'Masha and the Bear' reminds me of the German waiters scare of 1910

Fifty members of the British parliament from six parties have written an open letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy demanding that the Russian animated series Masha and the Bear be pulled from streaming services, BBC Russia reports.

The signatories include members from Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the Scottish National Party, and Plaid Cymru. The series amounts to propaganda, the lawmakers argued, and “not subtle” propaganda at that. As an example, they mention an episode in which Masha, while guarding the Bear’s vegetable garden, first puts on a peaked cap with a blue band and a red star — resembling those worn by NKVD officers — and then dons a tank crew helmet.

The letter reminds Nandy that the NKVD was responsible for the mass deportation, execution, and persecution of tens of millions of Soviet citizens. In the lawmakers’ view, the series “actively normalizing Soviet military iconography for a global audience of young children.”

The warmongering press of 1910 in all countries led  to the end in  sense of civilisation, certainly Edwardian civilisation, to World Wars, Communism ruling half of Europe and to the modern Middle East.