Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia

Description

From a leading journalist in Moscow and a correspondent forThe New Yorker, a groundbreaking portrait of modern Russia and the inner struggles of the people who sustain Vladimir Putin's rule. InBetween Two Fires, a rich and engaging tour of contemporary Russia, Joshua Yaffa introduces readers to some of the country's most remarkable figures--from politicians and entrepreneurs to artists and historians--who have built their careers and constructed their identities in the shadow of the Putin system. Torn between their own ambitions and the omnipresent demands of the state, each walks their own path of compromise. Some muster cunning and cynicism to extract all manner of benefits and privileges from those in power. Others, finding themselves less adept, are left broken or demoralized. What binds them together is the tangled web of dilemmas and contradictions they face. Between Two Fireschronicles the lives of a number of strivers who understand that their dreams are best--or only--realized through cooperation with the government. With sensitivity and depth, Yaffa profiles the director of Russia's main state television channel, an Orthodox priest at war with the church hierarchy, a Chechen humanitarian who turns a blind eye to persecutions, and many others. For each, the question of compromise--where to bend, how much, and in the service of what goal--is ever-present. The result is an intimate and probing portrait of a nation that is much discussed yet little understood. In showing how citizens shape their lives around the demands of a capricious and oftentimes repressive state--as much by choice as under threat of force--Between Two Firesoffers urgent lessons about the true nature of modern authoritarianism.