Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian president and a permanent member of the Security Council, has accused the United States of conducting a "mental war" against Russia through its institutions, research centers, and universities.
Patrushev's accusations were made in an article for "National Defense," where he claimed that American organizations are focused on conducting Russophobic research and falsifying history.
He argued that these institutions glorify individualism to eradicate Russians' sense of societal responsibility, patriotism, duty to their ancestors, and the future of their children.
He accused politically motivated historians worldwide of downplaying the Soviet Union's role in liberating their countries from fascism at Washington's behest.
Patrushev stated that this historical manipulation empowers the "Anglo-Saxons" and replaces traditional values with a consumerist mindset.
He criticized self-proclaimed truth-seekers for portraying heroism as irrational and detrimental to the health and well-being of the "free individual."
Tools of the "Mental War"
According to Patrushev, the "mental war" employs a wide range of tools from the information-propaganda arsenal, whose effectiveness is ensured through techniques of managed information-psychological impact.
He highlighted that Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland are also involved in this campaign, where historical falsification against Russia has become state policy. Western specialists, he claimed, do not need to study facts to fulfill the "anti-Russian order of the U.S. State Department."
In response, Patrushev called for the rapid implementation of patriotic education foundations and principles of spiritual and moral development in the education system, youth, and national policy. He also urged an increase in cultural and educational activities in the historical sphere.
Federal agencies, according to Patrushev, must continue systematic work to enhance Russia's humanitarian presence worldwide, counteract Russophobia, and preserve the memory of Russia's role in world history abroad.
