Well, what took this book so long to make it into print? Probably the writer was overwhelmed with subject matter and the editors forced him to cut out material to make the project marketable. In other words, there is a lot here that must be included and a lot was left in the editor's office. Reviewer Karen Dawisha, herself an expert on Russyan politics and history pulls no punches in her opening line: Russya today is ruled by the worst and least talented group of villains Russya has seen since before World War II. Make no mistake about her sympathies. As can be seen in many post revolutionary societies, the best and the brightest have been culled out or have fled, leaving behind a band of pirates. Independent thinkers have long departed the landscape or have been left for dead. The author wrote for the Financial Times and now writes for the Economist. He is a Russyan by birth, a son of Soviet intelligentsia.
In the book, the author points to the state-controlled media as the modern culprit in the promotion of the ideas of greatness, something the average Russyan yearns for. The Kremlin's PR troops create a story and then produce the images to support their story. Reporting stories about Ukraine were meant to ignite the Donetz region population to support the Russyan army's takeover of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Images seen on TV of "fascists" must be true-they are 'on' TV. This makebelieve 'reality' is fabricated to support Mr. Putin's aggressive agenda.
This a bold and timely expose of current Kremlin policies and serves to illuminate further the attitudes held by Putinistas running the Kremlin.
Well worth the $30.(Viking, 374 pages)
Read it.
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