Russia without Putin: Money, Power and the Myths of the New Cold War

Description

It is impossible to think of Russia today without thinking of Vladimir Putin. More than any other major national leader, he personifies his country in the eyes of the outside world, and dominates Western media coverage of it to an extraordinary extent. In Russia itself, he is likewise the centre of attention for detractors and supporters alike. But as Tony Wood argues, this overwhelming focus on the president and his personality means that we understand Russia less than we ever did before. Too much attention is paid to the man, and not enough to the country outside the Kremlin's walls. In this timely and provocative analysis, Wood looks beyond Putin to explore the profound changes Russia has undergone since 1991. In the process, he challenges many of the common assumptions made about contemporary Russia. Though commonly viewed as an ominous return to Soviet authoritarianism, Putin's rule should instead be seen as a direct continuation of Yeltsin's in the 1990s. And though many of Russia's problems today are blamed on legacies of the Soviet past, Wood argues that the core features of Putinism-a predatory, authoritarian elite presiding over a vastly unequal society-are integral to the system set in place after the fall of Communism. What kind of country has emerged from Russia's post-Soviet transformations, and where might it go in future? Russia without Putin culminates in an arresting analysis of the country's foreign policy-identifying the real power dynamics behind its escalating clashes with the West-and with reflections on the paths Russia might take in the 21st century.

Tony Wood lives in New York and writes on Russia and Latin America. A member of the editorial board of New Left Review, he is previously the author of Chechnya: The Case for Independence (2007), and his writing has appeared in the London Review of Books, the Guardian, n+1 and The Nation, among other places.

There are few journalistic books about Russia that take its complexity seriously enough not to fall back on simplistic, essentialist, or Orientalist frameworks. Russia Without Putin is unquestionably one of them. The interpretation it develops should already have been the baseline for a larger discussion, instead of a desperate response to a debate about the Putin menace that has come entirely unmoored from reality. [Russia Without Putin] is not only praiseworthy but vital. -- Greg Afinogenov * Bookforum * I would strongly recommend the book to anyone eager to learn more about the real, rather than mythic, Russia, as well as readers looking for ways of thinking about possible alternatives to the current global neoliberal order. -- Karine Clement * OpenDemocracy * Given the hysterical climate surrounding Vladimir Putin's power in Russia and the wider world, the publication of a book entitled Russia without Putin brings fresh air to a debate spoiled by stereotypes and fashionable brands of Russia and Putin The Bloody Dictator. Russia without Putin should be recommended to anybody interested in understanding contemporary Russia - and, in particular, a more nuanced analysis of the country's social. * Open Democracy * Tony Wood masterfully readjusts the lens through which we see contemporary Russia. This lucid, concise book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the economic, social, and political factors that have made Russia what it is today, and that will shape Russia's future. -- Sophie Pinkham, author of Black Square: Adventures in the Post-Soviet World Tony Wood brings a cool eye and analytical acuity to a systematically misrepresented subject. The result is a concise book that is continuously startling in its revelations, and sobering in its reminders of the vast tracts of Russian experience that paranoid commentary about the country has disregarded. -- Pankaj Mishra, author of Age of Anger Tony Wood is the best and most eloquent writer on Russia that we have. A book from him on the deep dynamics of the entire post-Soviet era, free of obsession with the personality of Putin, is nothing less than a gift. -- Keith Gessen, author of A Terrible Country well researched and reasoned. Whatever one thinks of state sovereignty these days, this political project demands serious engagement, and his humanitarian concerns cannot be ignored -- Georgi Derluguian [for Chechnya] An antidote to the prevailing wisdom -- Sebastian Smith [For Chechnya] Critiquing the West's obsession with Vladimir Putin's 'cool calculation and prickly machismo,' [Russia Without Putin] offers a more searching appraisal of the institutions that buttress his Presidency, the aspirations that galvanize his supporters, and the forces that drive his capitalist economy. * The New Yorker * In Russia Without Putin: Money, Power and the Myths of the New Cold War, Tony Wood dares to violate stock conventions by asking not just what Russia would look like if we looked beyond its figurehead, but if we saw Russia as it really was: an intermediate world power held together by an unsustainable economic and political model, and with several potential crises looming on the horizon... A crucial contribution. * Jacobin * The title of this excellent book. seems to echo the slogan that was chanted in Moscow in 2012 by crowds calling for regime change. In reality, it is a challenge to them and their western supporters for being so fixated on Putin and his personality that they fail to understand that he bestrides a system that is deeply entrenched and will easily survive him. -- Jonathan Steele * The Guardian * A brilliantly written book. In a compact but analytically deep way, Tony Wood covers the major issues of post-Soviet Russia politics, economy, class structure, opposition protests, international conflicts, and future prospects. He debunks many myths popular in media and among pundits, and makes a compelling argument that the main Russian problems are not about Putin. -- Volodymyr Ishchenko, sociologist (Kiev) Convincing and cool-headed account of the Putin phenomenon * The Herald * Seeks to debunk several common misconceptions about Russia and its relations with the rest of the world . . .[his] central message: don't focus too much on Putin-the system over which he presides is more important, and it can outlast him. -- Maria Lipman * Foreign Affairs * concise and powerfully written new book on contemporary Russia attempts to wean the reader from a diet of 'Putinology'... essential reading not just for Russophiles (and Russophobes) but for anyone interested in how the marketization of post-socialist Europe has continuing, and often negative, consequences." -- Max Holleran * Public Books *