andreiapmartins's review against another edition
4.0
Uma leitura importante para compreender a Rússia atual. O autor, Arkady Ostrovsky, é um profundo conhecedor da política e da sociedade russas. Adorei as várias referências a jornais, filmes e elementos mediáticos, marcantes da cultura e que vão surgindo ao longo do livro, a par com a reflexão sobre os momentos históricos. De resto, o autor explora neste livro o papel central dos media, sobretudo da televisão, na queda da União Soviética e na construção de um novo país. Gostaria que se tivesse focado ainda mais nos anos de Putin.
"As palavras eram utilizadas para ocultar factos e construir uma realidade alternativa. As mentiras e repressão eram os dois pilares principais que sustentavam sistema soviético. As palavras justificavam a repressão. A repressão fazia cumprir as palavras".
"As palavras eram utilizadas para ocultar factos e construir uma realidade alternativa. As mentiras e repressão eram os dois pilares principais que sustentavam sistema soviético. As palavras justificavam a repressão. A repressão fazia cumprir as palavras".
mattperry25's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up The Invention of Russia by Arkady Ostrovsky because I wanted to know more about Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, especially the rise of Putin. Now I’m half wishing I hadn’t been so inclined. This is a scary book because of its two main conclusions: 1) You never know how history will unfold, and 2) Vladimir Putin is a serious threat to Russian—and world—stability.
The first two-thirds of the book or so correspond to the first conclusion. This is a fascinating chronicle of the decades leading to Gorbachev’s reforms and the demise of the Soviet Union, followed by the chaotic Wild-Westian Yeltsin-led 1990’s and the initial rise of Putin to the presidency. This story is filled with complex heroes, conniving villains, heroes-turned-villains, and villains-turned-heroes. The lines between politics, business, and media blur in dramatic ways that presage the same phenomenon that has to a less blatant (but no less damaging) way arisen in the United States.
Gorbachev appears as a catalyst of the chaos, by no means seen in Russia as the great leader we in the west often perceive him to be. He fades away surprisingly abruptly, giving way to Yeltsin, whose ups and downs as a politician undermined his apparently sincere attempts to direct the kleptocratic energies of Russia’s oligarchs—and its easily manipulated populace—toward Western-style pseudo-democracy.
Putin’s rapid rise from minor star status within the old political machine to the young, virile savior filling Yeltsin’s void and making Russians feel safe and proud provides the truly scary section of the The Invention of Russia. Putin is revealed as a quintessentially Machiavellian political chameleon. He adopts whatever ideology or rallying cry suits him at the moment in his never-ending quest for absolute power. He’ll side with the elites when it suits his purposes, but unabashedly appeal to lowest-common-denominator populist sentiments at the drop of a hat when the wind starts blowing that way. He will celebrate the media when its messages support his aims, and he’ll castigate it (or kill its messengers) when it does not.
Throughout his nearly two decades in power, however, Putin has stayed steadfast in his use of four primary tools. First, on the domestic front, Putin has undone most of the progress made in the 1980’s and 1990’s toward decentralized, distributed power. He is a textbook autocrat who consolidates power in himself and his inner circle with every move. Second, he is a master propagandist who uses wholesale fabrications and insidious media manipulation to control the minds of Russians and bamboozle the outside world. Third, he has united a country whose identity was shaken with the fall of Soviet communism around a powerful old idea: anti-Americanism specifically and anti-Westernism in general. Fourth, he uses unilateral (and often covert) militarism to accomplish or reinforce all of his other goals.
The other scary theme that emerges from this pre-rise-of-Trump book is how similar Donald Trump is to Vladimir Putin. They are both driven by authoritarian impulses, they both demand absolute loyalty, they both spew negative hateful rhetoric, they both seek to control their image and distort any fact contrary to that image, and they are both brazen opportunists. It is blatantly obvious why Trump has modeled himself after the Russian autocrat. One key difference appears equally obvious, however: whereas Trump has so far emerged as a bungling clown, Putin is something close to brilliant. Trump’s buffoonery may end up doing as much as or even more damage than Putin’s master scheming, but he is no Vladimir Putin. On the other hand, the two men’s clear affinities combined with Trump’s vapidity make him the perfect Putin puppet. And it remains to be seen just how much puppetry has been—and is currently—in play.
Overall, I come away from The Invention of Russia grateful that a Russian journalist has somehow survived to write such a revealing work, increasingly interested in our former (current? future?) enemy, and hopeful that the Trump era lasts a tiny fraction of that of his mentor. Finally, I am left pondering this question: Which of these men is the world leader most likely to do something that will change history in ways we can’t possibly predict? I guess we’ll see how the story unfolds.
The first two-thirds of the book or so correspond to the first conclusion. This is a fascinating chronicle of the decades leading to Gorbachev’s reforms and the demise of the Soviet Union, followed by the chaotic Wild-Westian Yeltsin-led 1990’s and the initial rise of Putin to the presidency. This story is filled with complex heroes, conniving villains, heroes-turned-villains, and villains-turned-heroes. The lines between politics, business, and media blur in dramatic ways that presage the same phenomenon that has to a less blatant (but no less damaging) way arisen in the United States.
Gorbachev appears as a catalyst of the chaos, by no means seen in Russia as the great leader we in the west often perceive him to be. He fades away surprisingly abruptly, giving way to Yeltsin, whose ups and downs as a politician undermined his apparently sincere attempts to direct the kleptocratic energies of Russia’s oligarchs—and its easily manipulated populace—toward Western-style pseudo-democracy.
Putin’s rapid rise from minor star status within the old political machine to the young, virile savior filling Yeltsin’s void and making Russians feel safe and proud provides the truly scary section of the The Invention of Russia. Putin is revealed as a quintessentially Machiavellian political chameleon. He adopts whatever ideology or rallying cry suits him at the moment in his never-ending quest for absolute power. He’ll side with the elites when it suits his purposes, but unabashedly appeal to lowest-common-denominator populist sentiments at the drop of a hat when the wind starts blowing that way. He will celebrate the media when its messages support his aims, and he’ll castigate it (or kill its messengers) when it does not.
Throughout his nearly two decades in power, however, Putin has stayed steadfast in his use of four primary tools. First, on the domestic front, Putin has undone most of the progress made in the 1980’s and 1990’s toward decentralized, distributed power. He is a textbook autocrat who consolidates power in himself and his inner circle with every move. Second, he is a master propagandist who uses wholesale fabrications and insidious media manipulation to control the minds of Russians and bamboozle the outside world. Third, he has united a country whose identity was shaken with the fall of Soviet communism around a powerful old idea: anti-Americanism specifically and anti-Westernism in general. Fourth, he uses unilateral (and often covert) militarism to accomplish or reinforce all of his other goals.
The other scary theme that emerges from this pre-rise-of-Trump book is how similar Donald Trump is to Vladimir Putin. They are both driven by authoritarian impulses, they both demand absolute loyalty, they both spew negative hateful rhetoric, they both seek to control their image and distort any fact contrary to that image, and they are both brazen opportunists. It is blatantly obvious why Trump has modeled himself after the Russian autocrat. One key difference appears equally obvious, however: whereas Trump has so far emerged as a bungling clown, Putin is something close to brilliant. Trump’s buffoonery may end up doing as much as or even more damage than Putin’s master scheming, but he is no Vladimir Putin. On the other hand, the two men’s clear affinities combined with Trump’s vapidity make him the perfect Putin puppet. And it remains to be seen just how much puppetry has been—and is currently—in play.
Overall, I come away from The Invention of Russia grateful that a Russian journalist has somehow survived to write such a revealing work, increasingly interested in our former (current? future?) enemy, and hopeful that the Trump era lasts a tiny fraction of that of his mentor. Finally, I am left pondering this question: Which of these men is the world leader most likely to do something that will change history in ways we can’t possibly predict? I guess we’ll see how the story unfolds.
andrewrmart's review against another edition
4.0
“There was a time when patriotism did not translate into xenophobia, when pragmatism did not justify dishonor and when irony did not rule out love for your country... There was no one single event after the collapse of the Soviet Union that made Russia’s current condition inevitable — the Soviet Union expired not only because it ran out of money but also because it ran out of words... This book is not a history of Russian media, however; rather, it is the story of the country they have invented.”
A thorough and intriguing look at the role of media, words, and ideas as weapons in the late- and post-Soviet eras, even if you come to it with no working knowledge of Russian history (like me). Expect to leave having traced numerous politicians, media moguls, and “news” outlets over decades of pushback, social change, and reinvention. Now done, I am seeking complete biographical literature on Putin himself, whose 80-or-so-page coverage in this book is sure to inspire curiosity and contempt in readers.
A thorough and intriguing look at the role of media, words, and ideas as weapons in the late- and post-Soviet eras, even if you come to it with no working knowledge of Russian history (like me). Expect to leave having traced numerous politicians, media moguls, and “news” outlets over decades of pushback, social change, and reinvention. Now done, I am seeking complete biographical literature on Putin himself, whose 80-or-so-page coverage in this book is sure to inspire curiosity and contempt in readers.
mmazelli's review against another edition
4.0
This book addresses the emergence of Russia from the perspective of the media. It is well written and deserves another half star.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
5.0
oh hell yeah this book kicks ass.
follows the career of Alexander Yakolev , the chief ideolog and architect of perestroika, his upbring as a down to earth , hard working, intellegent , almost ideal Russian man, so much sung in Soviet propagandas. and elevated to the inner circles of the centural commitee after a period of exile in Canada. the reformers of his generation used media as a tool to promote the ideals of freedom and give access of information to the people. the apparaatus created is now used by putin to create a make-belief world of disinformation. and all that stuff
follows the career of Alexander Yakolev , the chief ideolog and architect of perestroika, his upbring as a down to earth , hard working, intellegent , almost ideal Russian man, so much sung in Soviet propagandas. and elevated to the inner circles of the centural commitee after a period of exile in Canada. the reformers of his generation used media as a tool to promote the ideals of freedom and give access of information to the people. the apparaatus created is now used by putin to create a make-belief world of disinformation. and all that stuff
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent journalistic history of Russia from Glasnost/Perestroika through the present, focusing particularly on how journalism--and especially TV--shaped not only historical events but how Russia has come to define itself. While some of the characters were familiar to me, most of the focus of the book were on people that were not--executives at television stations, for example. But Arkady Ostrovsky uses their stories to tell a bigger story and does it in a way that is deeply sympathetic to pluralism, democracy and a free press--and dismayed at what happened to the press and what they did to Russia's sense of itself, the culmination being Crimea/Ukraine.
fiction_addiction_cl's review against another edition
4.0
I started this book on the day Ukraine was attacked by Russia. And, then, I just could not read anything for a very long time. The atrocities committed by the Russian soldiers, the cynicism of the Kremlin authorities, the sarcasm of state propaganda were numbing, paralyzing and provoked an overpowering reading block in me. I’ve been able to pick up this book again quite recently and what an eye-opener it has been! It helped me fathom the intricate mechanisms ruling the Russian politics and its dependence on media, specially television. It’s really chilling to realize how reality is formed, shaped and influenced by media moguls who serve Vladimir Putin. The book expertly chronicles the rise of a charmless KGB agent to a cold-blooded autocrat/dictator. What’s alarming is the fact how politicians in Russia never really cared about their own citizens. The utmost goal has always been power, dominance, and money. A compulsory read for those trying to understand why the war in Ukraine is fought.
chinesetakeout's review against another edition
Nie będzie tu oceny, bo ciężko oceniać zbiór faktów historycznych. Jedyne co mogę powiedzieć, to że autor umiejętnie uporządkował chaos jakim były w Rosji lata 88-02 i odpuścił sobie to, czego w książkach o historii współczesnej Rosji nie lubię, czyli bawienie się w psychologa. Tu są suche fakty, które nie poddają się żadnym analizom socjologicznym, bo do każdego z nich doprowadził spójny i logiczny ciąg przyczynowo skutkowy. Nie ma pytania "dlaczego?". Jest stwierdzenie faktu. A faktem jest, że że putinizm zaczął kształtować się jeszcze na długo zanim sam Putin doszedł do władzy i to wstydliwe dziedzictwo współdzielone jest obecnie przez całe pokolenia Rosjan.
Doskonałe antidotum na neokolonialny paternalizm cechujący często opracowania historyczne nt. Rosji wydawane na tym mitycznym zachodzie, gdzie w obrębie jednego akapitu przedstawia się współczesną rosyjską myśl polityczną jako coś kompletnie niezrozumiałego i opierającego się wszelkiej logice, a jednocześnie rewelacyjną strategię zrodzoną z czystego geniuszu (!!)
Doskonałe antidotum na neokolonialny paternalizm cechujący często opracowania historyczne nt. Rosji wydawane na tym mitycznym zachodzie, gdzie w obrębie jednego akapitu przedstawia się współczesną rosyjską myśl polityczną jako coś kompletnie niezrozumiałego i opierającego się wszelkiej logice, a jednocześnie rewelacyjną strategię zrodzoną z czystego geniuszu (!!)
hazy_amber's review against another edition
4.0
I think i am exactly the target audience of this book. I remember the events that are described, the names and all, but i was too young to comprehend them fully when they were happening. So the book served the purpose of filling in some gaps perfectly for me. I would say that if you are not well versed in who is who in USSR politics, it might be a bit of a stretch. There is also at least two pairs of people with same last names so it might be confusing. I also speak Russian so i didn’t care for the names being occasionally provided in Russian after they were once “explained” (like names of the newspapers and magazines) but it may be a bit more difficult to concentrate on for someone who isn’t a Russian speaker.
Overall it was a good crash course on media role in politics and society attitudes towards media.
I take away one star purely because i am surprised there wasn’t a single mention of Listyev - neither his work, nor his murder. It was something i wanted to hear about, and i think it was an important event, but it’s just not there.
Overall it was a good crash course on media role in politics and society attitudes towards media.
I take away one star purely because i am surprised there wasn’t a single mention of Listyev - neither his work, nor his murder. It was something i wanted to hear about, and i think it was an important event, but it’s just not there.