Many years ago at high school, we studied critical thinking.
When you're at the scene of an apparent gun-to-temple suicide, and THIS is the gun in question...
The way to tell that it wasn't suicide should be so screamingly obvious that it shouldn't even need to be explained.*
In much the same way, Russian narratives are screamingly obvious when they're fake. Because the narrative jumps around in exactly the same way as a shifty looking five year old who's clearly done something naughty, trying to talk their way out of it.
When a KABOOM should cheer the peasants up, but unfortunately involves
massive collateral damage (like a Malaysian jet or a hospital full of kids)...
1. We did it.
2. Shh! That makes us look like the bad guys. We don't want to admit that.!
3. Okay... THEY did it.
4. Alright then, but they know it wasn't THAT "they", so tell 'em it was ANOTHER "they".
5. Is Julia Davies watching? No? Hehehe. Comrades, don't tell the West! But We did it really.
6. What do you mean, it's all over Twitter now? Oh, crap. Time to whip out the "NATO did it" card.
When a KABOOM is actually a self-inflicted clusterf***k that'd be bad news for the
peasants back home, and you don't want to give the enemy the satisfaction...
1. We did it, but it's okay - it was just an unfortunate accident but LUCKILY nothing and nobody was harmed.
2. Oops... People will laugh their asses off at our incompetence!
3. Okay... THEY did it. With OUR weapons.
4. That's never gonna fly - they know it wasn't THAT "they". Change the story..
5. Is Julia Davies watching? No? Hehehe. Comrades, a genetically modified Cossack supersoldier...
6. Ahem. There's maybe an open seventh floor window waiting for you if you finish that retarded sentence.
7. Oh, f**k it. Time to whip out the "NATO did it" card again I guess.
* (If you're wondering - the whiskey-and-revolver trick would require a fifteen foot armspan and muscles like Hercules).