Margarita Simonyan, the head of Russia Today (RT) and long-time Vladimir Putinally, said on Sunday for Russians it is better to go fight in Ukraine and possibly die rather than live in a western-dominated world, Newsweek reports.
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Death over values
Simonyan, the prominent State TV commentator, is exempted from fighting in Ukraine herself due to being a woman and part of the media.
Nevertheless, this did not stop her from claiming for other Russians it is better to die than live under western values which she described as unbearable. Her arguments also invoked culture and biology.
‘One day I will be prohibited to put dresses on my daughters and to explain to my son that he is a boy. This is already happening in many countries. For me, it’s unbearable. For me, this is worse than war. Indeed, it’s worse than war.’
‘The west is spreading an ultra-liberal fascist trash’
According to Simonyan, western values are a significant threat to humankind, The Daily Beast reports.
‘The world is at a dead end in terms of values, and the west is the cause and accelerating the demise towards the destruction of mankind, even without any kind of war.'
Furthermore, she described western values as ultra-liberal mixed with fascism and used a cancer analogy to emphasize the problems she sees with a western led world.
War has goals. Along with tragedies, pain and other understandable things, war has pride, the happiness of victory, and certain personal growth. There are changes in personality that lead to deeper self-awareness as a part of your nation, as a part of certain values and ideals,
What does that ultra-liberal fascist trash have,
I don't know. It spreads as an uncontrollable tumor, against which the chemotherapy is ineffective. If you allow it anywhere near your borders, before you know it, you'll be living in a country that is dictating that you must live a certain way. With our mentality, to live this way is unbearable.'
Simonyan also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying that the world is changing for the better under his influence.
Sources used:
-Newsweek: ‘Putin Ally Exempt From Military Draft Encourages People to Die for Russia’
-The Daily Beast: ‘Top Putin Lackey Urges Russians to Choose Violent Death Over War Defeat’