The invention of Russia
from Gorbachev's freedom to Putin's war
"A highly original narrative history by The Economist Moscow bureau chief that does for modern Russia what Evan Osnos did for China in Age of Ambition, "--Amazon.com. The end of communism and breakup of the Soviet Union was a time of euphoria around the world, but Russia today is violently expansionary and dangerously nationalistic. So how did we go from the promise of those days to the autocratic police state of Putin new Russia? The Invention of Russia reaches back to the darkest days of the Cold War to tell the story of this stealthy counterrevolution. With the deep insight only possible of a native son, Arkady Ostrovsky introduces us to the propagandists and TV personalities who have set Russia course since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union yoked together dreamers and strongmen--reformers who believed that socialism needed only to be freed from Stalin crimes and nationalists who pushed for an ever more powerful state. Ostrovsky sees Gorbachev as the last of the dreamers. When his enlightened socialism failed to stock the shelves, the country turned to a mercurial strongman whose pyrotechnics would stoke their pride while his plunder on behalf of the state jump-started the economy. Putin Russia is a cynical operation, where perpetual fear and perpetual war are fueled by a web of lies, as the media peddles myths to justify the invasion of Ukraine, cheers the bombing of Syria, and goads Putin to go nuclear. Twenty-five years after the Soviet flag came down over the Kremlin, Russia and America are again heading toward a confrontation, but this course was far from inevitable. With this riveting account of how we got here--of the many mistakes and false steps along the way--Ostrovsky emerges as Russia most gifted chronicler.--Dust jacket.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest warfare and conflict, violence, death, or criminal harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Dark tone · Measured pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
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This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-3995-6416-1
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL27210194M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
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Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.