In today's #vatnik soup I'll be talking about books, documentaries, podcasts, etc. that I have found to be useful in understanding disinfo, Russian info ops, culture, etc. It's by no means a comprehensive list, but I think it's a good start! Also,list YOUR favorites below 👇🏻1/13
Books/audiobooks
Catherine Belton (@CatherineBelton): Putin's People - If I could recommend only one book, it'd be this one. It's a fantastically written book about the rise of Putin and Putinism and a masterwork of investigative journalism.
2/13
Keir Giles (@KeirGiles): Russia's War on Everybody - A comprehensive look on different aspects of Russian politics, bringing together various themes and stories from the military, politics, espionage, cyber operations, etc. Good book for getting a general overview on Russia.
3/13
Jessikka Aro (@JessikkaAro): Putin's Trolls - A great overview on Russia's information operations against the West. The focus is more on IRA, Prigozhin, and Aro's personal experiences while working as a journalist for Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE.
4/13
Mikhail Zygar (@zygaro): All the Kremlin's Men - A great history about Putin and his inner circle. The book focuses on telling the events from a neutral point of view rather than moralizing. Lots of names and dates, so can be hard to follow at times.
5/13
The publishing of this book was a huge event in Ukraine, as it revealed the Russian plans to annex Crimea in Dec, 2013. It was published in English in 2016.
6/13
Luke Harding (@lukeharding1968): Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia's Remaking of the West - A great book on Russian espionage and corruption and their KGB-style murders around the world.
7/13
Documentaries
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (Evgeny Afineevsky, @evgeny_director) - This documentary about the Maidan uprising gives you a good overview on the origins of the Russo-Ukrainian War. You can watch it on Youtube:
8/13
Adam Curtis: Curtis is probably my biggest source of inspiration, and his documentaries on geopolitics are my long-time favorites. I'd suggest watching at least The Century of the Self, The Power of Nightmares, HyperNormalisation & his latest, Can't Get You Out of My Head.
9/13
Podcasts
BBC's Ukrainecast - I listened to this podcast daily for the first six months or so of the war. Lots of Ukrainian voices, great expert guests and fantastic insights on different aspects of the war. A show with very high production value.
10/13
Joe Rogan Experience: Controversial, but Rogan often invites guests who know a lot about the war. I'd suggest you to listen Peter Zeihan's interview with wild analysis on the war in Ukraine. Most people dislike JRE, I've been a fan for over a decade.
11/13
Research
Conley et al.: The Kremlin Playbook - Great summary of Russia's "economic war" that they waged against the West since around '07.
Renee DiResta: DiResta has done extensive research on Russia's & IRA's info operations in the West. Just read all of her recent papers.12/13
Bloggers/tweeters
I'll just list these as you can find their content neatly on Twitter.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll explain the context of the upcoming Budapest Blunder, and how it follows the infamous Alaska Fiasco from two months ago and Trump’s absurd delaying of serious aid to Ukraine and effective sanctions on Russia for the past nine months.
1/20
Two months ago, Trump embarrassed the United States by rolling out the red carpet for war criminal dictator Putin and overall acting like a pathetic servant eager to meet his master. Of course, the Alaska Fiasco didn’t bring peace any closer.
Worse, the main outcome of the humiliation was to delay serious sanctions, which the US Congress, in rare bipartisan unity against Russia, was on the verge of passing. Two weeks by two weeks, Trump Always Chickens Out, postponing any real pressure on Putin for 9 months now.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American propagandist Alexandra Jost, aka “Sasha” (@sashameetsrus). She’s best known for being paid by the Russian state to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda — and for doing it with a big smile.
1/23
Alexandra, now 26, was born in Hong Kong. Her father is from Texas, and her mother is from Siberia. According to her, she has “dreamed of living in Russia since childhood.” Sasha's mother runs a dance studio in Moscow and her younger brother is avoiding mobilization.
2/23
Since the beginning of her creator career, Sasha has been adamant about one thing: that she’s “never had to be paid” to speak of her “love” for Russia. But, as always with Russia, this turned out to be nothing but vranyo — a Russian “tactical lie.”
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll reintroduce an American political commentator and pro-Kremlin propagandist, Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson). He’s best known for his promotion of crazy conspiracy theories and for his support of authoritarian regimes around the world.
1/24
Tucker’s career spans decades, but he’s also been very active in recent years, so a lot has happened since our previous soup on him, which can be found here:
Once described as “the most powerful conservative in America”, Tucker has now fully transformed into a grifting conspiracy theorist and propagandist willing to work for whoever pays him the most. It’s unclear whether Tucker truly believes his endless conspiracy theories or…
3/24
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the agenda-setting and flood of disinformation that spread on X and other platforms right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It’s far from the first or last time a tragedy has been weaponized for political purposes.
1/18
Every major political event, especially those involving violence, attracts massive attention. In the immediate aftermath, reliable information is scarce, making it highly vulnerable to both coordinated and improvised disinformation campaigns.
2/18
As I’ve mentioned in my previous soups and lectures, in disinformation campaigns, being first with a narrative is crucial, as people often remember the first version best — psychology studies show it sets the mental schema, and later updates rarely overwrite it.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American social media personality David Freeman, AKA Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman). He’s best known for spreading political disinformation on X and shamelessly sucking up to Trump, Putin, and other authoritarian leaders.
1/22
David is a textbook example of someone profiting from MAGA grievance politics. He uses extreme, provocative language to farm engagement on X and never hesitates to flatter anyone who might give him more exposure — or money.
2/22
But David wasn’t always like this. At some point, in his mid-40s, he even tried a real job: he trained to become a cop. He spent three years with the Metro Transit PD, but after that he either got fired or quit, and never looked back.