How Charlie became a Russian propaganda hero Pundits, spokespeople, and even Putin’s so-called ‘personal confessor’ warn of U.S. civil war, cannibals, and more in the wake of Kirk’s murder
The assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10 and the subsequent political fallout have dominated news headlines across the U.S. and reverberated globally. Kirk became widely known outside the United States, largely through social media and especially YouTube, as many conservatives adopted his rhetoric. Russian state propaganda has also weighed in on his legacy, though coverage from Moscow often obscures how polarizing a figure Kirk was during his lifetime. Russian officials and talking heads cast him as a defender of “traditional values,” a peacemaker, and “a prophet without honor in his own country.” Meduza reviews the main talking points about Charlie Kirk and his murder that have circulated in Russian propaganda.
America on the brink of civil war
The program “The Big Game,” Channel One, September 11
Political scientist Elena Suponina: This looks nothing like the kind of democracy American leaders have been trying to present to the world for years. […] America is dangerously divided. If this isn’t a warning sign of a possible civil war down the road, then what is? Society is split, and Trump doesn’t have any options left except to crack down harder. […] This definitely won’t be the last political killing we see in America.
State Duma Deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov: Obviously, this isn’t like when Kennedy was killed, but when you look at what this could mean politically, it’s comparable to the murder of Martin Luther King. That was back in 1968, and it led to really bad race riots all over America.
Military analyst Alexey Leonkin: America is falling apart. Trump’s plan to get out of unnecessary wars is meant to focus on problems at home. But they’re not letting him do it. And they’re sending him a message: if you don’t stay involved in Ukraine and the Middle East, then stuff like this is going to happen to your people. […] I think [Trump] gets it now — the deep state he’s up against has effectively declared open season.
Kirk died for traditional values
Charlie Kirk, a young man with a beautiful wife and two children, stood for the real America that emerges today from behind the hideous face of the woke movement, from underneath all that’s ultra-liberal, anti-Christian, and anti-God. He spent his life fighting for traditional values. This is obviously a terrible indictment of America. It shows there’s a civil war going on in every city there. Some people are calling Charlie Kirk a martyred figure. I guess you could think of it that way.
Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea, known as “Putin’s confessor,” writing in a column for the ”Orthodoxy.ru” website:
In an era of post-truth, relativism, and militant liberalism, when reality is constructed by media and social networks, and conformism has become the norm, the truth drowns in a sea of political correctness. Charlie Kirk dared to swim against the tide. He recognized no half-measures, compromises, or bargains with his conscience. He cared nothing for what was fashionable, what was accepted, what the crowd dictated. He permitted himself a luxury unprecedented in our time — calling things what they really were, even though he knew that such an uncompromising stand would lead to significant consequences, potentially including the most terrible ones imaginable.
What is particularly admirable about Charlie Kirk’s approach was his willingness to carry the message of the Kingdom of Heaven, traditional values, and conservative principles into the most seemingly inappropriate venues, where most people didn’t want to hear any of it. He chose a “missionary field” that was perhaps the most important, but, as we have learned, hardly safe. [He went somewhere] about as risky as preaching to a tribe of cannibals: university campuses, the youth culture of Generations Z and Y.
Have had very positive discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church on recognizing Charlie Kirk’s spiritual contributions to Christianity. We expect the Church to soon publish an article on his advancement of Christian causes. Charlie’s legacy knows no borders. 🙏
Kirk was pro-Russian
Charlie Kirk was one of the biggest pro-Russia voices among American conservatives: he wanted better relationships with Russia and was against sending American weapons to Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova, official spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry:
[…] I want to remind people that [Kirk] actually pushed for peace in Ukraine, understood what really started this conflict, and called out the Kyiv government for actions that were killing their own citizens.
He wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is and call out the actions of his own countrymen, Americans, who “expanded” this whole tragedy under the previous administration. […]
The reaction to the tragedy has become yet another manifestation of the perception, now entrenched in the ultra-liberal West, of violence and terror as an acceptable method for combating dissent and suppressing alternative viewpoints. […]
We’ll be watching this situation. It proves that the West needs to deal with its own issues and problems first, because they’re huge. They have no moral right to preach to others, let alone punish others, until they get rid of stuff like this. I’m not talking about the actual crime, but about the lack of a proper response to this crime.