A review by graypeape
Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator by Darryl Cunningham

dark informative tense medium-paced

4.5

This is an interesting and informative overview of the recent history of Russia centered on the rise of Vladimir Putin. It's disturbing, as it should be, and very timely in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine going on right now. The writing is straightforward, clear, and concise, and the author is good about making clear what information is known fact and what is informed speculation. It's a bit mind-boggling when presented all at once; I'm vaguely familiar with a lot of the material presented here, but I learned about the various events at the time, so it was spread out over decades. Reading this and having everything stacked up together at one time is just...wow.
A little dry maybe, but definitely a recommended read.