programs and newspapers - including 
Izvestiya, Kommersant, Vedemosti, Nezavisamaya Gazeta -- carried 
 
MOSCOW 00002366  002 OF 002 
 
 
pictures of the Gori incident, showing a sweaty Saakashvili crouched 
between body guards with a visible look of panic on his face. 
Rossiya added further spin to the footage with the voice over: 
"Watch the hot-tempered Georgian President scared by the sound of 
distant gunfire."  TV Center commented: "No aircraft appeared in the 
sky, but the staged footage came out well."  Finally, First 
Channel's nighttime news described Saakashvili's "surprisingly 
inadequate behavior."  The offscreen comment said: "The President 
was scared by the sound of his own artillery that resumed shelling 
South Ossetia ... Unlike Saakashvili, the cameraman who filmed the 
footage remained calm, his camera did not shake." 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment: With the exception of some individual voices, 
mainstream Russian media seems united in its support for Russian 
actions in the Caucasus, its condemnation of Georgia and 
Saakashvili, and accusations of Western support for Georgia against 
Russia.  The jingoistic coverage has caught the public's attention - 
according to a poll done by TNS Gallup Media, viewership for news 
programs has grown 2-3 times while interest in films and the Olympic 
Games has dropped to second and third place. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment continued: As to reftel's hypothesis of Russia 
laying the groundwork for possible Kosovo-South Ossetia/Abkhazia 
comparison, the media coverage continues to support such a move. 
Centrist Kremlin-affiliated daily Vremya Novostey noted on August 12 
that "Moscow has already made it understood that its recognition of 
South Ossetia's and Abkhazia's independence is a matter of time." 
End comment.