Analysts and Kremlin-friendly outlets have been relishing every sight of protesters in Los Angeles this week, with some even proclaiming that the United States must be in the midst of a "new civil war."
A presenter on Russia-1 television said it openly: "I'm enjoying what I'm seeing."
He wasn't the only one.
“Congratulations on the start of the civil war in the US,” announced pro-Kremlin figure Vladimir Solovyov. “Unfortunately, I’m not joking,” he added, not laughing at all.
Andrey Cherkasov of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Current Time observed the Kremlin-friendly media in recent days and found that this media landscape was filled with statements about major unrest in the US.
"In reality, the riots in Los Angeles are limited to a small area," Cherkasov said, "but propagandists are portraying it as a nationwide catastrophe."
The main scenes and footage released so far are mostly of street protests in the Los Angeles area. The protests were sparked by recent arrests of suspected undocumented migrants. The arrests were carried out by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency – a federal law enforcement agency that operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Local residents have called for an end to ICE raids and actions in the area, as has Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
ICE said it had arrested more than 40 suspected undocumented immigrants. They were arrested at their workplaces, and another 77 people were reportedly arrested by ICE and federal partners throughout the Los Angeles area on June 6, where the protests appear to have been centered.
"This is a city of immigrants," Bass said. "This is a city that wants to help you get your legal status. This is a city that embraces every person who is here, no matter when you came or where you came from."
Pro-Kremlin journalists have presented a more alarmist stance – but sometimes they have expressed this stance with pleasure.
"I admit, I can't help but rejoice at all this," Solovyov said during a live broadcast. "The worse it is for the US, the better for us."
As Cherkasov said, “joy over unrest in the US is something common for the Kremlin and pro-Kremlin media.”
This rhetoric is used often and is nothing new, he said.
"These media outlets, after all, have come up with polls in the last 20 years that have shown America as the main enemy of their country."
Most pro-Russian media coverage describes the Los Angeles area as "apocalyptic," Cherkasov said.
But, he pointed out that some broadcasters in the United States have used similar language, at least in some cases.
Viewers of CBS's "Face the Nation" heard reports with a voice in the background saying: "Chaos erupted in the Los Angeles area over the weekend following increased activity across the country by ICE."
But Kremlin-linked media outlets have shown a penchant for the more bombastic elements, Cherkasov said.
"Russian moderators are enjoying every detail: flying rocks, smoke and rubber bullets."
Three examples he cited were: “Chaos in Los Angeles,” reported by Russia-1 television, “War, violence and provocations,” declared a TVC moderator, and “Tension is growing,” reported by another Russia-1 presenter.
Police remove protesters from the streets of Los Angeles after a curfew went into effect, June 10.
Another common thing about Kremlin media, Cherkasov said, is that they mention the Euromaidan protest movement in Ukraine, which erupted a decade ago when pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych blocked his country's progress toward membership in the European Union.
"Just remember the Maidan in Kiev in 2014: it was a war zone," said a commentator on Russian radio Vesti FM.
The suggestion that deliberate conspiracies lie behind the protests in Los Angeles is also a standard part of pro-Kremlin propaganda, Cherkasov said.
"The Kremlin has always tried to suggest that there is foreign support behind every civil protest."
So-called "color revolutions" are also described as the work of American agents, he added, such as the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004.
In order to reinforce the narrative, a presenter on Russia's Channel 5 described the protests in Los Angeles this way: "All the elements of a color revolution are there."
Another, a guest on Solovyov's program, Solovyov Live, declared: "This did not happen spontaneously."
According to Western sources, since June 6, almost 400 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, including 330 undocumented immigrants and 157 people charged with physical assault and obstruction of officers — including one person charged with attempted murder of a police officer./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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