“Leon Aron, one of our most astute observers of Russia, has produced a vivid analysis of Putin’s state, founded on militarized patriotism and primed for war. One of the most important stories of our time.”
— Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag
“Leon Aron’s brilliant and concise new book is just the urgently needed primer on Vladimir Putin’s Russia today I’ve been hoping someone would write—perceptive, historically grounded, beautifully written and very worrisome....It should be required reading for anyone who hopes to understand not only Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, but its leader’s obsession with confronting the United States and the West.”
— Susan B. Glasser, staff writer at the New Yorker and co-author, Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution
“This elegantly written book is an incisive chronicle of contemporary Russian history. It offers important insights into the complex set of factors that motivated Vladimir Putin to launch a brutal full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. Leon Aron has the firsthand observer's keen eye for the twists of fate and the skilled analyst's deep knowledge of the interplay of events that brought Putin to, and then well beyond, the point of no return.”
— Fiona Hill, distinguished senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and senior director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council
“A fantastic read. If you want to understand Putin, how the Russian dictator has shaped Russian society over the last quarter century, and why so many Russians support his wars, ideas, and regime, you must read this book.”
— Michael McFaul, Special assistant for Russian affairs to President Barack Obama; the author of From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia
Russia’s Difficult Road to Freedom | Leon Aron x Vladimir Kara-Murza
How Life Imitates Chess | Leon Aron x Gary Kasparov
2017 was the one hundredth anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution and the year in which ISIS was decisively defeated. These two movements are connected by a thread of significance that we would be rash to consider mere history.
Kingdom Come: Millenarianism’s Deadly Allure, from Lenin to ISIS
What Putin and Xi Have in Common
Will China follow Russia into war?
As its pool of recruits dries up, Russia is sending younger and younger soldiers to the front lines in Ukraine.
Putin’s cannon fodder: an anthem for Russia’s doomed youth
The Thaw at 70
On Ilya Ehrenburg’s profoundly meaningful non-masterpiece
We’ll Always Have Putin
For Putin, taking on the job of prime minister would be not just “stepping down” but wallowing in self-abnegation.
My Friend Boris
Boris Nemtsov led a full life. His legacy will be just as rich — and as powerful — in death.