Matt Wickham
In her latest video appearance on a state-funded propaganda talk show, Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, joined the state’s most prominent military and political propagandists.
She delivered a series of statements aimed at portraying the United States as the primary agent of global chaos and economic instability and thus the reason for current suffering in Georgia, North and South Korea, Ukraine, and Russia.
Her comments reflect a mix of longstanding Kremlin propaganda themes and new attempts to manipulate international perceptions.
Key Narratives
The American-created “Virus of Chaos”
“The virus spread by the Americans isn’t a recent phenomenon; it has been a key component of their foreign policy for decades. Year after year, they’ve pursued this approach. The government formed a few years ago has, to a large extent, relied on creating levers of chaos worldwide to address its internal issues and stay afloat. This strategy of sowing chaos has become their primary method of solving domestic problems.”
Zakharova accuses the United States of unleashing a so-called “virus of instability,” a strategy she claims has shaped global events for decades. She tells how this supposed “controlled chaos” is a deliberate tactic to externalize U.S. internal crises, minimizing its own “chaos” at the expense of the world. It’s a narrative that feeds the Kremlin’s current anti-American message.
However, the U.S., just like any nation deeply tied to a globalized system of trade and cooperation, has no incentive to create global instability. Chaos disrupts trade, weakens alliances, weakens international cooperation, eventually fuelling domestic unrest.
Ironically, it’s Russia’s own actions—in Ukraine, Georgia, Syria, and Moldova—that embody the concept of “controlled (someetimes out-of-control) chaos.” Yet even here, Moscow’s efforts have often backfired. The Kremlin’s attempts to destabilize Moldova, Syria, and Ukraine have largely worked against its interests, however, still having achieved some success for a future trajectory.
“Chaos,” or in other words, protests for freedom against a pro-Russian government, seen in Georgia is the result of Russian interference, Russian planted chaos in a country wanting to move away from Kremlin control.
U.S. Economic Collapse Predictions
“Elon Musk—who, it seems, is now almost a guru of American domestic and, to a large extent, foreign policy strategy—stated that the United States is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The 2008 global financial and economic crisis didn’t arise out of nowhere—it stemmed from the inability of the American economy, particularly the business and real estate sectors, to resolve internal contradictions. The entire world ended up paying the price for this.”
Zakharova promises an impending US economic collapse,using Elon Musk’s recent comment about the U.S. being “on the edge of bankruptcy” as a source of realiabilty. She comapred the current economic climate to the 2008 financial crisis, again, accusing the U.S. of exporting its economic problems to the world.
While the U.S., like any global economy, faces challenges, it remains the world’s largest economy with robust financial systems, innovative industries, and historically low unemployment—far from the brink of “bankruptcy.”
These narratives are not only Russian but also pushed by the Trump campaign, later amplified by Kremlin bots on Musk’s “X.” Under the Biden-Harris administration, unemployment is low, inflation has fallen, and job growth remains strong.
The U.S. has added nearly 18 million jobs—a record. Yet, such narratives resonate through algorithms, likely tweaked by Musk, benefiting Trump’s campaign and, arguably, contributing to his political success.
Zakharova’s claims serves to distract from Russia’s own economic problems. This narrative of a nation teetering on bankruptcy fits more closely with Russia’s current financial reality.
The last weeks have seen the ruble nosedived with even pro-Kremlin analysts admitting it’s unlikely to recover to double digits anytime soon. Although, as of this text publication, the Ruble is sitting at just over 104 to 1 dollar, a jump compared to its 74 to 1 at the end of 2021.
By depicting the U.S. as a failing superpower and harbinger of instability that the whole world has to pay for, the Kremlin sets the stage for future narratives blaming Western sanctions or economic manipulation for Russia’s economic failures.
U.S.-Led Destabilization in South Korea
“Let’s take this most recent history. Look at the South Korean system that was created. You might be surprised—or perhaps not—that it was created with the help of the United States of America. Over these seven decades, there hasn’t been a single president who left office normally or ended their days peacefully—without being imprisoned for decades or committing suicide. […] What is happening there right now is fully embedded in the political and governmental system that the United States created on South Korean territory.”
Zakharova claimed that South Korea’s destabilisation is down to the U.S. given the fact “it created the country’s state system” – partial truth with much nuance left out.
Between 1945 and 1948 the US played a significant role in establishing institutions and laying the groundwork for a government aligned with anti-communist ideals, yet 70 years have passed since and much domestic effort has determined South Korea’s future.
At the same time, Zakharova tells to take a wider scope view of the situation and look at why North Korea had to militarise as a defensive response to the “predictable unpredictability” of South Korea.
Although true, South Korea has a difficult history with its presidents, several former ones having faced prison, often due to corruption charges, such as Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, her aim here is to justify hostility and the violation of international law by the “axis of evil” as the system was “corrupt” from the get-go.
It is also true that former President Roh Moo-hyun committed suicide in 2009 amid a corruption investigation involving his family. However, suicide among its presidents is an exception, not a norm, in contary to what Zakharova pushes.
What Zakharova conveniantly forgets to mention is that the reason political scandals and government misconduct come to light in South Korea is that it operates as a democratic nation with mechanisms for accountability. This contrasts with countries like North Korea and Russia for the simple reason that they lack such transparency.
North Korea enforces strict media censorship and suppresses protests to object its ruling elite, letting corruption flourish while its citizens suffer extreme poverty.
Similarly, in Russia, impeachment isn’t part of the political process because power is concentrated in the hands of one leader, Putin, with the system structured to safeguard him, not hold him accountable.
Therefore, the political instability in South Korea is rooted in a country trying to uphold democratic values, in a nation that had to rebuild itself after World War II.
Impeachment, by nature, is a process that only exists in democratic systems since it requires democratic principles, legal checks and balances, and a functioning rule of law—all of which are absent in authoritarian regimes.
The fact that such legal convictions and impeachment trials happen in South Korea shows that its democratic institutions work, whereas in Russia, over the past 30 years under Putin, how often have he, his government, or his inner circle faced accountability under the law?