The disinformation campaign that accompanied Russia's invasion of Ukraine was unprecedented in the post-Soviet era, provoking the US Department of State to assume the role of fact checker! Beginning with Moscow's ‘soft power’ campaign, which morphed into the Kremlin's ‘information war,’ Van Herpen (director, Cicero Foundation, Maastricht and Paris) analyzes Russia's ‘propaganda machine’ in terms of its tools and methods, effectiveness, and limitations. Following a comprehensive account of the evolution of the Kremlin's use of domestic and foreign media, Van Herpen focuses on the role of the Russian Orthodox Church as a case study of Russia's ‘secret weapon.’ The last third of his book is an insightful analysis of the Kremlin's success, if not to entirely deceive, then to create confusion among Western countries generally but Germany in particular and France most recently. He concludes with an inventory of Kremlin successes and failures. Viewing the Russian propaganda machine as a crucial aspect of Moscow's ‘reimperialization’ of the post–Soviet space, Van Herpen argues that the West needs to stop tolerating Moscow's media presence. It should also make a greater effort to counter Russian propaganda. The book is strongly recommended to scholars as well as specialists on Russia and international affairs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels except community college.

Choice Reviews

Marcel Van Herpen has written a sobering book chronicling the exponential rise of Russia’s soft-power capabilities which, he argues, are much more effective than old-fashioned Soviet propaganda techniques, and whose negative implications for Western democracy the Euro-Atlantic community has been too slow to comprehend.

Survival

A valuable resource when trying to understand the geopolitical developments between Russia and the West. . . .Van Herpen’s research puts together a convincing picture to help the reader understand the lengths to which Russia is willing to go with its propaganda abroad. Some of the cases presented in the book read like investigative reports, chillingly putting the pieces together to show how tangled some parts of the West are becoming with Kremlin interests.

New Eastern Europe

A good book for understanding how Russian propaganda works and what instruments the Kremlin uses.... A valuable resource.

Parlamentni Listy

Marcel H. Van Herpen, Director of the Cicero Foundation, offers a very rich analysis of the tools of the propaganda offensive launched by the Kremlin after the intervention in Ukraine in 2014. Drawing on the experience gained during Soviet times, half-truths or truths out of context became the cornerstones of a massive disinformation campaign, which gained several supporters in Western countries. The author points out that Putin’s propaganda offensive was not a mere emulation of the Soviet model. It also made use of four relevant developments: an unprecedentedly generous budget to be allocated to all actors involved in the campaign; the profound modernization of the media machine (which includes all media, not just newspapers); the growth of psychological know how; exploitation of the openness of Western media to convey its messages.

The International Spectator

Marcel van Herpen reminds us that Russia’s propaganda machine is working actively and intensively. In addition to military interventions, Russia effectively employs its ‘soft power.’ Written in a lucid and comprehensive style, this book clearly represents the strong and weak aspects of Russian propaganda. This knowledge becomes the starting point for resisting the operation of the propaganda machine and reducing its influence.

Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences