“Essential, timely, and always thrilling, Arkady Ostrovsky's book explains the current reinvention of Russia, from the fall of the USSR to the rise of Putin, recounting the events surrounding power, money, and the media.” Simon Sebag Montefiore

How did a country that was freed from seventy years of Soviet domination end up being one of the greatest threats to the West and, above all, to its own future? Why did the people who rejected communist ideology come to accept state propaganda?

In this bold and significant book, Arkady Ostrovsky takes the reader on a captivating journey through Russia's tumultuous post-Soviet transformation, shedding light on the key turning points that often surprise the world.

As a foreign correspondent in his own country, Ostrovsky has been an eyewitness to the modern history of Russia, and through original research and interviews, he reveals the ideological conflicts, compromises, and temptations that have left Russia on the razor's edge.

“A vivid narrative of the evolution of modern Russia... Ostrovsky shows how the liberal dreams of the Gorbachev era paved the way for the authoritarian nationalism of the Putin period.” Gideon Rachman, ‘Books of the Year’, Financial Times

“A detailed, riveting tale of newspaper publishers, ideologues, television gurus, and communications advisers who ‘invented post-Soviet Russia’.” Peter Pomerantsev

“Moving and exceptionally detailed.” Rachel Polonsky, ‘Books of the Year’, TLS