"A smart, balanced analysis of the internal developments that have shaped Russia’s course since the break-up of the Soviet Union."
―The New York Times Book Review "Balanced and timely … a smooth narrative that provides welcome context for Russia’s recent revanchist behavior and insight into prospects for ongoing U.S.-Russian relations."
―★Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "Seamlessly written.... It is fascinating to read the author's summary of Russia's actions in Syria in the context of recent events."
―The Wall Street Journal "Meticulously lays out the record, from Mikhail Gorbachev to Vladimir Putin... A cold-eyed examination of recent Russian history that seems to show that there was never a solid plan to integrate Russia into the West.”
―Kirkus ReviewsWhen the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26, 1991, it looked like the start of a remarkable new era of peace and co-operation. Some even dared to declare the end of history, assuming all countries would converge on enlightenment values and liberal democracy.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Russia emerged from the 1990s battered and humiliated; the parallels with Weimar Germany are striking. Goaded on by a triumphalist West, a new Russia has emerged, with a large arsenal of upgraded weapons, conventional and nuclear, determined to reassert its national interests in the near abroad’ Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine as well as fighting a proxy war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, NATO is executing large-scale maneuvers and stockpiling weaponry close to Russia’s border.
In this provocative new work, Peter Conradi argues that we have consistently failed to understand Russia and its motives and, in doing so, have made a powerful enemy.