{"product_id":"the-return-of-the-russian-leviathan-9781509536054","title":"The Return of the Russian Leviathan","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2020 Pushkin House Book Prize\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRussia’s relationship with its neighbours and with the West has worsened dramatically in recent years. Under Vladimir Putin's leadership, the country has annexed Crimea, begun a war in Eastern Ukraine, used chemical weapons on the streets of the UK and created an army of Internet trolls to meddle in the US presidential elections. How should we understand this apparent relapse into aggressive imperialism and militarism?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this book, Sergei Medvedev argues that this new wave of Russian nationalism is the result of mentalities that have long been embedded within the Russian psyche. Whereas in the West, the turbulent social changes of the 1960s and a rising awareness of the legacy of colonialism have modernized attitudes, Russia has been stymied by an enduring sense of superiority over its neighbours alongside a painful nostalgia for empire. It is this infantilized and irrational worldview that Putin and others have exploited, as seen most clearly in Russia’s recent foreign policy decisions, including the annexation of Crimea.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis sharp and insightful book, full of irony and humour, shows how the archaic forces of imperial revanchism have been brought back to life, shaking Russian society and threatening the outside world. It will be of great interest to anyone trying to understand the forces shaping Russian politics and society today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘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.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlexander Etkind, author of \u003ci\u003eInternal Colonization: Russia’s Imperial Experience\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘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.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIvan Krastev, Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘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.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Financial Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e‘Medvedev's portrait of Russia is brilliant, wry and minutely observed -- and, like its title, often bitterly ironic.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘acerbic and splendidly argumentative... dazzling.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Internationalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"As a portrait of the cultural moment and debunking of the Kremlin’s talking points, [this] book is brilliant.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Professor Medvedev’s analyses will interest scholars of Russia, comparativists and international relations scholars, policy specialists, and laypersons.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTerrorism and Political Violence\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Naval Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"[A]n illuminating and at times brilliant series of short essays on different aspects on Russian life.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePRISM\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“a \u003ci\u003etour de force\u003c\/i\u003e that leaves the reader open-mouthed at its sweep”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eRights in Russia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"darkly absorbing\"\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Tangential\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eConnexe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface to the English Edition \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Part One: THE WAR FOR SPACE\u003cbr\u003e Sovereign Territory…with No Roads     \u003cbr\u003e The Smoke of the Fatherland \u003cbr\u003e Sacred Ice\u003cbr\u003e Crimea as a Territory of the Subconscious\u003cbr\u003e Drum Solo\u003cbr\u003e Jihad in Donetsk\u003cbr\u003e Global Biryulyovo\u003cbr\u003e Seduced by Geopolitics\u003cbr\u003e Profession: Invader\u003cbr\u003e Noughts and Crosses\u003cbr\u003e The War with Pokémon\u003cbr\u003e Kremlin Firewall\u003cbr\u003e A Sovereignty Full of Holes\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Part Two: THE WAR FOR SYMBOLS\u003cbr\u003e The State’s Game Reserve\u003cbr\u003e The Elite Avenue…to Death  \u003cbr\u003e An Ode to Shuvalov’s Dogs\u003cbr\u003e Missile Mania   \u003cbr\u003e Tank Invasion   \u003cbr\u003e Purveyors of Threats\u003cbr\u003e Churchill Dreamt It All Up\u003cbr\u003e A Racketeer with Rockets\u003cbr\u003e The Torch Procession  \u003cbr\u003e Olympic Schizophrenia\u003cbr\u003e The Thugs’ Game\u003cbr\u003e The Sovereign from the Back-Streets of St Petersburg\u003cbr\u003e Putinism and Questions of Linguistics\u003cbr\u003e War of the Avatars\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Part Three: THE WAR FOR THE BODY\u003cbr\u003e Punitive Hygiene\u003cbr\u003e The King’s Body\u003cbr\u003e The Condom as a Sign of Protest\u003cbr\u003e The Protocols of the Elders of Sodom\u003cbr\u003e Test for Homophobia   \u003cbr\u003e The ‘Miss Prison’ Contest\u003cbr\u003e Breaking ‘The Silence of the Lambs’\u003cbr\u003e The Politics of the Female Body\u003cbr\u003e A 4-by-4 as a Teaching Aid\u003cbr\u003e A Russian Potlatch\u003cbr\u003e A Requiem for Roquefort\u003cbr\u003e The Land of Abandoned Children\u003cbr\u003e The Amputation of Conscience\u003cbr\u003e The Fiasco of ‘Operation Sochi’\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Part Four: THE WAR FOR MEMORY\u003cbr\u003e Hysterical Revisionism\u003cbr\u003e The Holiday of 5 March\u003cbr\u003e The Oblomov and the Stoltz of Soviet Power\u003cbr\u003e A Bear of a Man\u003cbr\u003e Maidan in Moscow\u003cbr\u003e A Holiday without Tears\u003cbr\u003e Waltz of the Urals Chekists \u003cbr\u003e The Return of the Ghosts\u003cbr\u003e Tyrants Destroyed\u003cbr\u003e Russian Resentment\u003cbr\u003e The Flower Revolution\u003cbr\u003e Who’s Afraid of Svetlana Alexievich?\u003cbr\u003e  The Private Nuremberg of Denis Karagodin   \u003cbr\u003e The Battle at the River Iset\u003cbr\u003e Constitution Day\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Glossary and List of Abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e Notes","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48867390751063,"sku":"9781509536054","price":17.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781509536054.jpg?v=1722283077","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-return-of-the-russian-leviathan-9781509536054","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}