Friday’s deadly attack near Moscow refocused the world’s attention on the threat of violent terrorism. But Russians have felt like a people under siege for years according to filmmaker Regis Tremblay, who joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program on Monday to place last week’s horrific events in broader context.
"I think most Russians were shocked," said Tremblay, an American documentarian currently living in Crimea. "There's a feeling of anger in a lot of Russian people, and rightly so. This was a horrendous attack, coming at a time when the Russians are beginning to realize that this is a war against Russia and Russia's future."
The filmmaker also noted that the Russian border region of Belgorod has come under increasing assault from Ukrainian drones and missiles while Crimea was hit some 24 times over the past weekend.
The Kiev regime has frequently attacked civilian targets in the Donbass going back to 2014, prompting Russia’s intervention to protect ethnic Russians living there.
“Russians are feeling, I think more and more, that this isn't a war against Ukraine,” said Tremblay of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. “The vast population are beginning to realize this is a war of the United States and its vassals in Europe against Russia, bent on destroying the Russian Federation.”
Viewed in the context of ongoing provocations, the documentarian claimed Russians see Friday’s atrocity as “the final red line” the country must answer to, according to popular Russian commentator Stanislav Krapivnik who discussed the incident with Tremblay on Sunday.
Tremblay urged caution against speculating about the causes of the attack as a handful of suspects are interrogated, but he noted the intense anti-Russian animosity that’s emerged from the West in recent years. Western sports and cultural institutions led a frenzied campaign against Russian participation in the aftermath of the country’s special operation in the Donbass, with even Russian ballets and works by Tchaikovsky being banned.
Ukrainian soldiers – many of them sporting Nazi tattoos – often use racist terms like “Orcs” and “Asiatic hordes” to refer to Russians, with the commentary of Western reporters sometimes mirroring their language.
“What the elite want is to rape and pillage Russia, which they've been after for centuries,” said Tremblay, claiming that Western interests are willing to stoke ethnic hatred to accomplish their goal.
The documentarian discounted offers by the European Union to resume anti-terrorism cooperation with Russia in light of Friday’s attack, claiming European leaders had no genuine interest in assisting the country while backing an ongoing war against it.
Western observers have pointed to statements from purportedly Daesh*-linked figures claiming responsibility for the act of terrorism, although little has emerged publicly beyond the allegation of attackers being recruited over Telegram with promises of cash payment. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed to the role of the United States in the creation and support of radical Islamist groups like Al Qaeda, which emerged from US-backed Mujahideen forces in the Soviet-Afghan war.
Tremblay noted recent comments from neoconservative US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland warning of an imminent “nasty surprise” for Russians, although he again insisted speculation should wait until Russia finishes its investigation of Friday’s attack.
Many prominent Russiagate conspiracy theorists in Western media have proven unable to adopt Tremblay’s advice, as prominent New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof took to X to speculate the tragic incident was a “false flag” attack. Kristof was forced to delete the post after being roundly mocked by others on the social media platform.
*A terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.