The brutal knife murder in Örebro attracted a lot of attention in Sweden.
But when details of the incident came out, it became news – even in Russia.
– This is an event that Russian propaganda just cannot avoid exploiting for its audience, says Patrik Oksanen, journalist and security policy expert.
In February, a woman in her 50s was murdered, while the woman’s daughter was seriously injured.
A 26-year-old man, former classmate of the injured daughter, is suspected of the crime, which is said to have been carried out with a knife and a skewer-like object.
But it is a couple of bloody notes with dark messages that have made Russian propaganda sites interested in the case.
“They were Russian agents!!! Slava Ukraini!”, could be read on one of them.
– This tragic case is a typical example of how well it fits into the Russian propaganda narrative, says Patrik Oksanen, journalist and security policy expert.
Aimed at the Russian population
Patrik Oksanen believes that this type of Russian propaganda is common, especially when something can be linked to Russophobia. The Örebro case can therefore be seen as an obvious example given the motive of the suspected murderer – that the victims were “Russian spies”.
– This type of story is made primarily for a Russian or Russian-speaking audience, it is not aimed at the general Swedish public.
Oksanen says that Russia’s aim is to scare the Russian population and make them believe that they are under threat and thus increase the population’s loyalty to the regime.
– This is an event that Russian propaganda just cannot avoid exploiting for its audience. Then it is totally uninteresting for Russian propaganda to tell that this is about a mentally ill person and so on, says Patrik Oksanen.