Ukraine

"The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves!"

Seems that from the beginning russia want to be portrayed as the "evil empire" by the rest of the world (the countries that have moral standards, at least) - or don't care how they're portrayed, perhaps as they thought/think they can dictate their image or muddy the waters with misinformation, as long as the people at home are kept brainwashed enough.