A second video showing Putin alongside Stalin and Catherine II was shown at the SPIEF
At the economic forum in St. Petersburg, prior to Vladimir Putin’s speech, attendees were shown a CGI-generated video in which the Russian president was placed on a par with Catherine II and Joseph Stalin. The video promotes the idea of Russia’s “historical mission” as a force that supposedly ensures order in the world.
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, prior to Vladimir Putin’s speech, participants were shown a video created using artificial intelligence that constructs an image of Russia’s continuous “historical role” from imperial times to the present. In the clip, Catherine II is portrayed as a ruler who, in 1780, allegedly promoted the idea of “protecting neutral trade” amid global conflicts, and Russia as a force that ensures stability during periods of global upheaval.
Next, Joseph Stalin appears in the video, with a reference to 1942 and the anti-Hitler coalition, emphasizing the unification of various states in the face of a common threat, despite deep ideological differences.
The climax comes with a reference to the so-called Astana format of negotiations on Syria in 2015, where Vladimir Putin is portrayed as a politician who allegedly “brought irreconcilable enemies to the table” and helped stabilize the conflict. “The world has entered an era of irreversible change,” the video concludes, describing Russia as “a force capable of halting these destructive trends” and “a guarantor that agreements will be upheld.”
At the same time, the video does not mention that Russia, as a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum, committed to respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty but later violated these guarantees, which became the basis for a full-scale war. This is reported by Russian media.
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