Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy (Paperback)

by Anna Politkovskaya (Author) "The army in Russia is a closed system no different from a prison..." (more)
Key Phrases: female sniper, intelligence company, military prosecutor, Ministry of Defense, Supreme Court, Moscow Province (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
At a time when many Westerners are ambivalent about Russian President Vladimir Putin, famed war correspondent Politkovskaya (A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya) argues that there is little to admire about the man or the country he has remade in his image. By recounting stories of the winners and losers in today's Russia, Politkovskaya portrays the country as a place where decency is punished, corruption rules and murder is simply a means of getting to and staying at the top. "Putin may be God and Czar in Chechnya, punishing and pardoning, but he is afraid of touching... Mafiosi," Politkovskaya writes. She's an attentive and compassionate storyteller, and the stories she tells are worth reading. The same cannot be said of her simplistic analysis. Politkovskaya's claims that Russia is more corrupt than ever before and that it's reverting to Stalinism, for example, may strike readers as provocative exaggerations. As someone frustrated with the Putin regime and furious about the war in Chechnya, which she argues is an omen of the state's future inhumane treatment of all its citizens, Politkovskaya is passionate and sometimes convincing. But she never adequately explains why, if life under Putin is so awful, 70% of Russian voters chose him for their president in 2004. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Politkovskaya, an award-winning journalist for the Moscow newspaper Novaya gazeta, makes no excuses for her dislike of Russian president Vladimir Putin and his leadership style, reminiscent of the late Soviet period. Over the past five years, Putin has strived to reverse the centrifugal forces that had acted upon political and state power in Russia during the Yeltsin years. And according to Politkovskaya, his most notorious ploy is the second Chechen war. But the war isn't the only factor in Russia's "failing democracy." Corruption at every level of government seems to be the order of the day. Politkovskaya provides anecdotal evidence of provincial oligarchs, corrupt judges, and dozens of horror stories from Muscovites and province dwellers. Politkovskaya has built an excellent case for her premise, but one wonders whether she is a Cassandra in her own country. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805082506
• ISBN-13: 978-0805082500
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #108,509 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Publisher's Weekly Reviewer is off the mark , October 7, 2006

By	Kian - See all my reviews

This review is from: Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy (Hardcover)

The Publisher's Weekly Reviewer is off the mark in his closing statement that 70 percent of the Russian population voted for Putin. S/he has no clue about the true political situation in Russia. During elections, competing political parties have no chance in gaining votes due to the Kremlin's firm grip on campaign activities. What the Kremlin wants is what the Russian people get. Does this reviewer really think the elctions are free and fair and that 70 percent is anything close to an accurate figure? There is no real democracy in Russia, and the majority of voters are so impoverished economically and uneducated (through no fault of their own) that when it comes to elections that you can't really expect them understand how to vote when they can't even buy medicine or food. Politkovskaya was murdered today. Sure her work was often over-emotional and perhaps it isn't brilliant in translation, but she was one of the few brave journalists to tackle the tough issues and to not self-edit. Her death follows that of Starvoitova, Gongadze (Ukraine), Khlebnikov and countless other post-Soviet journalists. Do some homework next time you write a book review.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Afraid to Speak the Truth, August 9, 2007

By	Kristine (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy (Hardcover)

Choosing journalism as an occupation in modern day Russia can result in dangerous and often deadly consequences. Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist who chose such a career in spite of these potential risks. Fearless and honest, she refused to compromise her integrity as a journalist by writing nothing but the truth.
Working for one of the last liberal Moscow newspapers, "Novaya Gazeta", Politkovskaya committed herself to writing the truth about the war in Chechnya (which she openly and vehemently opposed), and the blatantly corrupt Russsian government.
In her third book, "Putin's Russia...", Politkovskaya exposes the instability of today's Russia due to the above mentioned corruption that infiltrates everything from business to politics to the military and to the court systems. Bribes are simply accepted as a way of life by bureaucrats and ordinary citizens alike. Although corruption and other forms of political and governmental "ugliness" exist in all countries, none exist to the extent witnessed in today's Russia. And for all of this Politkovskaya blames one man, Vladimir Putin (though she also places some blame on the western countries that have "bought into" the mask of democracy Putin wears during public appearances). Politkovskaya however, seeing through the guise, accurately defines Putin as a throwback from the past, as a ruthless, Soviet-style dictator.
All of Politkovskaya's "accusations" are supported by incontrovertible facts and examples. If nothing else, she was thorough in her research. She had no hidden agenda or score to settle in writing this or any of her books - she merely wanted to truth to be told.
Sadly, for telling the truth Anna Politkovskaya paid the ultimate price. On a Saturday afternoon in October 2006 she was shot twice in the head in the elevator of her apartment building while returning from grocery shopping. The shooting was, without a doubt, a contract killing and was probably approved, if not ordered, by Putin himself.
Though disturbing and sometimes difficult to stomach (as the truth often is), this book is a must read for all Russophiles and/or those just interested in the truth about modern day Russia. In addition, I highly recommend her three other books as well - "A Dirty War: A Russian Reporter in Chechnya", "A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya" (neither of which were ever allowed to be published in Russia), and "A Russian Diary: A Journalist's Final Account of Life, Corruption, and Death in Putin's Russia".
K. Larson Amador

33 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Journalism!, December 9, 2006

By	Sergei (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy (Hardcover)

This review applies to Small Corner of Hell and Putin's Russia. I read almost all of Anna's books and reports for Novaya Gazeta. It always struck me how dedicated and fearless (sadly she paid the ultimate price) she was to helping regular civilians living in Chechnya, and not just Chechens but Russians too. Her critics acuse her of being pro-chechen, but she also did plenty of reporting about Russian families who got stuck in the basements of Grozny during Russian carpet bombing campaign and for whom nobody in Russia really cared. She also wrote about regular Russian soldiers who are basically used as modern day slaves (Russian army is not voluntary).

If you are a Western reader trying to understand the roots of this conflict, Politkovskaya's books are probably a wrong choice. For that you have to read some history books addressing Russian history of the last 200 - 300 years. Start with Richard Pipes or something similar. Her books are reports of what's going on there now. As such they are great examples of what the REAL journalism should be. They also serve as a good source on what's really going on in Russia today. They would make a good foundation for a War Crimes Tribunal for both Russian and Chechen sides (or are they really just the same Gang), which hopefully will take place some day.

Finally, as others pointed out here the Publisher Weekly reviewer frankly does not know what he is talking about. He probably thinks Kim Jon Il is a legitimate ruler because 98% of North Koreans "vote" for him, too.