A Shift in Russian Propaganda; Turning 'America is the Enemy' into Trump 'is Moscow's Ally'

It has been just over a month since Kremlin-backed media set aside accusations against the United States and began referring to Donald Trump as 'a friend' of Russia. In current Russian political propaganda, Ukraine and the European Union are seen as enemies, while America is labeled as a 'partner' of Russia. Vladimir Putin, who recently warned that the U.S. seeks to destroy Russia 'to access our rich and rare resources,' has recently called on Donald Trump to collaborate on exploiting these very resources. A significant shift in the coverage of relations with the U.S. occurred on November 6, 2024 (16 Aban 1403), when Donald Trump was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin spokesman told reporters that Vladimir Putin did not intend to congratulate his American counterpart. However, on January 20, 2025 (1 Bahman 1403), coinciding with the inauguration of the new U.S. president, Vladimir Putin suddenly gathered members of the Russian National Security Council and seized the opportunity to congratulate Donald Trump. The Russian president also emphasized that Moscow has always sought friendly relations with Washington. Meanwhile, during at least the first 20 days of Donald Trump's presidency, Kremlin-affiliated media continued the accusations against the U.S. that had become customary in recent years. On January 23 (4 Bahman), Vladimir Solovyov, who is under Western sanctions for disseminating Russian political propaganda, referred to Donald Trump as 'the real enemy of Russia' and described the U.S. approach towards Russia as 'full of mistakes leading to a deadlock.' However, from February 12 (24 Bahman), the day of the first phone call between the presidents of Russia and the U.S. in three years, and especially on February 18 (30 Bahman) when senior officials from both countries met in Riyadh, Donald Trump explicitly distanced himself from the approach of the previous U.S. administration, and the stance of the Russian government and Kremlin-affiliated media also changed. On the same day, Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent Russian media figure who had focused for over 10 years on justifying the 'historical enmity between the West and Russia,' suggested to his television guests to drink champagne to the health of Donald Trump. He stated on the program, 'Those who were unwilling to listen to our words are now hearing the same messages from Donald Trump and Elon Musk and know that the truth has always been on our side.' On February 24 (6 Esfand), shortly after Donald Trump announced America's interest in extracting rare metals in Russia, Vladimir Putin convened an emergency government meeting and stated that Russia is interested in cooperating with the U.S. in this regard. When asked, 'Is Donald Trump's approach beneficial for Russia?' he answered negatively but added, 'We are not opposed to this approach.' On February 26 (8 Esfand), the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, close to Nikolai Patrushev, one of Vladimir Putin's closest associates and one of the most influential politicians in Russia, published an editorial stating that Russia and America are 'friends.' The article questioned whether Trump would disrupt the long-standing rules of U.S.-Russia relations. In his last television program, Vladimir Solovyov claimed that 'skilled Russian politicians and diplomats have played the inexperienced American statesmen' and 'Vladimir Putin is using Donald Trump's weaknesses to our advantage.' On Wednesday, February 8, the RIA Novosti news agency published a lengthy article by Alexander Yakovenko, a former Russian ambassador to Britain who is now the head of the Diplomatic Academy at the Russian Foreign Ministry, titled 'Trump's Grand Strategy.' Yakovenko wrote that 'America desires a multipolar world and is willing to share power with Russia and China.' He claimed that 'Washington has accepted that it is impossible for Moscow and Beijing to act against each other' and welcomed the 'new geopolitical realities and the Russia-China-America triangle,' adding, 'The West has lost its concept, and while Russia has triumphed in Ukraine and brought Europe to its knees, paying more attention to Europe is unnecessary as the European Union will have no role in the future world.' Opposition analysts in Russia also believe that the Kremlin and affiliated media view Washington's change of approach as a 'victory.' According to Alexander Baunov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, 'Vladimir Putin has always sought agreements between superpowers, regardless of other governments.' The Carnegie Endowment is a political think tank in the United States with offices in Moscow, Brussels, Beijing, Beirut, and New Delhi. Baunov believes that even if no agreement is reached between Russia and the U.S., 'Putin is confident that he has targeted correctly and can achieve his goals.'