by
Austin BaySeptember 3, 2025
On Aug. 24, Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov threatened Norway with nuclear annihilation.
I do not exaggerate. The Barents Observer (via arctictoday.com) reported that Solovyov, on his "Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" program said Russia should "destroy" Norway, with nukes.
From the article: "Are they all ready to die for it? (Hang on for defining "it.") Well, there aren't that many of them (Norwegians), so it will be quick. Moreover, no one will even notice that the Norwegians are gone."
Solovyov delivered this threat during a "conversation" with comrade sidekick Yevgeny Buzhinsky. Apparently, Buzhinsky is a Cold War old-timer who longs for the USSR. He's identified as a "Soviet and Russian military diplomat ..."
Solovyov has threatened other European nations with nuclear immolation. However, Norway has become a special target.
I won't quote blow by blow -- a waste of space. I'll sketch the essentials of Solovyov's TV threat skit in present tense. Understand their latest casus belli are perceived threats from Free Europe* to help Ukraine defend itself.
Buzhinsky declares: "Europe is preparing for war!"
Solovyov interrupts: "We need to strike now! There's no point in waiting for them to prepare. We need to destroy them immediately."
Buzhinsky adds that the Russian foreign ministry considers countries producing weapons for supply to Ukraine as "legitimate targets."
Later, Buzhinsky says: "I think the Germans should think about it." ("It" is nuclear destruction.)
Solovyov: "They will only start thinking when we actually strike with the Oreshnik (a Russian ballistic missile) ..."
Then they get to little old Norway.
Buzhinsky: "The Norwegians, with whom we have always had fairly smooth relations since World War II, suddenly became concerned that we are re-establishing the Moscow and Leningrad military districts. And they decided that we are threatening Spitsbergen (see below), although it is a demilitarized zone. But for some reason, the Norwegians consider it entirely theirs and are ready to ..."
Solovyov interrupts: "Die for it, all of them?"
Laugh it off? They are empowered buffoons delivering a Kremlin-approved script. They tell fellow Russians that Moscow has the power to destroy petty European neighbors. The script tells the neighbors to surrender or die.
Do Russians believe it? According to Arctic Today, "In June 2025, the program 'Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov' received an award as the best evening socio-political talk show."
Authoritarian media is definitely self-reinforcing. The New York Times, CNN and Washington Post got a Pulitzer for flacking the RussiaRussiaRussia hoax.
There is a minor diplomatic contretemps. Russia is currently threatening to deny Norwegian fishermen access to Russian fishing grounds if Norway refuses to drop sanctions against two Russian companies. A 1976 agreement permits joint fishing in the Barents and Norwegian Seas.
The deeper bilateral issue, however, is Arctic territory that gives Norway an extensive economic zone in the Arctic Ocean: Svalbard -- the island referred to as Spitzbergen. It's 900 kilometers north of continental Norway. Based on a 1920 treaty (which the USSR signed in 1935), Russia has rights to coal deposits on the island.
Since 2015 -- a year after Vladimir Putin grabbed Crimea -- Russia has behaved as if Svalbard is Russian territory. In 2023, The Barents Observer reported Russia held a World War II May 9 Victory Day parade on Svalbard. In March 2025, Russia accused Norway of militarizing the island. Politico reported that Russia "seems to view" Svalbard "as a place to test new ways of asserting itself and undermining the West" and "follows Moscow's playbook in Ukraine ..."
Nuclear threats are part of the playbook.
Russian nuclear dominance is central to Putin's threatened war on Free Europe. Free Europe? By that I mean NATO+ Europe. Allegedly, neutral Austria and Switzerland participate in the pan-European air-space defense European Sky Shield initiative. Free Europe has a GDP around $26.5 trillion.
The U.S. nuclear shield contained the USSR during the Cold War. Kremlin propagandists constantly portrayed the U.S. as a nuclear aggressor -- but the lie ultimately failed. The U.S. remains committed to defending NATO nations and, in response to a real Russian nuclear attack, using nuclear weapons. Britain and France possess nuclear weapons, and have signaled they are willing to use them to defend Free Europe.
The Ukraine War has damaged Russia, economically and militarily. In 11 years of war (2014 Crimea attack), Russia has failed to destroy Ukraine. Finland and Sweden have joined NATO. Free Europe is rearming.
Russian nuclear weapons are real, but let Norway serve as an example. Norway hasn't flinched; it's ready to fight. Oslo recently announced it's buying five new British Type 26 frigates.
Free Europe has begun to treat Russia's nuclear theatrics as a desperate loser's soap opera.