This fully updated book offers the first systematic analysis of Putin s three wars, placing the Second Chechen War, the war with Georgia of 2008, and the war with Ukraine of 2014 2015 in their broader historical context. Drawing on extensive original Russian sources, Marcel H. Van Herpen analyzes in detail how Putin s wars were prepared and conducted, and why they led to allegations of war crimes and genocide. He shows how the conflicts functioned to consolidate and legitimate Putin s regime and explores how they were connected to a fourth, hidden, internal war waged by the Kremlin against...

This fully updated book offers the first systematic analysis of Putin s three wars, placing the Second Chechen War, the war with Georgia of 2008, and the war with Ukraine of 2014 2015 in their broader historical context. Drawing on extensive original Russian sources, Marcel H. Van Herpen analyzes in detail how Putin s wars were prepared and conducted, and why they led to allegations of war crimes and genocide. He shows how the conflicts functioned to consolidate and legitimate Putin s regime and explores how they were connected to a fourth, hidden, internal war waged by the Kremlin against...

Putin's Propaganda Machine examines Russia s information war, one of the most striking features of its intervention in Ukraine. Marcel H. Van Herpen argues that the Kremlin s propaganda offensive is a carefully prepared strategy, implemented and tested over the last decade. Initially intended as a tool to enhance Russia s soft power, it quickly developed into one of the main instruments of Russia s new imperialism, reminiscent of the height of the Cold War. The author describes a multifaceted strategy that makes use of diverse instruments, including mimicking Western public diplomacy...

Putin's Propaganda Machine examines Russia s information war, one of the most striking features of its intervention in Ukraine. Marcel H. Van Herpen argues that the Kremlin s propaganda offensive is a carefully prepared strategy, implemented and tested over the last decade. Initially intended as a tool to enhance Russia s soft power, it quickly developed into one of the main instruments of Russia s new imperialism, reminiscent of the height of the Cold War. The author describes a multifaceted strategy that makes use of diverse instruments, including mimicking Western public diplomacy...