The definitive and award-winning history of Vladimir Putin's rise to power following the collapse of the Soviet Union, by The Economist's Russia editor.

'Fast-paced and excellently written' New York Times

'A real insiders' story of Russia's post-Soviet "counter-revolution" - an important and timely book.' Anne Applebaum

WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE

How did a country that embraced freedom over twenty-five years ago end up as an autocratic police state bent once again on confrontation with the West? In this Orwell Prize-winning book, Arkady Ostrovsky reaches back to the darkest days of the Cold War to tell the story of Russia's stealthy and largely unchronicled post-Soviet transformation.

Ostrovsky's knowledge of many of the key players allows him to explain the rise of Vladimir Putin and to reveal how he pioneered a new form of demagogic populism. In a new preface he examines Putin's influence on the US election and explores how his methods - weaponizing the media and serving up fake news - came to enter Western politics.