A review by miguelf
Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia by Joshua Yaffa

4.0

Between Two Fires focuses on six or so characters who lived or are living in Putin’s Russia (or former Soviet Union) as we get a glimpse into the personal hardships of everyday Russians (and Ukrainians) and their thoughts on their lives and the trajectory of the country. We also are given a wider view of individuals dealing with the endemic corruption but as well the aspirations of those living in the modern Russian State as driven by Putin and his cronies. Most are very sympathetic characters and in most instances the reader is quite taken with their plight (although less so for the Crimean safari owner). At its best Yaffa evokes other writers who have written so eloquently on Russian life and politics such as Masha Gessen and Timothy Snyder.