In Their Own Words

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.



"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



This collection of essays and articles (2019-2024 ) illuminates recent Russian international affairs through the lens of Moscow’s propaganda tactics.



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



Davis has produced a formidable and unique analysis of how Russian state media has been, and continues to be, used to mobilise Russian support for a full-scale invasion through the de-humanisation of Ukrainians and its importance in maintaining public support for Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The book is indispensable reading for those interested in locating the roots of genocidal discourse in Putin’s fascist dictatorship.



— Taras Kuzio, professor of political science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.