The Dark Side of the Earth

Russian-born journalist Mikhail Zygar was ten years old when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now, after a decade of research, he offers a timely new approach to Russian history—one that rewrites everything we thought we knew about the fall of the Soviet Union and argues that what was perceived as a triumph for freedom and political courage led inexorably and tragically to the reestablishment of totalitarianism.

Starting with the historic launch of the first human into space in April 1961, Zygar unfolds the dramatic story of resistance and resilience that led to the Soviet Union’s dissolution—and which echoes today in Russia’s oppressive regime. Zygar conducted several hundred exclusive interviews with key figures, including former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, the first presidents of the independent post-Soviet republics, the final First Secretaries of these republics, and leaders of independence movements within them, as well as Western politicians and diplomats who were witnesses to and participants in those events.

He dives into the struggles and triumphs of such figures as Andrei Sakharov, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Vladimir Vysotsky, whose defiance of totalitarianism is both inspiring and deeply relevant. Zygar explains how the “victory” over the Soviet Empire was short-lived, as today’s Russian regime under Vladimir Putin maintains its expansionist ambitions.