Despite tight government control of the Russian media, Russians have learned about the effectiveness of Western weapons supplied Ukraine and particularly the HIMARS rocket launcher that have partially nullified Russia's advantage in artillery.[1] Russian military historian and Izvestiya columnist Dmitry Boltenkov attempts to allay Russian fears while simultaneously ridiculing the Ukrainians and comparing them to Cargo Cults and the Nazis. Each new wonder weapon introduced in the war in Ukraine quickly showed its limitations, and then the Ukrainians would place vain hopes in another Western weapon that likewise would not be a gamechanger against a highly motivated and well equipped Russian Army.
Boltenkov's article follows below:[2]
Pacific island Cargo Cult (Source: Newizv.ru)
"During World War II, American forces were landing on godforsaken atolls in the Pacific. During the war with Japan, US servicemen built airfields and bases for their advancing troops. The natives observed them with interest. The “Palefaces” were not greedy and generously shared canned meat, chocolate and other items with the natives. If hitherto, the locals had subsisted on fish and coconuts, now their diet had expanded significantly. The technology that was coming to the atolls seemed divine. Then the war ended and the big silvery plane-birds flew away. Remembering those sweet days, the aborigines began to create images of planes out of improvised material, hoping for the 'gods' to return. Thus, the so-called 'Cargo Cult' had emerged.
"There appeared on the other side of the globe, in Nazi Germany, a cult of the miracle weapon that would stop the advancing Soviets. In October of 1942, Third Reich Armaments Minister Albert Speer informed, “We are on victory’s doorstep. The war against the Bolsheviks will be won via a 'wunderwaffe', a wonder weapon.”
"Later the topic of the miracle weapon was picked up by Goebbels’s office and developed so that the idea was firmly stuck in the minds of not only German civilians, but also of Wehrmacht soldiers. And they believed in it even during the final days of Hitler’s regime. Even when the armies of Marshal Zhukov were concluding the capture of Berlin, on April 29, 1945 the radio continued to report that a wonder weapon was on the way and about to deliver its fatal blow.
"Certainly, German engineering intellect had by the end of the Second World War produced a large number of interesting arms and military equipment. For instance, the “V-1” cruise missile and the “V-2” ballistic missile. But their utilization only terrorized the civilian population of the British Isles, and the explosives expended on them could have been more wisely spent for military purposes by the Germans.
"There were no pilots or fuel left for the “Me-262” jets. And the “Maus” supertank still staggers visitors to the tank museum in Kubinka, near Moscow. But the cult of a magic wonder weapon, capable of stopping waves of attackers with a single use, remained. However, no type of super-weapon could’ve stop the battle-hardened Red Army, well-equipped with modern arms, which had extensive combat experience and animated by a sense of just revenge on its path to destroy the Nazi regime."
Maus at the tank museum (Source: Tripadvisor.ru)
"Surprisingly, these two cults – that of the Сargo and of the miracle weapon have become intertwined in today’s Ukrainian information space. One could even coin a new term, 'Cargo wunderwaffe.' Its essence is basically the following: any type of weapon is chosen, and then the media propagates the thesis, 'now Europe and the USA will give it to us, and we will stop the Russians.'
"First there was the topic of the divine 'St. Javelina,' “they will supply us with this anti-tank weapon and we will burn Russian tanks.”
"Surprisingly, the unfolding psychosis eventually reaches the point of absurdity in the form of newborn children being named 'Javelina' and in the appearance of celestial murals depicting an angel with a 'Javelin.' Does it remind you of something? That’s right, the cargo cult of the aborigines of the Pacific Islands. Time passes, it turns out that the wonder weapon is not that wonderful, and that Russian tanks can take up to 8 Javelin hits and the topic naturally subsides.
But [this is replaced] by an alternative. Now it’s the 'divine' Bayraktar from the Turks. The media are all over the place with footage of these UAVs, much of it is fake. Time passes and it becomes clear: yes, the UAV is undoubtedly good, except that it depends on the adversary. If you don’t have well-developed air-defense and electronic warfare systems, then, yes, UAVs will do, but if they are around, the Bairaktars tend to expire quickly.
"True, it didn’t reach the stage of murals with [St.] Bayraktars, but the new name for infants has appeared in Ukraine. Somehow, the narrative of a wonder weapon in the form of the Bayraktar was quickly forgotten again.
"But the topic of the Cargo-wunderwaffe per se continues to live on. Thus, theses about the wonder American “M777” cannons, the French “Caesar” self-propelled guns, and the German “PzH2000” emerge and quickly disappear. These 'toys' supplement the long list of foreign technology military specimens studied by our armament specialists.
"More recently, the thesis of the divine American HIMARS multiple rocket launchers has emerged. There are already murals depicting these weapons, although they haven't figured out [using] HIMARS for baby names in Ukraine. True, the usage of these arms has some effect and does some damage to allied [Russian and LPR and DPR] forces.
"Although to strike Ukraine’s own POWs with these missiles, as they did the other day in the village of Yelenovka… Well, even the Third Reich command wouldn’t have thought of such a thing. Shelling of the bridges in the Kherson oblast by missiles from this complex have become even more widespread news.
"In general, the Kyiv regime’s desire to strike bridges has become a kind of obsessive phobia. However, this is not surprising for a regime that cannot create anything but can only destroy.
"Over the recent days, the divine jet topic has been disseminated in the Ukrainian media, 'well, give us the A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft and F-16 fighters and we will take back the skies and stop the evil Russians.'
"The "A-10" combat aircraft is essentially the counterpart to Russia’s famous Su-25 ‘Grach.’ It’s a combat aircraft built around the Vulcan cannon. It has performed well against an enemy without a modern air-defense system, as it did in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"And it is somewhat uncomfortable for the US to give away the modern versions of the F-16 fighter-jets; their production has been scheduled years in advance and [to designated] customers, hence, potential losses of these planes in air clashes with the Russian Air Force will seriously undermine the export potential.
"Generally speaking, the modern air force is a very expensive 'toy' in terms of operation and maintenance. It is unrealistic to replace the Soviet-type equipment with a foreign one within 6 months.
"Thus, the 'divine jet' myth will soon disappear as well, but the Ukrainian media and experts will come up with another new one. But no myths will help to stop the advance of the Allied Forces, as they are just as battle-hardened and equipped with modern military hardware as their grandfathers, who liberated Ukrainian territory from the Nazis during the Second World War."
Dmitry Boltenkov (Source: Arms-expo.ru)
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10115, Russian Military Analyst Biryukov: Unless Russia Mobilizes And Moves To A War Economy, The Fighting In Ukraine Is Headed For A WWI Stalemate, August 2, 2022.
[2] Iz.ru, August 1, 2022.
