Synopses & Reviews
Anticipating a new dawn of freedom after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russians could hardly have foreseen the reality of their future a decade later: a country impoverished and controlled at every level by organized crime. This riveting book views the 1990s reform period through the experiences of individual citizens, revealing the changes that have swept Russia and their effect on Russiaand#8217;s age-old ways of thinking.
and#147;The Russia that Satter depicts in this brave, engaging book cannot be ignored. Darkness at Dawn should be required reading for anyone interested in the post-Soviet state.and#8221;and#151;Christian Caryl, Newsweek
and#147;Satter must be commended for saying what a great many people only dare to think.and#8221;and#151;Matthew Brzezinski, Toronto Globe and Mail
and#147;Humane and articulate.and#8221;and#151;Raymond Asquith, Spectator
and#147;Vivid, impeccably researched and truly frightening. . . . Western policy-makers, especially in Washington, would do well to study these pages.and#8221;and#151;Martin Sieff, United Press International
Review
"David Satter has written a compelling and provocative indictment of post-Soviet Russia. He grounds his stern judgment in years of his own reporting on real people's experiences, and he brings to the task he has set himself a powerful intellect. This book is a major contribution to the debate over what has happened in Russiaand#8212;and why, and what it means."and#8212;Strobe Talbott, president, The Brookings Institution
Review
and#8220;A stunning book that honestly confronts the continuingly difficult birth of post-Soviet Russia: dictatorship, economic collapse, and depopulation may still be in Russia's future and much depends on oil. Bravo to Satterand#8212;a clear, troubling, brave work.and#8221;and#8212;Jim Woolsey, former CIA Director
Synopsis
Anticipating a new dawn of freedom and democracy after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russians could hardly have foreseen the reality of their future a decade later: a country desperately impoverished and controlled at every level by criminals. This compelling book tells the story of the 1990s reform period in Russia through the experiences of individual citizens. Recounting in detail the development of a new era of oppression, journalist David Satter conveys the staggering nature of the changes that have swept Russian life, society, and ways of thinking. Through the stories of people at all levels of Russian society, Satter describes fraudulent investment schemes, massive corruption, and the intrusion of organized crime everywhere. With insights derived from more than twenty years of writing and reporting on Russia, Satter considers why the individual human being there has historically counted for so little. And he offers an illuminating analysis of how Russia's post-Soviet fate was decided when a new morality failed to fill the vast moral vacuum that communism left in its wake.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-302) and index.
About the Author
David Satter, former Moscow correspondent for the
Financial Times of London, is affiliated with the Hoover Institution, the Hudson Institute, and the Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is the author of
Age of Delirium: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union, also
available from Yale University Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- The Kursk -- Ryazan -- The young reformers -- The history of reform -- The gold seekers -- The workers -- Law enforcement -- Organized crime -- Ulyanovsk -- Vladivostok -- Krasnoyarsk -- The value of human life -- The criminalization of consciousness -- Conclusion : does Russia have a future?