Vladimir Martus and the “Shtandart” on a mission of diplomatic representation under the auspices and with the financing of Putin, October 2021.

Cover image, The Battle of Chesme by Ivan Aïvazovski, painted in 1848

Short URL – https://bit.ly/shtandart-chesme

In October 2021, the participation in « The flame of Cesme: The Greek Gambit » mission handled under the auspices of Vladimir Putin’ financed by the Presidential Administration’s Grant Fund via the Russian Geographical Society, headed by Sergei Shoigu, and with Vladimir Putin as Chairman of the Board of Directors, definitively invalidates the parallel reality of Vladimir Martus as an opponent of the Kremlin since 2009, while at the same time sinking the fiction of the Shtandart, Russian “anti-Putin” vessel.

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1. Russian and Greek sources evidencing the links between the ship Shtandart and Russian regime
2. A discovery at the wrong time
3. Double talk and double-dealing
4. The art of diversion
5. Attempting to put things into perspective
6. Contempt?
7. A highly political context
   • What the Russian Geographical Society has to say about it?
   • What the creation of a medal awarded to Putin, Shoigu, the organizers and participants has to say about it?
   • What the Russian ambassador to Greece says about it?
   • What the planned follow-up to this mission has to say about Shtandart?
8. Have your cake and eat it too?
9. A method that’s all too familiar
10. Addendum

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1. Russian and Greek sources evidencing the links between the ship Shtandart and Russian regime

The Russian and Greek documents presented below nullify the rhetoric put forward by Vladimir Martus and its networks of influence regarding Shtandart being a political opponent. On the opposite, they evidence its links, including financial ones, with Russian presidential administration, with is diplomatic services and with ist propaganda agencies.They will support the debunking work performed in the following parts of this article.

• Русское географическое общество, 06/07/2020 – Путешествие сквозь века: в год 250-летия Чесменского сражения к греческим островам отправится уникальная экспедиция
  Société russe de géographie, 06/07/2020 – Voyages à travers les siècles : l’année du 250e anniversaire de la bataille de Tchesmé, une expédition unique partira pour les îles grecques
• Ethnos, 06/10/2021 – Η ιστορική ρωσική φρεγάτα Shtandart στο Αιγαίο (La frégate historique russe Shtandart dans la mer Égée)
• μηχανη του χρονου, 16/10/2021 – Δείτε από ψηλά το ρωσικό ιστιοφόρο Shtandart στο Αιγαίο. Θα ερευνήσει παλιά αγκυροβόλια και ναυάγια ρωσικών πλοίων…
  Michani tou chronou, 16/10/2021- The Russian sailing vessel Shtandart in the Aegean Sea.
• Сводка-плюс, 21/10/2021 – Через века, через года, будем помнить о них всегда (Au fil des siècles, au fil des années, nous nous souviendrons toujours d’eux.)
• РИА Новости Медиабанк – Экспедиция РГО « Пламя Чесмы. Греческий гамбит » в Средиземном море (Фото галерея)
  RIA Novosti Mediabank – RGO expedition “The Flame of Chesma. Greek Gambit” in the Mediterranean Sea (Photo gallery)
  
• Русское географическое общество, 01/11/2021 – Эффект бабочки: почему появление российского парусного фрегата взбудоражило Грецию
  Russian Geographical Society, 01/11/2021 – The butterfly effect: why the appearance of the Russian sailing frigate excited Greece
  Société russe de géographie, 01/11/2021 – L’effet papillon : pourquoi l’apparition d’une frégate russe a enthousiasmé la Grèce
• Журнал-Самоуправление-№6-128-2021 – Курсом адмирала Cпиридова
  Zhurnal-Samoupravleniye-№6-128-2021 – Sur le parcours de l’amiral Spiridov
• РИА Новости, 18/02/2022 – Андрей Маслов: для антироссийской пропаганды почва в Греции не благоприятна
  RIA Novosti, 18/02/2022 – Andreï Maslov : Le sol grec n’est pas propice à la propagande antirusse
• K1NEWS.RU, 28/05/2022 – Сергей Шойгу наградил серебряной медалью главного костромского географа
  K1NEWS.RU, 28/05/2022 – Sergey Choïgou a décerné une médaille d’argent au géographe en chef de Kostroma.

All articles about Chesme expedition by Russian Geographical Society, in Russian: https://bit.ly/chesme-rgo-ru

All the Russian articles referred to in this paper and many more documenting the links between Vladimir Martus and Russian regime can be found here:

• Originals in Russian: https://bit.ly/na-russkom
• Translated into French: https://bit.ly/shtandart-bibliographie

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2. A discovery at the wrong time

On July 11, 2022, we identified from a Greek-language article the Shtandart expedition to commemorate the naval victory of Chesma or Chesme (Çeşme) held in October 2021. Since then, our Ukrainian activists have been tracing the thread on Russian publications. For his part, journalist Joce Hue examined the #NoShtandartInEurope online dossier in order to write his article for “76actu”. As well as interviewing us, he asked the captain/owner of the Shtandart about this mission to the Aegean Sea, which he and his sales representative Michel Balique had made sure never to mention to our compatriots. Indeed, this is a crucial element in the toxic Shtandart affair, which has been poisoning opinions and French ports since April 2022.

Martus doesn’t reply to Joce Hue, but he does engage in diversions on minor points, in whataboutism, even in incantatory ramblings.

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3. Double talk and double-dealing

Vladimir Martus begins by saying that, while his ship took part in the diplomatic mission commemorating the Chesme victory, the Shtandart‘s name was concealed. As if that made any sense? As if this preserved his status as a “visceral anti-Putin opponent”? To appreciate the surrealistic nature of this statement, it should be pointed out that no lover of maritime heritage needs the name of a historic ship to recognize it. It should also be added that there are numerous Russian articles and videos in which the owner of the Shtandart congratulates himself on his participation. This “masked name” allegation makes no sense other than to confirm Martus’s double-speak and double-act. In fact, although it changes nothing except to give a hint as to how much credence Martus’ claims are to be given, the Shtandart‘s name was quite apparent in Greece, as these SPUTNIK photos show.

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4. The art of diversion

“It’s not true that the Shtandart was commissioned by the Russian government.”

Vladimir Martus – Captain-owner of the Shtandart, quoted by Joce Hue on January 10, 2023 (Fr)

#NoShtandartInEurope didn’t say that. But what could be more logical than invoking non-existent accusations to better “counter” them? This sophism is more comfortable than answering the real questions put to you.

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5. Attempting to put things into perspective

“The ship had a commercial contract with a local branch of the Russian Geographical Society”.

Vladimir Martus – Captain-owner of the Shtandart, quoted by Joce Hue on January 10, 2023 (Fr)

Martus now tells us that his commercial contract was only with a “local branch” of the Russian Geographical Society. That the expedition was organized by the Kostroma establishment is correct. But Kostroma is no backwater in Siberia or the Russian Far East. It’s a historic princely city of the Golden Ring, with a population of 269,000 (more than twice the size of Rouen), 300 km northeast of Moscow. In other words, just next door, given the vastness of Russia.

In any case, whatever the branch, it is still the Russian Geographical Society. What’s more, the funding, which paid for the Shtandart, did indeed come from the Russian Presidential Administration’s Grants Fund (See: Russian Geographical Society, July 6, 2020, Ru). Finally, and once again, the official website of the Russian Geographical Society gives a full account of the expedition in multiple articles (Ru).

UPDATE: on 29 March 2024, in contradiction to what he had told Joce Hue in January 2023, Vladimir Martus no longer talks of a charter by the regional branch (Kostroma) of the Russian Geographical Society. Speaking to Laetitia Jacq-Galdeano of the newspaper Ouest-France (Fr), he claims: ‘As the owner of the boat, I signed a contract with the filming company (of the film about the expedition) to transport it’.

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6. Contempt?

“For them (Russian Geographical Society), it was a matter of replacing the originally planned rental of a Turkish boat of similar size.”

Vladimir Martus – Captain-owner of the Shtandart, quoted by Joce Hue on January 10, 2023 (Fr)

How could anyone believe that, for a diplomatic mission of this importance, the Russian Federation would hire a Turkish ship to represent it at an event intended, in the words of the Russian Geographical Society, to “celebrate the glory of Russia” by commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Chesma, “a grandiose victory over the Ottoman Empire”? (See: Russian Geographical Society, July 6, 2020, Ru) Would the Turks make one of their ships available to celebrate their most bitter naval defeat after Lepanto? Can we imagine, for a moment, Great Britain renting the Hermione, La Fayette’s frigate, to celebrate its immense victory at Trafalguar against the French? This “answer” makes no sense other than to show a form of contempt for those for whom this speech is intended.

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7. A highly political context

“There was no political context, nor contacts with ‘high officials’”,

Vladimir Martus – Captain-owner of the Shtandart, quoted by Joce Hue on January 10, 2023 (Fr)

It was, of course, a highly political soft-power mission, if not imperialist propaganda. Let’s recall its official aim: “to celebrate the glory of Russia” and “a grandiose victory”. The captain-owner of the Shtandart is free to tell us that His Excellency, Mr. Andrey M. Maslov, Russian Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Greece, who organized the celebration, is a petty civil servant. In any case, we repeat, the October 2021 operation was placed under the high patronage of President Putin, who opened his pot to it, and of whom Martus has claimed to be an opponent since 2009.

7.1. What the Russian Geographical Society has to say about it?

Separately, it should be said about the reaction of the Greek society to the RGS (Russian Geographical Society, RGO) expedition. For several days, it was in the headlines of the media… Excursions to the ship were organized for local residents and tourists, everyone could get acquainted with its structure and exhibition on board. More than five thousand people took advantage of this chance… And, of course, according to the ship’s tradition, at the entrance to the port, the Shtandart saluted with a rolling volley fire. Russian diplomats in Greece also provided assistance to the expedition. The friendly reception was preceded by the fruitful months-long work of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Greece Andrey Maslov and the head of the Group for Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation Fedor Kalaidov.

« The butterfly effect: why the appearance of the Russian sailing frigate excited Greece », RGO, 01/11/2021

7.2. What the creation of a medal awarded to Putin, Shoigu, the organizers and participants has to say about it ?

“And the battle of Chesme continues…”

Update: the article “And the battle of Chesme continues…” was removed from Russian website SVODKA PLUS.RU after publication of this paper by « No Shtandart in Europe »

7.3. What the Russian ambassador to Greece says about it?

« The Russian-Greek Year of History in 2021-2022 is the fourth consecutive “cross” thematic project in the relations of our countries since 2016, which is held under the patronage of the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Greece… Among the interesting planned events is the presentation in both countries of a bilingual documentary film made in October 2021 by the participants of the international historical and educational expedition of the Russian Geographical Society “The flame of Chesme: The Greek Gambit”, which on an exact replica of Peter the Great’s frigate “Shtandart” traveled along the route of the first Archipelagic campaign of the Russian Imperial Navy in 1770-1774. »

Andrey Maslov, Russian Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Greece, February 22, 2022 on RIA NOVOSTI (Ru)

7.4. What the planned follow-up to this mission has to say about Shtandart?

Not only did this Russian soft-power mission meet all the expectations of the Russian leadership, but a follow-up was also envisaged before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the introduction of sanctions. Only in France today (January 15, 2023) can the Shtandart still promote the country of which it is a part of the networks of influence. Be that as it may, the consideration given to its missions and the numerous publications that result from them are the antithesis of the image that a man and his ship proclaiming themselves to be determined opponents of the Kremlin since 2009 wish to project.

‘The news portals Morpolit (Pavel Nikolaevich Lantsov) and Svodka-plus (Alexey Viktorovich Podymov), the weekly magazine Literary Russia (Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovich Ohryzko) and the magazine Self-Management (Gennady Yuryevich Leonov, Anatoly Andreevich Gusev) have told their readers the whole truth about the Russian Geographical Society expedition that took place. And its importance has already been recognised by history.
And in the future, it is possible that even, perhaps, in 2022, a new expedition will follow Admiral Spiridov’s course. This time, its participants will rush to the coast of the Spanish island of Menorca. And once again, the ship Shtandart will go there, picking up the participants of the new campaign in Italy or Greece. You have just read the documents by military journalist Valentin Malyutin, and then you will discover all the details of this fascinating and glorious voyage’.

SVODKA PLUS.RU, 30/12/2021, “And the battle of Chesme continues…”

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8. Have your cake and eat it too?

Let’s be clear. Russia is what it is. Nothing happens there like it does in our Western countries. As a Russian citizen, Vladimir Martus had every right to take part in the event commemorating Chesme and to be paid, including by Putin, for his performance.

But we must demand that he behaves with decency and takes responsibility for his choices. He must stop making fun of the French, from whom he extorts illegal favours, by pretending to be an outlawed political opponent or a refugee, when in fact he is here to conduct business and possibly carry out other missions. He must stop exploiting the abominations committed in Ukraine by his fellow Russians for personal marketing purposes and cynically proclaiming himself to be a ‘victim persecuted by Putin in the same way as Ukrainians’.

Martus’s house is not bombed or in ruins. The members of his family are not raped, tortured and murdered by Wagner’s armed mob, by Kadyrovists or by ‘mobyks’ from Eastern Siberia. His children are not abducted, deported, forcibly adopted and derussified in an enemy country. They do not live in Mariupol, Bucha, Gostomel or Borodyanka. They live quietly at home in St Petersburg. Martus does not come under fire from the grads (multiple rocket launchers) that plough through the frozen mud of the Bakhmut trenches. He has a private 34.5m yacht, so he can sail wherever he likes. If he doesn’t want to go home, he can always discover new shores, those of countries that do not apply sanctions against Russia. There’s no shortage of that. Fair winds to the Shtandart!

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9. A method that’s all too familiar

The way in which the La Rochelle ‘quartet’ instrumentalised Ukrainian humanitarian aid (Fr) in the service of promoting the Russian ship Shtandart, the attempt to infiltrate the #NoShtandartInEurope blog, the claim to be sailing under two flags, etc. were already reasoning unpleasantly for those familiar with the mechanisms of Russian information warfare and the маскировка (maskirovka) of the Shtandart. Vladimir Martus’s words about his diplomatic representation of the Russian Federation in October 2021 at a celebration held under the high patronage of Vladimir Putin are worthy of the television performances of Alexander Makogonov, the spokesman for the Russian embassy in Paris.

Any normal person would be distraught at Chesme’s revelation, but not Martus. He is applying the tried and tested Russian technique of discrediting whistleblowers by means of an ‘argumentum ad personam’, launching diversions, not responding to technical arguments, multiplying versions, adding new pages to his fable so that the reader no longer knows who to believe and so that those responsible for demystifying the situation are drowned in a flood of mindless disinformation.

Although it may seem surprising to the French, who live in peace and far from a neighbour as cruelly invasive as Russia, Ukrainians in our #NoShtandartInEurope collective spontaneously refer to the disinformation techniques that prevailed during the destruction of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over the Donbass in July 2014.

The destruction of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 gave rise to an incredible campaign of lies, falsifications and distortions of the truth that has not stopped since.

Slate FR, 31/10/2016 – Investigation into flight MH17: the Kremlin has never gone so far as to obstruct the course of justice (fr)

Since April 2022, Michel Balique and Vladimir Martus have been working to discredit those who point out the European regulations banning Russian ships from French ports. They describe them as idiotic polemicists, individuals promoting hatred between Russians and Ukrainians, primary anti-Russians, racists, Russophobes, promoters of public disorder, extremists, potential fomenters of violence, etc. These are the language elements promoted by the Kremlin since 2014. They are supported by a French press more than overwhelmingly subjugated by the ‘anti-Putin ship’. We should mention, in particular, the recent vindictive libel by the troll Benoît Marin-Curtoud on Paris-Normandie (Fr). They have the enthusiasm of a group of devotees to whom Martus speaks like a guru, a pro-Putin extreme right and other political families, who legitimately aspire to peace without understanding the reality of the war in Ukraine. They manipulate a public that wants to dream. They provide a smokescreen for their client organisations seeking to cover up their illegal activities. Vladimir Martus can say what he likes with impunity.

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10. Addendum

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