Return of the Russian Leviathan

Sergei Medvedev is Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

‘This is the best treatise on contemporary Russia since John Reed’s pamphlet that shook the world one hundred years ago. Moving from the endangered Arctic to the occupied Crimea and from the politics of the body to memory wars, Medvedev reveals a political machine based on vanity, manipulation and fear of its own people. Broad-ranging in scope and mind-blowing in details, this book is a must for everyone who is concerned about Russia’s present and future.’Alexander Etkind, author of Internal Colonization: Russia’s Imperial Experience‘Is Putin’s regime a Russian peculiarity or is it simply the Russian version of a global trend? Was it inevitable or was it accidental? If you are worried by these questions, read this passionately analytical book.’Ivan Krastev, Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia‘While there are many books about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, there are few that nail its realities with the same combination of academic precision, acerbic wit and anger as this. Well-researched analysis might be expected of a professor of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, but not necessarily the humour and passion that run through the striking work.’The Financial Times‘Medvedev's portrait of Russia is brilliant, wry and minutely observed -- and, like its title, often bitterly ironic.’Times Literary Supplement‘acerbic and splendidly argumentative... dazzling.’New Internationalist"As a portrait of the cultural moment and debunking of the Kremlin’s talking points, [this] book is brilliant."Los Angeles Review of Books"A more astute, knowledgeable and eloquent guide is hard to imagine. Steeped in Russian culture and history, Mr. Medvedev is witty and sardonic in the laughter-through-tears (smekh skvoz slyozy) tradition of Russian literature. He draws on political sociology, linguistics and social psychology, yet his prose, even in translation, is sparkling."The Wall Street Journal"Professor Medvedev’s analyses will interest scholars of Russia, comparativists and international relations scholars, policy specialists, and laypersons."Terrorism and Political Violence“This book provides an explicit and composite picture of a society; the mindset of the leaders and the led; and an intimation of the future for the nation, should its governance continue its present path.”The Naval Review"[A]n illuminating and at times brilliant series of short essays on different aspects on Russian life."PRISM“a tour de force that leaves the reader open-mouthed at its sweep”Rights in Russia"darkly absorbing"The Tangential"a fascinating trip through contemporary Russia… With a brilliant analysis of Russian contemporary society and an insightful depiction of its political regime, the book is a must to anyone who is willing to grasp Russia’s recent conservative wave."Connexe

• Preface to the English Edition Part One: THE WAR FOR SPACESovereign Territory…with No Roads     The Smoke of the Fatherland Sacred IceCrimea as a Territory of the SubconsciousDrum SoloJihad in DonetskGlobal BiryulyovoSeduced by GeopoliticsProfession: InvaderNoughts and CrossesThe War with PokémonKremlin FirewallA Sovereignty Full of Holes Part Two: THE WAR FOR SYMBOLSThe State’s Game ReserveThe Elite Avenue…to Death  An Ode to Shuvalov’s DogsMissile Mania   Tank Invasion   Purveyors of ThreatsChurchill Dreamt It All UpA Racketeer with RocketsThe Torch Procession  Olympic SchizophreniaThe Thugs’ GameThe Sovereign from the Back-Streets of St PetersburgPutinism and Questions of LinguisticsWar of the Avatars Part Three: THE WAR FOR THE BODYPunitive HygieneThe King’s BodyThe Condom as a Sign of ProtestThe Protocols of the Elders of SodomTest for Homophobia   The ‘Miss Prison’ ContestBreaking ‘The Silence of the Lambs’The Politics of the Female BodyA 4-by-4 as a Teaching AidA Russian PotlatchA Requiem for RoquefortThe Land of Abandoned ChildrenThe Amputation of ConscienceThe Fiasco of ‘Operation Sochi’ Part Four: THE WAR FOR MEMORYHysterical RevisionismThe Holiday of 5 MarchThe Oblomov and the Stoltz of Soviet PowerA Bear of a ManMaidan in MoscowA Holiday without TearsWaltz of the Urals Chekists The Return of the GhostsTyrants DestroyedRussian ResentmentThe Flower RevolutionWho’s Afraid of Svetlana Alexievich?The Private Nuremberg of Denis Karagodin   The Battle at the River IsetConstitution Day Glossary and List of AbbreviationsNotes