Russian State Duma duped: Over 100 politicians follow fake poet publishing Nazi-Era poetry
Russian anti-war activists have created a social media profile on the social network VKontakte for a fictional poet named Gennadiy Rakitin. Under the guise of Rakitin’s original works, they published translations of German poems from the Nazi era. The poems gained popularity, and Rakitin managed to attract 95 Russian State Duma deputies and 28 senators as followers. Furthermore, the supposed poet even received a diploma from a nationwide patriotic poetry contest, reported journalist Andrei Zakharov. The Gennadiy Rakitin project was managed by Zakharov's acquaintances, all of whom are anti-war activists. Although they are not professional poets, they are enthusiasts and translated the German poems with great care, Zakharov revealed.
According to Zakharov, Gennadiy Rakitin is an entirely fictional character, with even his photograph being generated by AI technology.
The fake poet was not particularly prolific, having written only 18 poems over the course of a year. One of these poems, titled "The Leader", is dedicated to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, it is, in reality, a translation of "Führer" by Eberhard Möller, a committed Nazi and anti-Semite who joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party) before Hitler came to power.
In this work, the author addresses the national leader, depicted as a gardener reaping the fruits of arduous labor — the sun of his immortality.
Zakharov explains that the differences between the original and the translated poems are minimal. Germany is replaced by Russia, and, for instance, the "Nameless Storm Trooper" became the "Nameless Wagner PMC Fighter," the journalist clarifies.
Besides gaining popularity within the parliamentary cohort, Rakitin also earned recognition among patriotic circles. The fake poet participated in poetry contests dedicated to the Russian Special Military Operation (SVO) and even reached the semi-finals in one, receiving an honorary diploma. Additionally, Rakitin’s works, as Zakharov puts it, went mainstream. They were quoted by various pro-war authors and channels dedicated to "z-poetry."
Yesterday, the creators of the Gennadiy Rakitin project decided to out themselves, as they no longer had the energy to continue the ruse. On the fake poet's page, they posted the following poem:
Gennadiy long mocked
z-poetry on the wall,
In the end, drew a d!ck
On the war.
"And this is not a translation of Nazi poetry," concludes Andrei Zakharov.