This article first appeared on ntv.de
He is something like the chief propagandist of Russian President Vladimir Putin: the TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov. He regularly spreads lies in his programs, promotes the war against Ukraine and even called for a “preventive nuclear strike” against the West.
For AfD politicians, this is apparently not a compelling reason to avoid appearing on the crazy propaganda program. AfD member of the Bundestag Steffen Kotré appeared on Solovyov’s live program on Thursday morning. When asked by RTL/ntv, a spokesman for the AfD said that Kotré’s appearance was “not known”.
As the BBC journalist Francis Scarr writes, Kotré claimed on “Solowjow live” that the German media were inciting the population against Russia. In doing so, he served Kremlin propaganda: Russian state media have been reporting for months that anti-Russian sentiment is being fueled by the government in Germany. In addition, the Germans are generally against supporting Ukraine, said Kotré. According to all surveys, this is not true. Opinions are only divided on the question of the delivery of battle tanks and a possible recapture of Crimea, which had been annexed by Russia.
The AfD firmly rejects arms deliveries to Ukraine and considers both the government in Kyiv and the country’s western supporters to be partly responsible for the war. “The war has several fathers, and the causes are also to be found in the West,” said AfD national chairman Tino Chrupalla at the end of last year on ZDF.
On Wednesday Solovyov also explicitly mentioned the “Bild” newspaper and the “Stern”. The German “Goebbels-Presse” closely follows what is happening on his show. That’s why he wants to address them directly, “to the Nazi bastards who got away: Yes, it’s you, ‘Bild’, ‘Stern’ and all the other trifles”.
Solovyov, who almost always wears a black Mao suit, is an integral part of the Russian media landscape with his hate propaganda. He has hosted countless political talk shows for more than twenty years. When YouTube blocked his channel Solovyov Live, he was given the TV frequency of the news channel Euronews, which Moscow had banned from Russia. Since then, Solovyov has had his own television station, which is also named after him.
Since the Russian invasion almost a year ago, Solovyov has acted as a whip: “And if you really believe that we will stop after Ukraine, then think 300 times!”, the moderator turned to in his show Solovyov Live ” to the West. “I would like to remind you that Ukraine is only an intermediate step in ensuring the strategic security of the Russian Federation.”
