Synopses & Reviews
From Kaliningrad on the Baltic to the Russian Far East, journalist Ben Judah has travelled throughout Russia and the former Soviet republics, conducting extensive interviews with President Vladimir Putinandrsquo;s friends, foes, and colleagues, government officials, business tycoons, mobsters, and ordinary Russian citizens. Fragile Empire is the fruit of Judahandrsquo;s thorough research: a probing assessment of Putinandrsquo;s rise to power and what it has meant for Russia and her people.and#160;Despite a propaganda program intent on maintaining the clichandeacute; of stability, Putinandrsquo;s regime was suddenly confronted in December 2011 by a highly public protest movement that told a different side of the story. Judah argues that Putinism has brought economic growth to Russia but also weaker institutions, and this contradiction leads to instability. The author explores both Putinandrsquo;s successes and his failed promises, taking into account the impact of a new middle class and a new generation, the Internet, social activism, and globalization on the presidentandrsquo;s impending leadership crisis. Can Russia avoid the crisis of Putinism? Judah offers original and up-to-the-minute answers.
Review
"Ben Judah, a young freelance writer, paints a more journalistic and#8211; and more passionate and#8211; picture in and#8216;Fragile Empireand#8217;. He shuttles to and fro across Russiaand#8217;s vast terrain, finding criminals, liars, fascists and crooked politicians, as well as the occasional saintly figure." and#8212;The Economist
Review
"A beautifully written and very lively study of Russia that argues that the political order created by Vladimir Putin is stagnating and#8211; undermined by corruption and a failure to modernise economically. Judahand#8217;s reporting stretches from the Kremlin to Siberia and has a clear moral sense, without being preachy." and#8212; Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Review
"Judah is an intrepid reporter and classy political scientist [...] His lively account of his remote adventures forms the most enjoyable part of Fragile Empire, and puts me in mind of Chekhov's famous 1890 journey to Sakhalin Island." and#8212; Luke Harding,andnbsp;The Guardian
Review
"The best of a recent crop of books on the Russian president, it describes the essential corruption of the system Putin created (supposedly) to clean up the country. It spans the extent of this huge country as well as the decade and a half that Putin has been in power." and#8212; Oliver Bullough, The Telegraph
Review
and#8220;[Judahand#8217;s] excellent book provides a wide-ranging and highly critical account of the current state of Russia. . . He also gives an insightful historical perspective on the rise of Putin.and#8221;and#8212;Amy Knight, New York Review of Books
Review
"Fragile Empire [is]andnbsp;a fluent and plausible account of Russian politics and society in the wake of the recent protests."and#8212;Andrew Monaghan, TLS
Review
and#8220;Judahand#8217;s outstanding Fragile Empire travels up and down the curve of Putinand#8217;s popularity. . .This is a familiar narrative but Judah, only in his mid-twenties, explains it all with economy and panache. . .What makes Fragile Empire important, however, is its dissection of Putinand#8217;s decline in popularity in 2008. It is the first to tell the story not just of the Moscow protest movement but of the less visible, but no less real, dissatisfaction beyond the capital.and#8221;and#8212;Neil Buckley, Financial Times
Review
“[An] astute new book on Russia.”—David Frum, The Atlantic Andrew Monaghan - Times Literary Review
Review
and#8220;[An] astute new book on Russia.and#8221;and#8212;David Frum, The Atlantic
Synopsis
A lively, inside account of Putinand#8217;s years of rule and the impending crisis that threatens his tsar-like regime
Synopsis
A journalistand#8217;s lively, inside account of Russian President Putinand#8217;s leadership, his achievements and failures, and the crisis he faces amidst rising corruption, government dysfunction, and growing citizen unrest.
About the Author
Ben Judah is Russia and Central Asia Fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations. He travels regularly throughout Russia and the former USSR, and his writings appear in such journals as the Economist, Foreign Policy, Financial Times, Standpoint, and the New Republic. He lives in London.