Today is the birthday of the creator of VKontakte, Pavel Durov. At the age of 22, he founded a social network, which quickly became the largest in the country, but the identity of the founder itself remained a mystery to most network users. BigPiccha congratulates Pavel on his birthday and we suggest filling this gap with the help of our selection.

We tried to collect the most interesting facts from the life of one of the most prominent heroes of modern Internet business in Russia.

(Total 10 photos)

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1. Education.

Pavel's achievements in the field of knowledge are undoubtedly impressive. In 2001, he graduated with honors from the Academic Gymnasium, during which the excellent student committed a number of very “original” actions: for example, he once changed the screensaver of all school computers to a photograph of a computer science teacher with the caption “Must die” (Russian: “must die” ). Durov was repeatedly denied access to computers, but he easily cracked passwords to them.

In 2006, Pavel graduated from the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University with a degree in English Philology and Translation with honors, which, by the way, he still has not received. For his academic achievements and contribution to student life at the university, he was awarded scholarships from the Government and the President of the Russian Federation. Simultaneously with his studies at the university, Pavel passed vocational training at the Faculty of Military Education of St. Petersburg State University with a specialization in “Propaganda and Psychological Warfare”, upon completion of which he received the rank of reserve lieutenant.

Having won victories at various Olympiads, Pavel became a Potanin Scholarship winner three times, and was also one of the select number of St. Petersburg State University students with the highest level of intelligence and leadership abilities.

2. Business as a hobby.

Immediately after graduating from university, Pavel founded VKontakte: an old friend, who returned from the USA after studying, introduced him to an Internet project for American university students - Facebook, where users posted their real names and photographs on their profiles. Durov decided to introduce a similar concept of a site in Russia, where they could communicate real people under real names. The original name of the future project - “Student.ru” - was replaced by Pavel with “VKontakte”, since, according to him, “sooner or later we all become graduates.” At first the site was closed, in other words, it was possible to register only after a personal invitation. But at the end of the year registration became free. For example, in September 2012, the site's daily audience averaged 22 million people. As of September of the same year, more than 140 million users were registered on VKontakte. In terms of the speed of its growth, the social network has broken all Runet records.

As of 2011, Durov, with a fortune of 7.9 billion rubles, occupied 350th place in the ranking of Russian billionaires.

3. Views and priorities

Durov's company employs the best Russian programmers, winners of international programming and mathematics competitions. VKontakte provides financial support for developing Olympiad programming in Russia and sponsors teams of programmers in St. Petersburg and North-West Russia.

Pavel himself officially advocates reformation of the educational system in Russia; abolition of taxes in the field of information; abolition of the visa system, registration and military conscription; reduction of customs duties; granting regions full autonomy; and also for the openness of jury trials.

He is inspired by Ernesto Che Guevara and Steve Jobs.

4. Independence.

“In people I value intelligence and independence” - quote from Durov.

At the end of 2011, during mass opposition rallies, representatives of the FSB turned to the leadership social network with a strong recommendation to close down groups disloyal to the authorities, but Durov refused, posting a scan of supporting documents.

In correspondence with the “authorities,” Pavel Durov also noted that VKontakte does not support “neither the government nor the opposition.”

5. “In contact” with Pavel Durov.

According to his partners, Pavel has a tough, sometimes even arrogant style of doing business.

He lives in a rented apartment (not far from the VKontakte office), where, according to him, developers can stay overnight. A very original one can be seen in the photo above.

Anyone who wants to get to know our hero better can purchase the book “The Durov Code” published last year, which describes the formation of VKontakte and its creator. By the way, the rights to the film adaptation of the book were purchased immediately after its publication, so we will be watching the film in all cinemas in the country in the near future.

6. Recognition and popularity

Some Western media They called Pavel Russian. By the way, Pavel knows the founder of Facebook, and they met in the latter’s house thanks to their mutual friends. Last year, Forbes magazine published a list of “30 most notable figures in Russian Internet business,” where Pavel was in seventh place. Durov was in 42nd place in the list of the most quoted bloggers in Russian media in the first half of 2012. One of the creators of VKontakte, Oleg Andreev, explained the reason for the success of the social network in this way: “Pavel, unlike most programmers, understood what schoolchildren and students want from life and how it looks in design. He knew how to see through the eyes of a person who has an old browser and a slow Internet.”

7. “Big original.” Pavel Durov with the Star

Pavel was ranked third in the Forbes list of “The 9 Most Unusual Russian Businessmen - Extravagant, Eccentrics and Eccentrics” for publishing a photograph in which he demonstrates an obscene gesture in response to the efforts of a major shareholder of VKontakte - Mail.ru Group - to absorb this social network.

8. "Armed and very dangerous"

Since April of this year, Pavel Durov has been under investigation for hitting and “insulting with an indecent gesture” a St. Petersburg traffic police inspector. However, what is alarming is the fact that immediately after the “crime” almost half of the shares of the VKontakte company were transferred from classmate Durov and his companion to one of the investment funds that had been eyeing the company for a long time... “I recommend that the newly minted shareholder of VK refrain from commenting on the media activity around “In contact” - this is how Durov responded to the invitation of this foundation to speak out about his alleged participation in the accident. The managing partner of the fund “asks me to publicly state that the initiator of the attack (initiating a criminal case - Vedomosti) is not his company, but I just don’t have such information,” he added. Also, the VKontakte press service states: “It is known that Pavel Durov walks or takes the subway. He doesn't have a car. The company does not have a car either. Someone started a rumor about Pavel Durov’s involvement.”

9. "Object for harsh criticism"

Last May, on the City Day of St. Petersburg, from the window of the main office, Pavel Durov and his colleague launched airplanes made of five-thousand-dollar bills, watching the brawl that broke out below among those who wanted to easily get rich. This action was fiercely criticized by popular bloggers and journalists. Thus, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov called the act “a merchant’s whim”, and Durov himself a “sub-Zuckerberg”. Solovyov was supported by the current Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Medinsky. Sergei Stillavin, who undoubtedly respects and appreciates “our people” very much, wrote in his LJ diary: “A citizen who treats his people like cattle should get the profession of a seamstress-machine operator in the zone.” Sergei Enikolopov concluded that “this is treated in the camps,” recalling the executions of “outraged” Bolsheviks in the 1920s and 1930s.

10. Civil position (Photo from P. Durov’s VKontakte page.)

At the end of September, the general director of VKontakte Pavel supported Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova by writing a post on his page about her letter, in which the convict talks about the difficult conditions of her stay in Mordovian correctional colony No. 14. “Friends, any of us or our loved ones could be in this girl’s place. Let's support Nadya by telling our friends about her letter. What she describes must be eradicated,” writes one of the few business representatives who is not afraid to speak their mind in these difficult times.

According to the US leadership, conducting psychological operations is an important way to achieve goals with minimal cost. Psychological operations have many-sided applications, the most common methods are: influencing the human psyche using modern technical means various types, for example, EMP damage, ultra- and infrasonic effects, the 25th frame effect, etc. An example of this type of damage to the population is the use of psychotropic weapons. Let's look at an example of using this method of warfare:

In 1993 in Kyiv, several members of a certain sect “White Brotherhood” were absolutely ready for public suicide. They explained their decision by the approaching end of the world, during this period of time many were inclined to believe in this. One of its activists was a wonderful and smart guy, he got straight A's at school and loved playing the guitar. However, after being influenced by the sect, he changed completely. He tore up his photographs, abandoned his friends and generally began to behave extremely strangely. As it turned out, at the meetings of this sect, recordings were listened to using so-called “sound bookmarks”, which the sect members did not know about. In addition to the will of the person, thoughts of suicide were instilled into the subconscious of the sect members. This is an example of the application of neurolinguistic programming known as hypnosis.

After a series of strange events in the area Bermuda Triangle The CIA became extremely interested in this phenomenon. It turned out that in this area there is a fault in the earth's crust, which is a source of strong electromagnetic radiation, causing in people an overwhelming feeling of fear, because of which they simply threw themselves overboard, leaving the ship in horror. This phenomenon began to be actively studied by the CIA, and the research results were used everywhere. The CIA called this phenomenon Mind Control. There are several wavelengths that can cause different mental reactions in a person, for example:

range 1 - alarm (frequency about 20 Gz); range 2 - fear, extremely depressed state (frequency about 2 Gz); range 4 - capable of driving a person crazy and driving him to suicide.

There are advertisements on TV electromagnetic device domestically produced for rodent control. It is an example of such a weapon, since a person has a different range of feelings of fear. People have a certain biorhythm of the brain, which, if disturbed, can cause any condition, any mental disorder, even panic and mass suicide. In the USSR, development of this type of weapon was carried out. In 1979, an audio coding method was developed at the First Medical Institute. It consisted in the fact that people heard a recording similar to ordinary noise, but words that were not audible to the ear were recorded in the subconscious. The first experiment was carried out there, at the Institute, on employees. The radios broadcast a recording with the words encoded in it: “The rats are starving in the basement, quickly bring them food. “Of course, people did not run in panic to the basement, but soon cutlets, sandwiches and other edibles appeared in it. The Soviet scientist I. Smirnov, who conducted research in the field of psychotropic weapons, the former director of the institute, stated that “hypnosis using the audio coding method can be carried out even through a computer fan.”

To others effective method control of consciousness is disparate video, now used in medicine. It is a viewing of images, where an image is given in parts, which is then put together in the mind after viewing all the frames, for example: ... eye ... forehead ... ear ... = person. This type psychotropic weapons have already found widespread use in elections, where the candidate will look so familiar and close that voters will undoubtedly vote for him. The audio coding method makes it possible to eliminate unwanted persons, for example: take the program for coding people in Russia in 1996. For several months, the words “Yes, yes, no, yes” were heard on television programs, which were broadcast on all television programs. When TV viewers went to vote, they chose President B.N. Yeltsin for a second term.

The influence of the media is also used, for example, propaganda, hypnotic influence from television screens, suggestion, etc. The influence of these methods of influence is similar in psychological effect to psychotropic weapons, but requires longer use, because if a person is told a hundred times that he is a pig, he grunts. If you show him scenes of violence from the screens a hundred times as an absolutely normal phenomenon, then a negative impression of what he saw will somehow be deposited in the person’s subconscious, and many will even have an urge to repeat it. The emergence of numerous “new” churches and sects has a great influence, for example, the influence of the Church of Scientology, with the help of which the default in Russia in 1998 was carried out. A parishioner of the sect was Prime Minister E.T. Gaidar, who decided on “shock therapy.”

The psychological impact of terrorist acts on the country's population as intimidation of the population. Intimidation occurs as long as people begin to fear others, various ownerless things, people of other nations, and the emergence of persistent hatred towards them. Let us give examples of psychological operations of the US armed forces in wars and conflicts of the 20th century: Changes in the military-political situation in the world have made significant adjustments to the views of the military-political leadership of NATO on the nature and types of wars, and methods of waging them. At the same time, much attention began to be paid to the issues of increasing the readiness of forces and means of psychological warfare, improving their organizational structure and tactics of action, and increasing the level of technical equipment.” Local wars and armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th century, and there are more than 300 of them, took place in various theaters of war: in Southeast Europe, East and South Asia, in the Near and Middle East, in North, Central and South Africa, in Central and South America. In the course of their conduct, the forms and methods of psychological warfare were improved. For example, the Korean War was the first open clash between two opposing ideologies since World War II. The experience of psychological operations accumulated by the United States and other states in that war was used for psychological and ideological influence on the enemy.

In Korea (1950 - 1953), the Americans faced not only determined armed resistance, but also active ideological resistance. For the first time in the post-war years, during combat operations, 47 thousand people deserted from the US armed forces within a year and a half; subsequently, their number continued to remain at the level of 35 - 40 thousand per year. This forced the US military-political leadership to reconsider the concept of conducting psychological warfare, change strategy and tactics, begin to reorganize the apparatus, and improve the forms and methods of carrying out psychological operations. The main task facing the US psychological warfare authorities was to show the actions of the American armed forces as a legitimate defensive operation of the United Nations. When compiling information and propaganda materials, they tried to avoid sensitive political topics and arguments that were ideological in nature. Significant amount leaflets and radio broadcasts were devoted to voluntary surrender. Those who went over to the side of the American army were offered a large monetary reward and were promised citizenship. Much work was also carried out on the psychological reorientation of prisoners of war. During the Korean campaign, propaganda was structured in accordance with manual FM-33-5, “Conducting Psychological Warfare Operations,” adopted in August 1949. It indicated that the most important means of conducting psychological operations is propaganda as a system of measures to disseminate political information. It was also classified according to its source (“white,” “gray,” and “black”) and content (political and military).

To conduct psychological warfare in Korea, the apparatus and structure of the relevant units were rebuilt. At the psychological warfare department of the headquarters of the US armed forces at Far East A radio broadcasting and leaflet publishing group was created, which included a headquarters and three companies - headquarters, reproduction and radio broadcasting (mobile), which were intended to solve strategic problems in the interests of supporting military operations. To solve tactical problems, a company of loud-speaking installations and publication of leaflets was formed. It allocated a section of loud-speaking installations to the operational subordination of each building. In addition, in the fall of 1950, a tactical information detachment was deployed from Fort Riley to Korea. In 1951, the Ministry of the Army created a psychological warfare department, and the training of special personnel began, for which purpose in the combined arms school ground forces a separate faculty was founded. On military service They began to call up reserve officers who were, to one degree or another, associated with propaganda. In 1952, psychological warfare training units were transferred from Fort Riley to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where a psychological warfare center was established. The main forms of psychological warfare were printed propaganda, oral broadcasting and radio propaganda. Visual propaganda was used to a lesser extent. The 1st radio broadcasting and leaflet publishing group produced an average of 20 million leaflets every week, and the 1st loudspeaker and leaflet publishing company of the 8th Army produced 3.5 million. In the first three days of hostilities alone, the American side distributed 100 million . copies. Radio propaganda was carried out both by mobile military radio stations and with the help of civilian transmitters. For this purpose, 19 radio stations operating on medium and short waves in the cities of Seoul, Daegu, Busan, and Tokyo were used. Radio broadcasting programs took up more than 2 hours a day. Structurally, radio propaganda consisted of broadcasts of the latest news and reviews of the military situation, prepared by the psychological warfare department. Oral propaganda was carried out using loudspeaker installations mounted on various combat vehicles, including tanks.

Military operations in Korea showed that, despite changes in the concept of psychological warfare, the strategy and tactics of its conduct, as well as organizational structure special services, the ultimate goals - to disintegrate the Korean People's Army and Chinese volunteers - American propagandists failed to achieve. At the same time, American specialists have achieved certain progress in the art of propaganda. In particular, good results were achieved when working with prisoners of war, some of whom refused repatriation after the end of the war. The experience of the army psychological warfare service was critically analyzed. Thus, already in 1955, manual FM-33-5 was revised. It now emphasized: “Psychological warfare includes activities by which ideas and information are transmitted to influence the consciousness, feelings and actions of the enemy. They are carried out by the command in combination with combat operations in order to undermine morale enemy and in accordance with the policies proclaimed by the governing authorities." Have undergone organizational changes and psychological warfare services. The Psychological Warfare Directorate, which existed during the Korean War, was reorganized into the Directorate of Psychological Warfare in 1955. special methods war. Thus, psychological warfare gradually became part of special operations.

The updated concept of special warfare was tested during the Vietnam War. To centralize the planning, direction and control of all psychological operations (PsyOps) within news agency The United States created a unified public relations department. He developed political directives for the propaganda apparatus in the troops, planned campaigns for it on all targets, interacted with the Ministry of Information of South Vietnam, and managed all psychological operations in the military, political and economic fields in North and South Vietnam. Direct management of the implementation of PsyOps programs of the US Army, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as coordination of actions with aviation, was carried out by the psychological operations department of the headquarters of the command for military assistance to Vietnam. The tasks of PsyOp battalions included the development, production and distribution of propaganda materials. Each of them had its own printing house, sound broadcasting stations, machines with film projectors, video-sound and other equipment. The operational management of these units was carried out by the commanders of the four zones of responsibility. The psychological operations apparatus of the ground forces alone numbered about 1,000 people, and 118 spoke Vietnamese. In addition, hundreds of Vietnamese were involved in cooperation. The national psychological characteristics of the local population, morals, customs, and superstitions were widely used. As psychological pressure methods of unjustified violence and barbarism were used against the population, pursuing the sole goal of inducing a feeling of fear. For example, to spread panic and instill fear in the residents of Hanoi, 60 km away, the city of Fuli was razed to the ground. The bombing of North Vietnamese cities and other populated areas was necessarily accompanied by intense propaganda. Subsequently, this technique will be widely used in almost all local conflicts. For the purpose of psychological impact, the Americans widely used weapons that caused severe bodily injury, severe pain and psychological shock, in particular napalm, ball bombs, and arrow-shaped lethal elements. Complex propaganda methods affecting the senses produced tangible results. There were cases when, under their influence, fighters of a number of units of the NLF were demoralized even before the start of hostilities and surrendered.

Television was used on a large scale for the first time in conjunction with traditional forms of psychological warfare. Television programs were developed for civilian and military audiences. A studio and four transmitting stations were created, broadcasting 6 hours a day. 3.5 thousand television receivers were distributed among the Vietnamese, and televisions were installed in many schools and reading rooms. In 1971, already 80 percent. the local population could watch television programs.

In order to influence the population, “souvenir” propaganda was used: cigarettes, chewing gum, toothpaste, toys, bags of rice and candy were distributed. Similar packages with gifts, equipped with American symbols and propaganda slogans, were dropped by air onto the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Slogans and inscriptions were usually brief - for example, “From the children of America to the children of North Vietnam.” During the first 14 months of the war, 8 million vitamin tablets, 29 thousand toothbrushes, combs and pencils were distributed among the population of Vietnam for a total of 4 million dollars. The practice was to pay monetary rewards for surrendered weapons, intelligence information, and delivered defectors ($24 for a soldier, $2,100 for a political commissar).

In Vietnam, the collection, processing and accumulation of information began to be carried out using computers, and an attempt was made to create a unified global information system for psychological warfare (PAMIS). The Americans were defeated in Vietnam, but psychological methods wars strengthened their positions. Thus, during the period of hostilities, about 250 thousand Vietnamese voluntarily went over to the enemy’s side.

Based on the experience of psychological operations in Vietnam, the government commission developed appropriate recommendations for the future: the creation of civilian structures to coordinate activities in the field of psychological warfare; increase in peacetime the number of forces and means to wage such a war by 10 times; increasing the level of training of reserve psychological operations forces; development of high-tech radio stations and organization of a network of mobile television stations; creation and use of a unified data bank in the interests of PsyO; increased attention to the apparatus and problems of PsyOps on the part of the government and the Ministry of Defense. According to a number of officials, the Americans were defeated in Vietnam precisely at a time when they lost the support of the population of their own country and the world community. Based on this, the military-political leadership of the United States, when participating in all subsequent armed conflicts, sought to reliably provide such support. After the Vietnam War, experts in the field of PsyOps came to the conclusion that they can only be successful if they are total in nature, planned and carried out in advance and comprehensively, directed not only against the enemy, but also the population and armed forces of neutral and friendly people. states These provisions formed the basis modern concept psychological operations, tested by both the Americans and their NATO allies in subsequent small wars.

A new development in the organization and conduct of PsyOps since the mid-80s was the introduction of the concept of “national security strategy” into propaganda materials. This strategy was developed by the Reagan apparatus in 1981 and in general consisted of four components: diplomatic, economic, military and information. At the same time, the emphasis on the information component as the main one was confirmed already in the armed conflict in Grenada (1982). Using the “national security strategy” argument, American experts have put a lot of effort into processing international public opinion, for example, disseminating disinformation materials using television. Special programs were being prepared to convince people of the “just” nature of the war on the part of the United States. The broadcast was carried out through the USIA Euronet television network, which connects television channels in the United States and Western European countries using satellites. To promote the “liberation” mission of the West, the most powerful radio complexes were used - “Voice of America” and “Deutsche Welle”.

The technique of influencing people included direct disinformation, elements of half-truths and objective information. Since information could also be obtained from other media, American propaganda increasingly included elements of half-truths and truths. The following features of psychological operations were characteristic of that time: close interaction between units of special forces and PsyOps (1st PsyOps battalion), as well as comprehensive moral psychological impact on the local population and military personnel of the opposing side.

A special forces unit was one of the first targets to seize the Free Grenada radio station, which was immediately renamed Spice Island Radio and began to be used by psychological operations specialists. Subsequently, units of the 1st PsyOps battalion deployed their own 50 kW transmitter (the total broadcast time was 11 hours per day). Along with radio propaganda, leaflets and the newspaper “Voice of Grenada” were published, and broadcasts were broadcast through loudspeaker installations. The propaganda was aimed at inciting contradictions between the civilian population of the island, the revolutionary army and Cuban military personnel, and at creating an atmosphere of loyalty towards American soldiers and officers.

Along with psychological influence, material incentives were used. Thus, 17 thousand weapons were handed over for a monetary reward. As a result of complex measures, approximately half of the personnel of the Grenada troops capitulated or were handed over to the invading Americans by the local population.

An important consequence of the conduct of psychological operations in Grenada was a circular from the Ministry of Defense to the heads of military colleges (branch, staff and command), which proposed to revise training programs in order to increase knowledge in the field of PsyOps. In terms of developing the theory of local wars, psychological operations were considered as a multiplier of the combat potential of troops in all types of combat operations. These theoretical principles were confirmed in practice by PsyOps units during the US military invasion of Panama (1989), when, unlike other local conflicts with the participation of the United States, special forces acted according to a pre-developed plan, which was actually an annex to the general plan of combat operations. It determined the forces, means, and timing of the transfer of materials to civilian media. The place and role of psychological operations in Panama were determined by the fact that from the very first days the United States was faced with personnel of the national defense forces that were psychologically well prepared for intervention. The Americans had to resort to the strongest information and psychological pressure, using primarily the forces and means of PsyOps ( total number their formations amounted to 3.5 thousand people).

When conducting PsyOps in Panama, experts assumed that victory in a low-intensity conflict is impossible without creating favorable public opinion. Therefore, a new theoretical position that the use of military force in such conflicts is the last argument for achieving economic, political and informational influence. A feature of PsyOps was the increased psychological pressure on General Noriega and his discrediting in the eyes of the people. He was accused of drug trafficking, racketeering, canceling the results of democratic elections, and brutal reprisals against officers who tried to carry out a coup.

In Panama, a new system of interaction between the PsyOps apparatus and civilian and military media was tested. For this purpose, a specially selected and instructed contingent of journalists and photo reporters was created, which was transferred to the appropriate facilities by the beginning of hostilities. Thus, the command sought to limit the access of undesirable persons to the combat zone. The main information came through the public relations service, which skillfully influenced its direction through briefings, press conferences and meetings with prominent politicians, businessmen and other influential people. An information bridge was created between the Pentagon and the public, which made it possible to neutralize the impact of other, unwanted sources. PsyOp tactics noted the method of so-called “harassing” actions. All surrounded Panamanian groups were broadcast through loudspeaker installations, then given 15 minutes to think, after which, as an ultimatum, they were asked to hang out white flags and surrender their weapons. In case of non-compliance with the requirements, “limited use of force” began. At the call of the commander of the unit blocking the garrison, a fire support helicopter arrived, which simulated an attack on the object, and sound broadcasting equipment called for the surrender of weapons and set a new time. If this time the garrison continued to resist, then the order to open fire followed. This method had a strong psychological impact on the personnel of the Panamanian troops.

The PsyOps experience accumulated during the war in Panama was used during the preparation and implementation of combat operations in the Persian Gulf area (1991 - 1992). Here, psychological operations were carried out in two directions: foreign policy and direct information and propaganda support for military operations. In the first case, the main goals were to ensure support for the countermeasures of the multinational forces against Iraq, strengthening the position of the anti-Iraqi coalition and weakening the aggressor. In the second case, the increased constant psychological pressure generated by the military situation should have contributed to the deterioration of the moral and psychological state of the population and personnel of the enemy’s armed forces, and a decrease in their combat effectiveness.

Psychological operations throughout the conflict were carried out through the following channels: national media; federal departments (CIA, research institutes, etc.), armed forces (DIA, PsyO units, etc.). Using all these forces and means, the United States managed to mobilize the global public opinion, promote the activities of the anti-Iraqi coalition, deepen the existing split in the Arab world, and ignite the euphoria of “jingoism” in the United States and other Western countries. Iraq's attempts to find support in the world community actually failed.

When analyzing the preparatory period for organizing and preparing psychological operations, first of all, it is necessary to note the most high level making decisions about their implementation. So, ex-president USA George W. Bush, before the outbreak of the conflict in the Persian Gulf, signed three directives defining the procedure for organizing and conducting psychological operations for the entire period of the crisis, regulating the activities of intelligence services, research institutions dealing with the problems of the Arab world, psychologists and a number of army bodies. The very fact of the adoption of these documents is evidence that the army command placed psychological operations on a par with combat operations.

The following tasks of psychological operations were identified as the main ones: misinformation to the command of the Iraqi armed forces and the general public regarding military action plans; undermining the trust of the Iraqi population in President Saddam Hussein; supporting the resistance movement in Kuwait and providing assistance opposition forces in Iraq; the conviction that resistance to multinational forces is futile. The direct executor was the 8th battalion of the 4th PsyOps group of American troops, numbering about 200 military personnel and having at its disposal television and radio stations, sound broadcasting installations, and mobile printing houses. One of the areas of psychological operations, especially at the stage of preparation for the start of hostilities, was strategic disinformation, that is, convincing the world community of the need for measures taken by the American leadership. For this purpose, rumors were spread about the presence of a huge amount of chemical weapons in Iraq, as well as plans for their combat use, inflated data were given about the size of the Iraqi group, etc. In addition, it was necessary to mislead the Iraqi leadership regarding the timing of the start of multinational operations strength

The main forms of psychological influence were radio and television broadcasting, oral and printed propaganda. To provide 24-hour radio broadcasting in the territory Saudi Arabia Repeaters were installed to ensure the transmission of materials from the Voice of America and BBC radio stations. At the same time, in the interests of radio propaganda, the BBC, for example, increased its broadcast time by Arabic from 3 to 10.5 hours a day, for which a special group was created, numbering 80 employees. The command of the multinational forces, with the help of nomads and aviation, distributed about 150 thousand cheap transistor radios with fixed frequencies among Iraqi military personnel and the population. According to surveys, four out of five prisoners of war listened to enemy radio broadcasts. With the onset of Operation Desert Storm, radio propaganda was conducted in close cooperation with the electronic warfare units tasked with suppressing Radio Baghdad's broadcasts.

Video propaganda was carried out through widespread distribution of videotapes in Jordan and other countries neighboring Iraq, for subsequent transportation to Iraq and Kuwait. They advertised the power of the American army, weapons and military equipment, showed the high level of training of military personnel, and criticized the regime of Saddam Hussein. The success of printed propaganda was largely due to the skillful involvement of the Iraqi opposition. Since September 1990, leaflets began to be distributed in Iraqi cities calling for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein “in the name of the security of the country.” He was accused, in particular, of organizing the massacres of the best sons of Iraq and genocide. The US and British Air Forces were widely used to distribute leaflets. For example, on January 31, 1991 alone, 5 million leaflets were distributed, dropped by 50 planes and helicopters. US Marine artillery units were also involved in distributing leaflets. The effectiveness of printed propaganda was highly appreciated by the enemy. According to the commander of one of the Iraqi divisions, “leaflets were second only to aerial bombardments in their impact on the morale of soldiers.” 70 percent of Iraqi military personnel taken prisoner in surveys confirmed that it was the leaflets that influenced their decision to desert or surrender. And this is despite the order to shoot anyone who is found with an enemy leaflet.

During the fighting, oral broadcasting was widely used through mobile sound broadcasting stations installed on off-road vehicles or helicopters. The commanders of units and subunits along the entire front of the US ground forces were assigned 66 groups of specialists with sound broadcasting equipment, which were assigned to provide tactical support and persuade Iraqi soldiers to surrender. Sound broadcasting stations were also used to mislead the enemy regarding the movements of units of the multinational forces and their deployment.

A peculiar touch of the psychological impact on the opposing side was the prompt saturation of the international market with goods with anti-Iraqi symbols (for example, knitwear with the image of a flying rocket and the inscriptions “Greetings to Saddam from the US Marine Corps,” “See you in Baghdad,” etc.). Thus, the complex impact on the population and personnel of the Iraqi army during the PsyOps of multinational forces contributed to the successful conduct of combat operations and the achievement of assigned tasks with minimal losses in manpower and equipment. After the successful use of psychological operations forces and means in the war in the Persian Gulf, the US military-political leadership was faced with the question of expanding the scope of their use. This area was peacekeeping and military operations and humanitarian assistance activities carried out within its framework. For example, “Sea Angel” (providing assistance to refugees from Haiti, 1991), “Revival of Hope” (in Somalia, 1992 - 1993), “Support for Democracy” (removal of the military from power in Haiti, 1994), military-humanitarian actions in former Yugoslavia(1991 -- 1994), “United Shield” (withdrawal of UN troops from Somalia, 1995), “Joint Effort” in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996).

An example of PsyOp failure is the actions in Somalia. In December 1992, the American 96th Civilian Outreach Battalion took part in the peacekeeping operation Restore Hope. The goal of the large-scale propaganda campaign was to present the United States as the only force capable of protecting the war-stricken population of Somalia and establishing peace and order there. PsyOps units were assigned the following tasks: explaining the humanitarian goals of the US armed forces mission under the auspices of the UN; preventing possible hostile actions from the local population and armed groups; supporting the actions of American units in achieving their military and political goals. As during the period of preparation for hostilities in the Persian Gulf, the US population and world public opinion were subjected to significant propaganda treatment. Data published in Newsweek magazine on December 5, 1992 showed that a majority of Americans (66 percent) supported sending American troops to Somalia. However, despite the success of consolidating propaganda within the United States, Operation Restore Hope was a failure. According to experts, the reasons for the failure were as follows:

- psychological operations specialists tried to transfer the experience gained in the Persian Gulf zone to a completely different situation in a country where a civil war was being fought;
-- US military personnel had little knowledge of the cultural, religious traditions and customs of the country's population, and the PsyOps apparatus had no experience of working in conditions of an action unique in its scale;
-- there were not enough specialists who spoke the local language.

As a result, the United States failed to gain understanding and support for the goals of Operation Restore Hope among the population and major armed groups. This was evidenced by the growth of anti-American sentiment in a number of regions of the country. During the fighting in Somalia, more than 130 military personnel of the multinational forces and a large number of civilians were killed; in fact, 2 billion dollars were spent in vain.

The administration of President Bill Clinton, having analyzed psychological operations in Somalia, drew the appropriate conclusions. The first step to eliminate the identified shortcomings was the theoretical development of the actions of PsyOps forces and assets in so-called “peacekeeping operations.” The result was FM-100-23, Peacekeeping Operations, published by the Department of the Army in December 1994. In accordance with it, psychological operations specialists not only provide information and propaganda support for peacekeeping operations, but also play an important role in the process of forming local temporary power structures. The timing of PsyOps, which are conducted in peacetime, are activated during a threatened (special) period, and are intensively conducted during hostilities, has been revised. The United States also has a psychological impact on its own population. The new US-produced film “Three Hundred Spartans” contains information that the United States is preparing its already war-weary population for a new bloody struggle with Iran, which acts as a world evil and “rubs” faith in the “king” into the brains of its population. Bush, which is especially important on the eve of the upcoming presidential elections. “Only he, only our king...” - this is a phrase that reveals one of the true purposes of the film, secretly inciting people to be loyal to their leader, in other words: “Only him, our George.” The Iranian government regarded the filming of this film as a signal to accelerate the preparation of its troops for war with the United States.

The doctrine of psychological operations is an essential component of military theory. Based on press reports, we can conclude that its components are the doctrine of low-intensity conflicts, the doctrine of terrorist warfare using Muslim mercenaries, the doctrine of psychotropic warfare using the media, and the doctrine of waging war by unconventional means. In July 2003, American propaganda began to use the concepts of “preventive war” and “preventive diplomacy.” To understand these phrases, one should recall the 2002 incident in Yemen, when the Americans destroyed a car with 6 passengers who “posed a threat to the United States” with a missile from an unmanned aircraft. In the same vein, the display on American TV in 2003 of devices that, at a distance of 50 meters, knock a person off his feet with sound waves inaudible to the ear is interpreted. Preventive war was evidenced by an incident in Latin America in 2002, when a fighter jet shot down a single-engine aircraft on a tip from an American E-2C aircraft. In the same vein was the case when in 2002 the FBI wiretapped telephone conversations citizens of the Russian Federation in Venice. These facts allow us to conclude that, after all, the existing doctrine of warfare by non-combat methods sets the task in peacetime to destroy foreigners who are considered potentially dangerous to the United States. For this purpose, the latest scientific achievements are used.

Also in the context of waging psychological warfare, the large full-page picture at the beginning (page 2) of the multi-color textbook of US evangelical schools draws attention. The text of the textbook was revised in 1992 (1992 revision), when the USSR had already ceased to exist. The diagram, in black and white, depicted Russia and China surrounded by chains. On the territory of these countries there was a huge soldier's boot with the image of a sickle, a hammer and a star. His heel was located in the region of European Russia, his toe was in China on the Bohai Gulf. Chained to the heel of the boot was a barefoot man with disheveled hair and shabby trousers, the left leg of which had been torn off above the knee. The prisoner's legs were in the region of Kazakhstan, his head was near Moscow. One chain bound him right hand, the second - the left leg, On the diagram south of the Caspian Sea hung a huge American flag the size of Africa to Vietnam, and three American soldiers with rifles at the ready were advancing towards Russian territory. The textbook formed a negative stereotype. Children were shown that Russia and China are hostile communist countries that oppress and keep their populations in poverty. The picture painted Russia as an enemy of freedom, democracy and the United States. Thus, psychological operations were constantly modernized as part of US combat operations in Korea, Vietnam and other regions of the world, and subsequently in peacetime. There is currently a large-scale hidden psychological war being waged against Russia, which is manifested in Everyday life as negative social change and subsequently a number of other factors. This creates the need to study psychological operations and their consequences in order to prevent their influence on the social environment of Russia and create the possibility of adequately countering this non-combat method of warfare.

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Psychological warfare. Psychological warfare techniques

Psychological warfare in a broad sense, this is the purposeful and systematic use by political opponents of psychological and other means (propaganda, diplomatic, military, economic, political, etc.) to directly or indirectly influence opinions, moods, feelings and, ultimately, behavior the enemy in order to force him to act in directions that suit them.

In practice, the term “psychological warfare” is often used in a narrower sense. So, during the " cold war“It was interpreted as a set of ideological actions of Western countries against socialist countries, as subversive anti-communist and anti-Soviet propaganda, as a method of ideological struggle. Similarly, the concept of “psychological warfare” has been used within confrontational thinking in the West as a set of techniques used by the “Eastern Bloc” to undermine the psychological unity of supporters of Western democracy.

Psychological warfare as a real political-psychological process is aimed at undermining the mass social base of political opponents, at destroying confidence in the correctness and feasibility of the enemy’s ideas, at weakening the psychological stability, morale, political, social and all other types of activity of the masses under the influence of opponents. The ultimate goal of psychological warfare is to turn mass consciousness and mass sentiment from satisfaction and readiness to support opponents, to dissatisfaction and destructive actions towards them. Achieving such a goal can be expressed in different forms: from preparing and provoking mass uprisings to overthrow a political regime to arousing interest in socio-political and ideological constructs of an alternative nature.

In practice, “psychological warfare” means the transfer of ideological and political struggle from the sphere of theoretical consciousness to the sphere of everyday consciousness. It refers not to scientific arguments and logical arguments, not to reason and not even to facts, but to irrational phenomena. These include emotions and instincts (social and national pride, selfish interest, sovereign ambitions, the instinct of social and national self-preservation, etc.), prejudices (racial, national) and prejudices (usually of a traditional historical nature). This also includes various socio-ideological mythological constructs (from myths about the “Russian bear” to similar cliches about “world imperialism”, “Islamic threat”, “Masonic conspiracy”, etc.).

The task of such a transfer of struggle from one sphere to another is to transfer it to the level of everyday, everyday psychology - in such a way that this struggle permeates all the problems of people's lives and “explains” them through political confrontation. This is achieved through the massive introduction into the consciousness of people of many false stereotypes of perception and thinking, distorted ideas about the views prevailing in their environment, events occurring in the world and trends in their development.

“Psychological warfare,” as an indispensable component of any war and armed conflict, manifests itself in the form of the so-called “ special propaganda", designed for troops and civilians of a real enemy. Here psychological warfare becomes a means of military-political psychology. Due to its special secrecy, only two extensive projects in the history of this area are known so far. “Secrecy periods” apply, and they are quite long. For example, a psychological portrait of A. Hitler was created on instructions from the CIA by W. Langer in 1943. However, it was published only thirty years later, in 1972.

Project "Kamelot" was developed in the 60s. XX century in the USA by a special organization headed by a hitherto unknown psychologist. The goal of the Camlot project is to organize the collection of information about the balance of political forces in a number of Third World countries with non-capitalist regimes. Task: predicting “outbreaks of violence”, that is, organizing subversive activities. Or, in another version, the protection of pro-Western governments from rebels. Initially, Keylot targeted the government of S. Allende in Chile. Rumors about him leaked to the press and, as if, the American government abandoned him. However, subsequent events in Chile are well known.

Project "Agile" was aimed at studying the effectiveness of counterinsurgency measures in South-East Asia(mostly Vietnam). Objectives: analysis of the motivation of the communists of North Vietnam, mechanisms of resilience and cohesion, psychological consequences of various military and political actions of the Americans in Vietnam. Real advances include understanding negative psychological effects massive bombings DRV. For reference: before this, the decision of US President L. Johnson to start bombing was also based on the opinion of psychologists (from the Rand Corporation). However, they misjudged both the likely reaction of the Vietnamese population and the attitude of American public opinion towards the bombing.

In peacetime, in conditions of forceful confrontation with a potential enemy, psychological warfare acts as one of the leading components of political confrontation. An example of this kind is the Cold War between East and West, which filled the decades after World War II and consisted of countercurrents of myth-making.

Psychological warfare techniques

The most common psychological warfare techniques are divided into 3 groups.

"Psychological pressure." This is repeated repetition of the same false thesis, references to authorities combined with various speculations (from distortion of quotes to references to non-existent sources); manipulation (“game”) of figures and facts to create the appearance of objectivity and accuracy; tendentious selection of illustrative material with an emphasis on the effect of “dramatizing influence”; frightening “visual illustrations” of propaganda views and positions, and other similar techniques designed to create emotional discomfort and neutralize a person’s ability to rationally evaluate the information provided.

An example of such psychological pressure is the so-called “Goebbels propaganda,” which proceeded from the cynical presumption that lies, in order to be effective, must be massive, large-scale, shameless and continuous. In more subtle versions, psychological pressure involves some element of truth used as a cover for massive disinformation. For example, during the peak of the Cold War, in 1975, the West German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau for two months in four issues, developing the theme of the Soviet military threat, consistently increased the number of socialist tanks in Europe: 13,500 tanks in number dated October 8, 15500 - dated December 12, 16 thousand - dated December 16, 18 thousand tanks - dated December 17. At the same time, the number of “Western tanks” during the same time decreased from 6 to 5 thousand.

Unnoticeable penetration into consciousness. This is advertising of one’s (beautiful and carefree) lifestyle, dissemination of desirable (usually one’s own) political values and standards of one’s mass culture through music, entertaining television programs and films, as well as through fashion (clothing, especially with elements of political symbolism, household items, recreation , tourism, etc.).

This also includes the massive dissemination of rumors and gossip as an alternative to the official propaganda of a political opponent. Another component is the construction and introduction of political jokes into the mass consciousness, the composition of pseudo-folklore (“folk”) sayings and proverbs. Most of the techniques for imperceptibly penetrating consciousness are united by the concept “ sociological propaganda" The concepts of sociological propaganda focus on the gradual subconscious infection of both opponents and potential allies with the most attractive elements of the preferred way of life. Being formally devoid of ideological characteristics and political goals, such propaganda is effective in a strategic sense. By stimulating people's needs and interests, it influences the long-term determinants of behavior. Based on detailed planning and differentiated influence on various socio-political forces, such propaganda is carried out “increasingly”, through successive stages of influence.

Hidden violation and distortion of the laws of logic. This includes the substitution of a thesis, a false analogy, a conclusion without a sufficient basis, the substitution of a cause for an effect, a tautology, etc. Psychological warfare of this kind is most effective in relation to the poorly educated strata of society, who are unable to grasp rational perversions and are inclined to take purely nominal constructions on faith. An example is the initial success of pseudo-socialist propaganda used by anti-colonial, national liberation forces in a number of developing countries. Having managed to attract part of the population with them, they later encountered numerous problems associated with the fundamental defects of such methods of influencing people. Although effective for some time, these methods are only tactical in nature, losing their effectiveness as consciousness develops and the population’s awareness grows.

Psychological warfare is not an autonomous aspect in political struggle. This is one of the components of the system of political relations. Therefore, all elements of this system that have a strong psychological impact can be used as its techniques and methods. At one time, the United States proceeded from the fact that the use of atomic weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not so much military as psychological in nature, and had a multiple focus - not only on the Japanese, but also on the Soviet leadership. The entrenched concept of “gunboat diplomacy,” like “nuclear blackmail,” reflects the use of the threat of force of arms for the purpose of psychological warfare.

Being a component of the system of political relations, psychological warfare is present both in external and internal domestic policy. In the foreign policy sphere, it includes the use of psychologically effective propaganda against the enemy in combination with other methods of influence. In domestic politics, it is usually limited to the propaganda confrontation between political opponents, although in some cases it can acquire a more complex, comprehensive character. Domestic political examples of psychological warfare are propaganda clashes during any election campaign or struggle for power. Here, psychological warfare manifests itself in various kinds of arguments, falsifications, as well as political actions aimed at weakening political opponents, undermining the authority of their leaders, and discrediting their actions. Examples of “psychological warfare” of this kind can be the massive campaigns in the United States associated with the “Watergate affair,” which led to the impeachment of President R. Nixon; compromise of G. Hart; the struggle of opponents against R. Reagan within the framework of the Iran-Contra scandal, etc. In modern Russia, numerous examples encountered during election campaigns are called “black PR,” which, in fact, is synonymous with the more traditional concept of “psychological warfare.”

You can often hear the phrase: “I can hit you mentally.” No one even suspects what such a blow can mean for a person. The thing is that a verbal skirmish is only half the story, but a clear strategy to “hit”, “kill” morally is already psychological warfare.

The worst thing is that psychological warfare is equivalent to physical warfare. In addition, it is precisely this type of war that can become the start of, roughly speaking, a world apocalypse.

If you go into history, then an interesting trend can be traced: armies that were skeptical about the war had greater confidence in own strength, while the enemy’s excessive fanaticism led to self-deprecation. Thus, Americans were more likely to win global fights when they were ideologically prepared. A skeptical attitude helped them to oppress the enemy morally, although, in essence, they did nothing, they simply set a peculiar rhythm of attitude towards wars and skirmishes, which the enemy keenly felt.

It is worth considering that a psychological altercation can reach global proportions. Propaganda, for example, acts on a person as mass hypnosis. What good does propaganda bring? It depends on what to promote. The fact is that psychological warfare accompanies everyday life at every step.

Let's look at several categories of psychological warfare:

Psychological warfare in the family. This war, most often, destroys everyday life, although such things begin with it. A husband and wife, who differ in character, spend a very long time getting used to each other, despite high feelings and a desire to live together. Psychological warfare begins with the phrases: “Wash the dishes” or “Don’t throw your socks around.” These banal phrases give rise to a mini-rebellion against everyday life and an unwillingness to give in in the family. No matter how much you would like this, you will have to give in to someone, otherwise life together will not work out. Wise husbands silently put away their socks, and wise wives wash the dishes after the first warning or, better yet, of their own accord. But there is still an opinion that wise people do not point out the mistakes of others, but help to quietly correct them.

Psychological warfare in politics. Politics is a dangerous thing. It’s better not to go there if you have weak nerves. Political moral warfare is expressed in the presence of a dispute in which the so-called “troll” wins. Pay attention to which politicians are successful and popular? Fanaticism in politics is welcomed only if it is ideologically justified and belongs to a person who is guided by fanaticism solely for the purpose of popularizing his role for the country.

Psychological warfare in a team. A group of people with different personalities and different views life causes discomfort for everyone. Some people talk about this discomfort, while others withdraw into themselves and turn into a passive worker whose performance noticeably decreases and their mood drops. You can survive all this, but there will always be a person who will try to oppress the general situation. Psychological warfare in a team ends only when the boss acts as a so-called “educator” and carefully solves the problem with the help of easy, casual communication, from which one can try to understand the essence of the problem and solve it.

Psychological war with yourself. This is the most difficult and longest war. The person seems to be torn apart, suffering from his own exaggerations and far-fetched fears. There are people who oppress themselves, calling it sober self-criticism. Sometimes even self-criticism goes beyond all boundaries, when a person convinces himself and everyone that he, for example, is a loser, and gives up. The war with oneself ends thanks to training and work with a psychologist.

Psychological warfare is a solvable problem. But it’s worth going back to history again: the biggest military mistakes were made due to an incorrect assessment of the enemy’s morale. This does not mean that you should look closely at everything and consult a personal psychologist in everything, just remember: a person who is strong in spirit is not affected by any psychological warfare. Be confident in yourself and no psychological obstacles will affect you.

Psychological weapons and psychological warfare.

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