Just this week, Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, got himself into a little hot water over comments he posted to his Twitter account. While the international community may have grown accustomed to Rogozin’s antics at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, which include hanging a poster of Joseph Stalin in his ambassadorial office, his latest anecdotes in the “twittersphere” are raising new concerns.
In reference to the planned U.S. installation of anti-missile interceptors in Romania, Rogozin tweeted, “The Americans and their allies again want to surround the den of the Russian bear? How many times must they be reminded that this is dangerous?”
However, Rogozin did not stop there.
“The bear will come out,” he furthered, and “kick the ass of these miserable hunters.” Undoubtedly, the “hunters” Rogozin is referring to are the United States, NATO, and their allies.
Interestingly, this is not the first time Rogozin has engaged in such tactics via-Twitter. In fact, Rogozin is infamous for tweeting insulting comments in respect to others in the international community.
On the micro-blogging site, Rogozin has consistently pointed out NATO failures, has labeled the thinking of Western leaders as “irrational,” and even called former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko a “loser.”
The politics of Twitter are undeniable.
The New York Times reported that from PR to trash talking, many believe Rogozin’s Twitter activity is all part of a greater scheme cooked up by the Kremlin. Revaz Beshidze, the Georgian representative to NATO, is one of those who believe this is the case.
According to Beshidze, “he is implementing strict instructions from Moscow.” The Georgian diplomat implied that Rogozin’s sole purpose is to bully the West in its own institutional backyard.
David J. Kramer, the former deputy assistant secretary of state in George W. Bush’s administration described Rogozin’s actions saying, “His job is virtually to drop rhetorical bombs on NATO. As for where Rogozin’s tweets fit in, Kramer said, “His public profile runs counter to any sense that Russia is serious about improving relations with NATO.”
While Rogozin is undeniably pushing the boundaries of Twitter, there are slim to no guidelines which specify only “diplomatic niceties” are allowed.
While we struggle to understand the politics at work behind the scenes, this instance remind us that public social networking sites are always open to the manipulative forces of governments.
