Anti-Semitism and Russian ‘Active Measures’
By: Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine
Uman — On Wednesday, March 4, a research paper by Massimiliano Di Pasquale for the Germani Institute, titled “Antisemitism and Russian Active Measures From the Tsars to Putin”, was presented to the Italian Senate. Freely accessible from the foundation’s official website, it employs historical methods, bibliography, source comparison, and a rigorous conceptual approach to a topic often overlooked in the Italian media debate: antisemitism as a Russian ideological and propaganda tool, reimagined in the Kremlin’s ‘active measures’ and used against Ukraine through the lie of denazification.
Having personally appreciated the author’s commendable work, including on the ground here in Ukraine, I feel it is my duty to bring it to the attention of our readers because it addresses a topic that is now more relevant than ever, which has been exploited by Russian propaganda for years. From the very introduction, his research links contemporary cognitive warfare to the strategic antisemitic narratives disseminated by Russian media and the amplifiers of the pro-Kremlin narrative in Italy and Europe.
Proceeding not by slogans but by levels, Di Pasquale defines the theoretical framework of ‘cognitive warfare’ and ‘active measures’, reconstructs their Soviet genealogy, demonstrates Putin’s modernization of these tools, and then connects this architecture to contemporary antisemitic narratives. He does not focus on isolated episodes but places them within a historical continuum and a strategy of power. Following a verifiable argumentative path and an extensive bibliography — ranging from Snyder to Cinnella, from Khapaeva to Stanley, from Belton to Werth — his paper precisely dismantles one of the most widespread falsehoods of Russian propaganda: the idea that Ukraine must be ‘denazified’ because it is controlled by antisemitic forces.
It demonstrates that this is not an objective statement but a propagandistic narrative, supporting what Alla Perdei and I have verified over the years through valuable testimonies, such as that of David Piguet (one of the ten Regional Directors and team leaders of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine). The text clearly explains how, starting on February 24, 2022, Putin adopted the strategy of the mirror accusation, blaming the victim for the crime the attacker was about to commit.
Confronted with the fact that President Zelensky is Jewish, the Kremlin spread false narratives to delegitimize even his Jewish identity, going so far as to downplay the role of anti-Semitism in Nazi ideology. The key point is very strong: the distortion of the Holocaust itself becomes a form of anti-Semitism.
Yet, much toxic information continues to portray the problem backwards.
Antisemitism emerges not as a structural feature of contemporary Ukraine but as a Russian historical-political repertoire and a discursive weapon used by the Kremlin to demonize Kyiv, confuse Western audiences, and justify aggressive war.
This shift is crucial because it redirects focus from propaganda stereotypes to the actual ideological foundation.
Di Pasquale’s extensive historical analysis, which reaches back to Tsarist Russia, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and the evolution of anti-Judaism into modern antisemitism – connecting imperial tradition, Russian political culture, and ongoing exploitation – prevents us from dismissing Russian antisemitism as mere accident or deviation. Instead, it is presented as a persistent thread that reappears in new forms, viewing the present not as isolated but as a long-term revival.
By linking the Kremlin’s rhetoric to a mix of imperial nationalism, the cult of violence, politicized Orthodoxy, neo-medievalism, and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, it becomes clear that anti-Semitism is not marginal but a central part of Russian neo-imperialism.
Alexander Dugin’s (an ideologue of rashism) analysis of Tsarebozhie, Patriarch Kirill’s role, and the rhetoric about «Western evil» show how anti-Jewish hatred fits into a comprehensive, apocalyptic, and anti-modern worldview.
Fake news about alleged anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine, narratives about Jews being attacked, an intrinsically anti-Semitic Ukraine, or systemic Ukrainian Nazism — spread by pro-Kremlin outlets to smear Ukraine — are particularly pervasive, for example, here in Uman, one of the cities with the highest Jewish concentrations in all of Ukraine. Too many media outlets and commentators ignore or distort the issue.
What’s at issue is not the existence of individual extremist phenomena — which any serious scholar distinguishes from the character of an entire state or its people – but rather the systematic and manipulative use of these accusations by Russian propaganda.
As Di Pasquale clarifies in an initial methodological disclaimer, citing Italian individuals, organizations, or media outlets does not imply that organic connections to the Russian Federation are being attributed. This is a crucial and genuinely academic caution we have consistently emphasized in our articles: it signals rigor, proportionality, and a clear effort to distinguish between narrative convergence, influence, amplification, and direct ties.
Avoiding misleading inferences and clearly defining the scope of the argument is essential not only to condemn propaganda but to analyze it. Restoring logical clarity to a subject polluted by years of disinformation is vital today.
It’s not Ukraine that is generating the anti-Semitic narrative, but Russia, which, through its ideological tradition and its machinery of active measures, continues to produce and spread this rhetoric – often falsely portraying Ukraine as ‘Nazi’.
The ongoing blackouts severely damaged our house’s heating system in Western Ukraine while we were in the Donbas.
Without electricity, the pump couldn’t circulate the liquid while the fire was lit. As a result, the system caught fire, and the whole house was at risk of burning. Fortunately, it did not, but the whole system needs to be changed, and the house needs to be restored. Tubes are all bent, walls are blackened by haze, and the heating system doesn’t work, requiring an entirely new system.
We are doing our best since Alla’s parents live there, but there’s still a lot to work on here, too, as the people around us are in no better situation.
We’re renewing our fundraising campaign and thanking everyone who joins us in helping us restore what Russia is destroying.
Even a small donation helps.
We’ll keep you updated on developments.
Thank you all, dear friends
反犹主义与俄罗斯“积极措施”
作者：Giorgio Provinciali
翻译：旺财球球
乌克兰前线报道
乌曼 — 3月4日周三，Germani研究所的马西米利亚诺·迪·帕斯夸莱向意大利参议院提交了一篇题为《从沙皇到普京的反犹主义与俄罗斯积极措施》的研究论文。该文可在该基金会官方网站免费获取。论文运用了历史方法、参考文献、资料比对与严谨的概念框架，研究一个在意大利媒体讨论中长期被忽视的话题：反犹主义作为俄罗斯意识形态与宣传工具，在克里姆林宫的“积极措施”中被重塑，并通过“去纳粹化”的谎言被用来攻击乌克兰。
我个人对作者的可贵研究深表赞赏，包括他在乌克兰前线的实地工作。我认为我有义务将此研究介绍给读者，因为该文触及一个当下比以往任何时候都更为重要、并被被俄罗斯宣传机器利用多年的题，。从论文引言开始，他的研究即将当代认知战与俄罗斯媒体及意大利和欧洲亲克里姆林宫话语放大器所传播的战略性反犹叙事联系起来。
（我与Alla在乌克兰赫尔松拍摄的视频——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
迪·帕斯夸莱并不以口号式论述，而是逐层推进展开研究：他界定了“认知战”和“积极措施”的理论框架，追溯其苏联时期的渊源，阐述普京如何将这些工具现代化，进而将该体系与当代反犹叙事相连接。他不聚焦于孤立事件，而是将其置于历史延续性与权力策略之中。通过可核验的论证路径并援引广泛参考文献，从斯奈德到奇内拉、从卡帕耶娃到斯坦利、从贝尔顿到韦尔特，他的论文精准拆解了俄罗斯宣传中最广泛流传的一大谎言：即乌克兰必须“去纳粹化”，因为它被反犹势力控制。
论文表明，这说法并非客观事实，而是一种宣传性叙述，这一点与我和艾拉多年来通过珍贵证词所核实的情况完全一致，这些证词来自例如欧洲安全与合作组织乌克兰特别监察团十位区域主任之一大卫·皮格埃的证言。文中清楚说明，自2022年2月24日起，普京采用了“镜像指控”的策略，即把实施侵害的攻击者的罪行反而归咎于受害者。
面对泽连斯基总统为犹太人这一事实，克里姆林宫散布虚假叙述使图否定其犹太身份，甚至试图淡化反犹在纳粹意识形态中的地位。关键点极为明显：对大屠杀本身的歪曲本身就成为一种反犹主义。
（音频：能与著名美国分析师马克·麦克纳米（Mark McNamee）进行友好交谈并获其在节目“铸史：乌克兰战争”（History in the Making: The War in Ukraine）中专集讨论该议题，我深感荣幸与愉快。我在此分享该播客：https://open.spotify.com/show/7rnZ6ruHPH393uoKfnHlVV）
（音频：同时也与各位分享此前一场非常有趣的讨论，与彼得雷乌斯将军的对话）
然而，大量恶意信息仍在颠倒黑白。
反犹主义并非当代乌克兰的结构性特征，而是作为一套俄罗斯的历史政治曲目和克里姆林宫的话语武器，被用来妖魔化基辅、混淆西方公众并为侵略战争辩护。
此一转变至关重要，因为它将人们的关注点从宣传刻板印象转向真正的意识形态根源。
迪·帕斯夸莱的广泛历史分析可追溯至沙皇俄国、《锡安长老会纪要》以及反犹宗教偏见向现代反犹主义的演变——将帝国传统、俄罗斯政治文化与持续的工具化联系起来——这使我们不能再将俄罗斯的反犹主义视为偶发或偏差，而应视为一个不断以新的形式重新出现、并贯穿数百年的持续性线索，将当下视为非孤立的长期复兴的一部分。
通过把克里姆林宫的修辞与帝国民族主义、暴力崇拜、被政治化的东正教、新中世纪主义和反犹阴谋论混合相连，便清晰可见：反犹主义并非边缘现象，而是俄罗斯新帝国主义的核心部分。
亚历山大·杜金（俄系主义的意识形态家）关于“沙皇救世主观”的分析、主教基里尔的角色以及关于“西方邪恶”的叙事，显示出反犹仇恨如何契合一种全面的、末世论式的、反现代的世界观。
（视频：我也想向 Fabio Scacciavillani 致以感谢，感谢他在“Inglorious Globastard”节目中对我的邀请。我将这篇文章分享给 Medium 上的朋友们，因为我相信它能帮助大家理解许多我在近期文章中讨论的冲突议题——这些议题不幸地经常被那些不在现场、甚至可能从未到过现场的人错误报道——版权属原作者 Inglorious Globastards）
在乌曼这类拥有最集中犹太人口的乌克兰城市，关于所谓乌克兰反犹事件、犹太人被攻击的叙述、乌克兰天生反犹或系统性乌克兰纳粹主义等由亲克里姆林宫渠道散布以抹黑乌克兰的假新闻尤为猖獗。太多的媒体与评论者选择忽视或误读该问题。
问题不在于个别极端现象的存在——任何严肃学者都会将其与整个国家或民族的特性区分开来——而在于俄罗斯宣传机器系统性且操控性地利用这些指控。
如迪·帕斯夸莱在方法论前言中所明示，引用意大利个人、组织或媒体并不意味着其与俄罗斯联邦存在直接关联。这是一项重要且真正的学术谨慎，也是我们一贯在文章中强调的：它表明了严谨性、比例性，以及明确区分叙事趋同、影响、放大与直接联系的努力。
避免误导性推断并明确定义论证范围，不仅对于谴责宣传至关重要，对于分析宣传同样不可或缺。在一个被多年错误信息污染的话题上恢复逻辑清晰性，在当下尤为重要。
制造并传播反犹叙事的并非乌克兰，而是俄罗斯；通过其意识形态传统与“积极措施”的宣传机器，俄罗斯持续产生并传播这类话术，并常常虚假地将乌克兰描绘为“纳粹”。
（图：左为我，右为马西米利亚诺·迪·帕斯夸莱——本文提及研究论文《从沙皇到普京的反犹主义与俄罗斯主动作为》的作者——我们在乌克兰旅途中合影——版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
***
持续的停电严重损坏了我们在乌克兰西部的家中的供暖系统，而我们当时就在顿巴斯。
没有电，点着的炉火无法通过水泵循环热水。结果，系统起火，整个房子面临着烧毁的风险。幸而未被烧毁，但整个系统需要更换，房子也需要修复。管道都是歪的，墙壁被烟雾熏黑，供暖系统无法正常工作，需要彻底更换。
我们正在尽最大努力，因为Alla的父母住在那里，但这里还有许多工作要做，周围的人处境也好不到哪儿去。
我们正在重启筹款活动，感谢每一位支持我们修复被俄罗斯摧毁一切的朋友。即使是小额捐款也有帮助。我们会及时更新进展。
感谢大家，朋友们。
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