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The invention of Russia : from Gorbachev's freedom to Putin's war / Arkady Ostrovsky.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Viking, [2015]Description: 374 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780399564161
  • 0399564160
Subject(s):
Contents:
Prologue: A silent procession -- I. In the beginning was the word. Fathers and sons ; New beginning or dead end ; "We suffered a victory" ; Kommersant or the birth of Russian capitalism ; Loss -- II. "Image is everything". Normal television in abnormal circumstances ; The oligarchs' war ; Lights, camera, Putin ; Remote control ; Aerial combat -- Dramatis personæ.
Scope and content: "A highly original narrative history by The Economist's Moscow bureau chief that does for modern Russia what Evan Osnos did for China in The Age of Ambition. The end of communism and breakup of the Soviet Union was a time of euphoria around the world, but Russia today is violently anti-American and dangerously nationalistic. So how did we go from the promise of those heady days to the autocratic police state of Putin's new Russia? The Invention of Russia is a breathtakingly ambitious book that reaches back to the darkest days of the Cold War to tell the story of the fight for the soul of a nation. With the deep insight only possible of a native son, Arkady Ostrovsky introduces us to the propagandists, oligarchs and fixers who have set Russia's course since the collapse of the Soviet Union, inventing a new and more ominous identity for a country where ideas are all too often wielded like a cudgel"--PRovided by publisher.
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 947.086 O85 Available 33111008428274
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE
WINNER OF THE CORNELIUS RYAN AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE
FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Fast-paced and excellently written...much needed, dispassionate and eminently readable." -- New York Times

"Filled with sparkling prose and deep analysis." - The Wall Street Journal

The breakup of the Soviet Union was a time of optimism around the world, but Russia today is actively involved in subversive information warfare, manipulating the media to destabilize its enemies. How did a country that embraced freedom and market reform 25 years ago end up as an autocratic police state bent once again on confrontation with America? A winner of the Orwell Prize, The Invention of Russia reaches back to the darkest days of the cold war to tell the story of Russia's stealthy and largely unchronicled counter revolution.

A highly regarded Moscow correspondent for the Economist, Arkady Ostrovsky comes to this story both as a participant and a foreign correspondent. His knowledge of many of the key players allows him to explain the phenomenon of Valdimir Putin - his rise and astonishing longevity, his use of hybrid warfare and the alarming crescendo of his military interventions. One of Putin's first acts was to reverse Gorbachev's decision to end media censorship and Ostrovsky argues that the Russian media has done more to shape the fate of the country than its politicians. Putin pioneered a new form of demagogic populism --oblivious to facts and aggressively nationalistic - that has now been embraced by Donald Trump.

"A highly original narrative history by The Economist's Moscow bureau chief that does for modern Russia what Evan Osnos did for China in The Age of Ambition. The end of communism and breakup of the Soviet Union was a time of euphoria around the world, but Russia today is violently anti-American and dangerously nationalistic. So how did we go from the promise of those heady days to the autocratic police state of Putin's new Russia? The Invention of Russia is a breathtakingly ambitious book that reaches back to the darkest days of the Cold War to tell the story of the fight for the soul of a nation. With the deep insight only possible of a native son, Arkady Ostrovsky introduces us to the propagandists, oligarchs and fixers who have set Russia's course since the collapse of the Soviet Union, inventing a new and more ominous identity for a country where ideas are all too often wielded like a cudgel"--PRovided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-355) and index.

Prologue: A silent procession -- I. In the beginning was the word. Fathers and sons ; New beginning or dead end ; "We suffered a victory" ; Kommersant or the birth of Russian capitalism ; Loss -- II. "Image is everything". Normal television in abnormal circumstances ; The oligarchs' war ; Lights, camera, Putin ; Remote control ; Aerial combat -- Dramatis personæ.

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