The Ukraine Soap Opera

A story resembling one of Indonesia’s many popular soap operas has been doing the rounds on the country’s social media. 

In the tale, a woman and her loyal husband divorced, and he agreed to pay off her debts while giving her custody of their three children. But after a rich neighbour seduced the woman, her ex-husband was so furious that he took one of the children back. The two others, meanwhile, demanded that their father discipline their mother. 

But the deeply misogynistic story, with its depictions of domestic violence, is no soap opera. It is actually pro-Russia messaging, with Russia cast as the wronged man and Ukraine in the role of the ex-wife. The rich neighbor is the United States, and Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, the three children. 

The story is thought to have first appeared on the Chinese messaging app Weibo in the days following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its enthusiastic reception in Indonesia through WhatsApp groups and on other social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, suggests an increasingly pro-Russia stance among Indonesians.

Mainstream media is overwhelmingly favorably disposed to Ukraine.

But I reckon that outside of the so-called West – on the ground at least – there is significant, if not popular support for Russia. 

Yes, even in Malaysia.