In Their Own Words: How Russian Propagandists Reveal Putin’s Intentions(54 Ukrainian Voices)

This collection of essays and articles, written between 2019 and 2024 for such outlets as The Daily Beast and The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), illuminates recent Russian international affairs through the lens of Moscow’s propaganda tactics. For more than two decades, the Kremlin’s agitators have been tasked to lay, in advance, the groundwork for various domestic and foreign actions by the regime of Vladimir Putin. Thus, Russian state-controlled media provides crucial clues for deciphering the—often sinister—goals that the government of Russia was and is planning to pursue abroad, from election interference to military invasions. The goal of the sum of these activities is the establishment of a new world order—with Russia at its helm. Before the large invasion of 24 February 2022, Russian state media portrayed the West as incapable of opposing Russian aggression. Putin’s propagandists cheered for war against Ukraine, predicting it would be quick and victorious. Misreading the ability of the West to unite and miscalculating Russia’s capabilities in confronting determined Ukrainians, Russia ended up in a quagmire of its own creation. In 2024, Putin’s decorated propagandists face the possibility of future scrutiny and potential prosecutions for their proactive incitement of genocide. They unravel, along with the Kremlin, having to tell multiple conflicting stories and condemn the same players they used to lionize. Backed into the corner, they resort to nuclear threats and demand even more blood from Ukraine, whose only crime is its desire for democracy and freedom.

About the Author :
Julia Davis, M. Sc., studied Aviation and Spacecraft Engineering at the National Technical University of Kyiv also known as the Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute of Kyiv. Today, Julia lives in the United States and is a prominent Russian media analyst, whose investigations have repeatedly prompted retractions and corrections by RT (formerly “Russia Today”) and other media outlets. Julia has been sanctioned by the Russian Federation for her influential analysis of Russia’s propaganda, war crimes, and genocidal rhetoric. Andreas Umland, M.Phil. (Oxford), Dr.Phil. (FU Berlin), Ph.D. (Cambridge), Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm, Senior Expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future in Kyiv, and Associate Professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Timothy Snyder is the Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University and the author of a number of books, including Bloodlands, The Road to Unfreedom, and the forthcoming On Freedom.

Review :
Davis’ book provides a valuable service, laying out one-after-another, stunning commentary that the Kremlin’s top propagandists want the Russian public to believe. Whether Solovyov, Simonyan, Satanovsky and friends believe what they are saying themselves is unclear, but it is good to know that Davis is monitoring their every word. In Their Own Words earns a prestigious 4 out of 4 trench coats https://www.thecipherbrief.com/book-review/making-sense-out-of-russias-propagandists Podcast interview: https://sites.libsyn.com/453408/tracking-putins-propagandists-with-julia-davis "Julia Davis's work has long been obligatory reading for anyone who seeks to understand Russia. Her new book now provides a chronological account of how the Kremlin’s most popular propagandists shaped the agenda and prepared the Russian population to accept the liquidation of their own opposition, the invasion of Ukraine, and the genocide of Ukrainians." - Anne Applebaum, author of “Gulag: A History and Red Famine”, “Stalin's war on Ukraine” “This collection of articles provides analysis of Russia’s domestic and international propaganda, with an unmistakable trend. State-controlled propagandists cultivate popular opinion well in advance of what the government is planning, including but not limited to the invasion of Ukraine and interference in foreign elections. Outrageous and unlikely propaganda narratives have a tendency to become a reality, months and years later. These narratives are replete with warnings of what the Kremlin would like to do in the future—ignoring them might prove very costly in the long run.” - Admiral James Stavridis, 16th supreme allied commander of NATO and author most recently of “2054” a novel of geopolitics and artificial intelligence. "Few in the West have ever experienced the bizarre and dehumanizing propaganda that now dominates all Russia media. Julia Davis, however, has kept a steady eye on this electronic madness and this book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the darkness that has overtaken Russia." - Tom Nichols, Professor Emeritus, Naval War College