The Invention of Russia: From Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War
This work examines modern Russian history through the lens of media history, tracing post-Soviet nationalism, the formation of power, and the relationship between press and state. Its history is driven by journalistic reporting.
Work Information
Modern Russia is read through the entanglement of media and power.
It follows post-Soviet Russia through information control and state transformation, exposing the historical layers behind contemporary politics.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Viking
- Published
- 2016-06-07
- Pages
- 384 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 16.21 x 3.02 x 23.5 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780399564161
- ISBN-10
- 0399564160
- Price
- 6008 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Politics & Social Sciences/Politics & Government/International & World Politics/European
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.
Arkady Ostrovsky is a Russian-born journalist who has spent fifteen years reporting from Moscow, first for the Financial Times and then as bureau chief for The Economist . He studied Russian theater history in Moscow and holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Cambridge University. His translation of Tom Stoppard’s trilogy The Coast of Utopia has been published and staged in Russia. He has appeared on morning edition, CNN, the BBC and Sky News. The Invention of Russia won the Orwell Prize and was a Financial Times Book of the Year.
Reviews
-
The author confides: "This book is not a history of Russian media, however; rather, it is the story of the country they have invented" (p. 6). A compelling eloquent discourse on the significant individuals, events, influences, which resulted in the abrupt 1991 demise of communist Soviet Union, evolving subsequently, to its Syrian campaign. The author seamlessly weaves the chaotic conflicting interests into a coherent mesmerizing narrative. The Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster highlights the underlying corruption endemic throughout the Soviet government: "The only reason it passed an inspection by foreign experts was that, prior to the inspection, its engineers had temporarily replaced Soviet electronics with Swedish and American ones.... [I]t embodied the carelessness, arrogance and window dressing that were the essence of the Soviet planned system.... The whole system was penetrated by the spirit of boot-licking, persecution of dissidents, clannishness, window-dressing and nepotism" (pp. 62-64). Overall, engaging, fascinating, informative. For more about Russia, please see, Vladislav M. Zubok, "Collapse The Fall Of The Soviet Union."
-
I learned so much reading the book, a true eye-opener. Very well written, all the absurdities are perfectly presented. I am no longer surprised about Russia' attack on Ukraine in February 2022. I wish some heads of states would have read the book some time ago.
-
very good
-
I wanted a serious book on the recent history of the Russian Federation and certainly didnt want to read "pro-Putin" but this is simply anti-Putin propaganda. It repeats all the one-sided rhetoric of the US State department and offers little in the way of balance or perspective on the complexity of Russian society.
-
This book spends way too much time about the history and characters of Russian and Soviet TV personalities than analysis of Russian political history and events. For people interested in the transition and politics of Russia after the collapse of Soviet Union, which I assume would be the majority of its potential readers, several other book on sale on Amazon would be more suitable. The more appropriate title of this book would be something along the lines of "The history of Russian tv.
Related Literary Awards
- Orwell Prize Edition 23 (2016) ・Winner