The award-winning writer Mikhail Shishkin shares his understanding of Russia and the West — and the contrasts and tensions that have been exacerbated over several years. With his deep knowledge of Russia, the writer explores how the epoch of peace and a supposed end of the East– West confrontation could lead to the current crisis.

Shishkin’s love for Russia is uncompromised, yet he sharply criticizes Putin’s authoritarian rule and the politics of the Kremlin. Personal insights, sharp political analyses, and historical overviews make this a crucially important book in diffi cult times.

From the author: “This book is a collection of essays about Russia, written specifi cally for the Western

reader. Having lived in Europe for so many years helped me recognize the general misconceptions about Russia and Russians that Western people often nourish. This book is for the reader who refuses to accept clichés and platitudes as ultimate truth. It answers some of the most important ‘Russian questions.’ Why do 21st-century Westerners travelling the world write about my country as if it were another planet? What is wrong with my country, and why?

What is this whole notion of ‘Russianness’? Why do revolutions and attempts at democratic reforms only lead to new dictatorships? Why can’t the West and Russia reach understanding after centuries of war and peace? What does it mean to love Russia? Can one still believe in Russia, as Tyutchev once bequeathed?

The essays are devoted to such eternal topics as ‘the mystery of the Russian soul’ (here is a spoiler:

there is no mystery, only the lack of knowledge that adds to a mysterious glare); patriotism and tyranny;

‘Live not by lie’ (but neither by the truth); ‘Neither the church nor the tavern’; ‘Russian universality’ and

hybrid wars; writers and power, and many others.

The future is a glove, and the past is a hand. This is a book about the future of Russia. Therefore, it contains a lot of history. I explain to the Western reader its underwater, deep currents — invisible from

the outside, yet determining its course. Without this, the present of my country cannot be understood.

The last two chapters are devoted to what awaits us in the coming years and in the not-so-distant future.”