George Orwell described the company, which is based on three laws, under which non-compliance is punishable. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is power. People who haven’t read Orwell’s work can then see the film version and of course remember Big Brother’s great talking head. Putin also carried out these instructions on his television.

The second half of the last week marks the end of the totalitarianism that Putin has sought for years. At about the same time, there are events that paint a picture of the Putin system. Russian occupation forces intensify attacks on Ukrainian civilian population, killing women and children without hesitation during rocket fire in residential areas.

Ignorance is power. Politruc stuffed the soldiers with many words about Putin’s two theses sent from above. First, that Ukraine is occupied by neo-Nazis who torture and terrorize a peaceful population. Secondly, and this follows from the first, that ordinary people who are called ordinary Ukrainians will be happy without seeing the Russian liberators. Juicy girls would pounce on them with flowers and passion burning in their eyes, women would bring bread and salt, and men would bring brandy to welcome the Russian brothers. In fact, they face legitimate and angry hatred, and what’s more, virtuous vulgar vows in their native Russian that they have to fall apart because it’s actually the only language they really understand.

And no one tells them that in this alleged neo-Nazi country, the president is a freely elected Russian-speaking Jew and another Russian-speaking Jew is the Minister of Defence. And that suspected liberators from neo-Nazism attacked the Babyn Jar memorial with rockets to commemorate the victims of the Nazi Holocaust in Kiev. The Russian barbarians simply repeated the actions of the German barbarians.

Freedom is slavery. In addition to “denazification”, Putin set his war goal to “demilitarize” Ukraine. Translated into normal language, it means overthrowing the democratically elected president of a foreign country and establishing power over that country. Just because Putin wants him under his control. The Kremlin said that after Moscow finished the operation, Ukraine was free to choose their president. Orwell, Orwell, it always comes to you. It doesn’t rhyme, but it’s true.

And finally: War is peace. At the end of the week, Putin stifled the last two independent audiovisual media, Radio Echo of Moscow and Television Dožď. Reason? They dare to call Putin’s war a war. He is being severely punished in Russia today.