The Kremlin sent the Russian media a methodology on how to write about the results of 2022. According to Meduza, the first thing the Russian media should do is emphasize that Volodymyr Putin, by unleashing the war, was saving Russia from an attack by NATO and Ukraine. There is also the thesis that since 2014, Western countries have been going to “divide and conquer the Russian people”. The war, that is, the “special operation”, should be called successful, and an example of achieving goals is “increase in lands”, that is, occupied territories. The methodology does not mention defeats at the front.

The document is divided into four parts: “Main”, “Strengthening of Russia”, “SVO” (Special military operation) and “New World Order”. In the “Strengthening Russia” section, it is recommended to write about how high Putin’s rating is and about the “unconditional support of the special operation” by the Russians. The “New World Order” section says that the media should talk about Russia as “leaders of countries” who “do not recognize the exclusivity of the West” and call it “the leader of a just, democratic and multipolar world”. At the same time, Putin “gives Europe a chance to come to its senses” and stop “being a US vassal”.

These are all the most common theses of Russian disinformation of the last 10 months. Propaganda is constantly trying to convince the Russians and the anti-NATO world to justify the defeats inflicted on them by the Ukrainian army. Propaganda also claims that Putin's rating is growing, and all Russians support the war, but the real picture, even from studies of Russian-controlled sociological services, is different: Putin's rating is falling, the number of supporters of the war is decreasing. In world politics, Russia is now as far from “leading positions” as its closest partners - Syria, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. And thanks to the sanctions imposed against Russia by dozens of countries around the world, it is becoming increasingly dependent on really influential countries, primarily China.