I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition

by Marc Bennetts

Overview

In 2012, on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a controversial third term as president, mass protests ended in violent clashes between demonstrators and the police. ‘They ruined my big day, now I’m going to ruin their lives,’ Putin was alleged to have said. Now Boris Nemtsov is dead, other key opposition leaders are either in prison or under house arrest and the Kremlin is using the situation in Ukraine to further its domestic aims, encouraging the rise of violent pro-Putin groups and labelling protesters ‘national traitors’.

Journalist and long-time Moscow resident Marc Bennetts examines how Putin and his shadowy advisers crushed Russia’s brave new protest movement. Featuring rare interviews with everyone from Nemtsov and other protest leaders to Kremlin insiders, Bennetts provides an unprecedented insight into the realities of politics on the ground. The result is a brilliant portrayal of the battle for Russia’s soul – one which continues to this day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780744322
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	02/25/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Marc Bennetts is a Moscow-based British journalist whose work has appeared in Newsweek, The Times, Politico, and Esquire, as well as other UK and US publications. He has also reported from North Korea, Iran, and Ukraine.
Marc Bennetts is a British journalist based in Moscow. He has reported from Russia, Iran and North Korea for The Times, the Guardian, the Observer, and the New York Times, among other publications. His first book, Football Dynamo, examined Russian culture and society through the country's national sport.

Editorial Reviews

'Bennetts has done an excellent job of drawing together the scattered beads of a sobering story.'

Susan Richards

'Electrifying'

Booklist

‘A compelling account of how a disparate set of political groups came together to create the largest anti-government protests Russia has seen in living memory.’

New Statesman

‘A good recap of the past few years of Russian political dramas.’

Commonweal Magazine

'Colourful and authoritative. The best account of Russia's protest movement and Putin's ferocious crackdown.'

Angus Roxburgh

‘A lively, sardonic account of Putin’s reign and those opposed to it’

Metro

'Bennetts' entertaining book Kicking the Kremlin could hardly have come at a better time... Bennetts is well-placed to write the book. The huge variety of his interviews, through which he elicits a pleasing selection of anecdotes, as well as accusations of being a foreign spy, show his familiarity with the country and its people.'

We Love This Book

‘Strongly written, well-researched and timely... it should be read now.’

Times Literary Supplement

'Vivid and insightful. Bennetts captures a transitional moment in Russian history. Years from now, when researchers are seeking to explain the second Putin era, they would do well to use this reportage.'

Daniel Kalder

‘Dark, compelling, and illuminating. Bennetts meets priests, lawmakers, spin-doctors, ordinary Russians, left-wing agitators, and riot cops in this vivid first-hand portrait.’

Luke Harding

'This book gives a fascinating peek at the shifting political landscape in one of the world’s most opaque nations.'

Press Association

'An engagingly grim, frequently absurdist portrait of Vladimir Putin and the popular protests against him.'

Kirkus Reviews

‘A lively, sardonic account of Putin’s reign and those opposed to it’

Metro M D

‘A lively, sardonic account of Putin’s reign and those opposed to it’

Metro

'Electrifying'

Booklist

"Bennetts’ book ... is invaluable for his many interviews and interactions with Russians who continue to demonstrate and defy authority even as things get increasingly difficult. And he covers the full spectrum, from radical right-wingers to pro-Western liberals, from voting monitors to provincial activists trying to stop a nickel mining operation from being set up in their backyard. We learn what keeps them fighting, despite impossible odds, what the Kremlin and Putin seem to fear most (Maidan), and why any form of dissent is increasingly seen as some shade of treason."
—Russian Life Magazine

PRAISE FOR KICKING THE KREMLIN by Marc Bennetts:

"Dark, compelling, and illuminating. Bennetts meets priests, lawmakers, spin-doctors, ordinary Russians, left-wing agitators, and riot cops in this vivid first-hand portrait."
— Luke Harding, Guardian correspondent and author of Mafia State

"Colourful and authoritative. The best account of Russia's protest movement and Putin's ferocious crackdown."
— Angus Roxburgh, author of Vladimir Putin and the Struggle for Russia

"Vivid and insightful. Bennetts captures a transitional moment in Russian history. Years from now, when researchers are seeking to explain the second Putin era, they would do well to use this reportage."
— Daniel Kalder, author of Lost Cosmonaut

"Bennetts has done an excellent job of drawing together the scattered beads of a sobering story."
— Susan Richards, author of Lost and Found in Russia: Encounters in a Deep Heartland and founding editor of OpenDemocracy Russia.

From the Publisher