Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four portrayed ‘dead end of Western liberalism’ not Russia

GEORGE ORWELL’S Nineteen Eightyfour was written to describe Western liberalism not Russia, a top Moscow diplomat has insisted, despite the Kremlin still refusing to call its invasion of Ukraine “war”.

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, and one of the Kremlin’s staunchest propagandists, was quizzed at a talk by a member of the public who suggested Russia is living in a modern-day replay of Orwell’s novel that depicts a society in which all natural rights ceased to exist.

“We thought Orwell was describing totalitarianism,” Ms Zakharova said.

“This is a global fake. He wrote about how liberalism would lead humanity into a dead end.” She suggested that the audience member tell her relatives abroad that “it’s you in the West who live in a fantasy world where a person can be cancelled”.

Russia’s propaganda campaign through state media, which presents a distorted picture of reality, has drawn comparisons to Nineteen Eighty-four and the line: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”

Russia even adopted a law that makes it a crime to use the words “war” and “invasion” to describe what the Kremlin has dubbed a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Ukrainians have mocked Russian state media claims that Moscow was “liberating” Ukrainians from “Nazis” by posting images of their houses and kitchens destroyed by air strikes, joking that they were finally “free” from their homes and possessions.

Meanwhile, discontent about the war continues to surface in Russia.

The audience at a packed punk concert in St Petersburg on Saturday was filmed chanting “F**k war!” following prompts by the band’s front-man.

In Russia’s North Caucasus, a student at a school graduation party in a small town in Dagestan was filmed over the weekend shouting “No to war! Free Ukraine! Putin is a devil!” in front of the whole school.

A pro-kremlin channel on the Telegram app yesterday identified the teenager, saying that she faces charges of “discrediting the Russian armed forces”, which are punishable with a fine or jail .

‘Orwell wrote about how liberalism would lead humanity into a dead end, not totalitarianism’