Decoding the Kremlin’s Nuclear Propaganda

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian political figures have been discussing nuclear weapons with new urgency.
Putin and his allies claim that their arsenal is strong and it should command more respect from the West than it does.
Pro-war Russians have advocated using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine’s troops and political leaders—especially after the invasion of Kursk—and were critical when the Kremlin did not.
Consequently, Putin is in a balancing act. He uses his nuclear arsenal as both leverage and blackmail against the West, but then he opens himself up to criticism from hardliners if he declines to use it.

Starting today, we're hosting our newsletters in an interactive format right in Talisman, FilterLabs’ data analysis platform. If you’ve never created a Talisman account, you can do so here. (For a limited time, a Basic subscription is free!)
The FilterLabs newsletter has a new name, ACTIONABLE ANALYTICS, to better reflect its content.
We’ve moved to a new newsletter host and expect a seamless transition on your side, but you might notice that the newsletter page on our website has an updated appearance and that newsletter notification emails come from a different address.

Already a Talisman subscriber? Check out our analysis on Talisman now in today's Actionable Analytics dashboard.

And if you don't have a Talisman account, sign up now—a basic subscription is free!