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The Dark Side of the Earth: How the Soviet Union Collapsed but Remained
Mikhail Zygar
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A TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR
On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union begins its countdown. From the steppes of Kazakhstan, the first human - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin - launches into space.
In that moment, another countdown begins. How could it be that a single generation - just three decades - would separate the USSR's crowning achievement from the collapse of the Soviet empire?
More than a history lesson, The Dark Side of the Earth is a testament to the enduring fight for truth and freedom. In pursuit of the real story, renowned Kremlin opponent Mikhail Zygar ('one of Russia's smartest and best-sourced young journalists' - New York Times) gathered witness statements of jaw-dropping candour from hundreds of key players: the last first secretaries and first presidents of the post-Soviet republics, the leaders of independence movements, Western politicians and diplomats, and Mikhail Gorbachev himself, not to mention dozens of scientists, authors, film directors, aspiring rockstars and ordinary men and women who for a time became the accidental protagonists of history.
The end of the USSR set the stage for today's vengeful return. But as Gagarin looked down from the stars at his home world, was Russia's fate already written?
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Praise for The Dark Side of the Earth: How the Soviet Union Collapsed but Remained
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One of those important thinkers who helps us to not lose our memory and, thus, our headsKnowing he could always follow many colleagues and activists into jail, hospital, or into the graveyard, Zygar persists - CNNZygar is one of the heroes of Putin's Russia - WASHINGTON POSTIt is just possible to dream that, one day, WAR AND PUNISHMENT will be taught in Russian schools in place of the Kremlin's deadly lies - review of WAR AND PUNISHMENTA searing mix of history and self-reflection - review of WAR AND PUNISHMENT
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