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    I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition
    Unavailable
    I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition
    Unavailable
    I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition
    Ebook488 pages10 hours

    I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition

    By Marc Bennetts

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Vladimir Putin’s return to the Russian presidency amid mass protests in 2012 ushered in a ruthless crackdown on dissent. They ruined my big day, now I’m going to ruin their lives,’ Putin was alleged to have threatened after demonstrators clashed with police on the eve of his inauguration for a controversial third term. Now Boris Nemtsov is dead, other key opposition leaders are either in prison or under house arrest and the Kremlin is using the war in Ukraine to further its domestic aims, encouraging the rise of violent pro-Putin groups and labeling protesters national traitors’.

    Journalist and long-time Moscow resident Marc Bennetts examines how Russia’s political opposition went from the heights of 2011’s brave new protest movement to the disparate, broken-down force that it is today. Featuring rare interviews with everyone from Nemtsov and other protest leaders to Kremlin insiders, Bennetts provides an unprecedented insight into the realities of Russia’s political arena. The result is a brilliant portrayal of the battle for Russia’s soul, one which continues to this day.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOneworld Publications
    Release dateJan 18, 2016
    ISBN9781780744322
    Unavailable
    I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition
    Author

    Marc Bennetts

    Marc Bennetts is a British journalist based in Moscow. He has reported from Russia, Iran and North Korea for The Times, the Guardian, the Observer, and the New York Times, among other publications. His first book, Football Dynamo, examined Russian culture and society through the country's national sport.

    Read more from Marc Bennetts

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    Reviews for I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives

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    • 5/5
      In "I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives," Marc Bennett paints a broad picture of national politics in Russia from the late 1990s through 2015. It's fascinating. I, and I suspect many others in the west, know comparatively little of Vladimir Putin and even less about his opponents. Mr. Bennett gives great insight into these other players, big and small, and their effect on the Russian political system. Although the casual reader will probably be familiar with the major events covered in this book, it can be difficult to keep track of all the people involved. Don't let that scare you off, though. "I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives" is well written, and not a difficult read. Highly recommended!
    • 5/5
      This is a stunning book, really. Bennetts knows the country well, and is in contact with a great range of people. His account of modern Russia and the political woes of its many people is sensitive, passionate AND level-headed, and deeply engrossing.I definitely had a "wait ... oh right, THIS is what journalism is SUPPOSED to be" moment (or series of moments) reading this -- because here in the U$A, one forgets: one gets so used to journalism being the realm of partisan hacks with plastic hair, fake tans and hideous voices (looking at you, Fox News) that one forgets that even in this country journalism was once a proud tradition.If you have any interest in Russia, or what is going on in the world beyond your community, please read this. It's first rate: well-researched but not dry, current, and alive.
    • 5/5
      This is an excellent if rather depressing account of opposition politics and official retaliation in modern Russia. The book being depressing is no fault of the author's - it is difficult to be all that optimistic about an authoritarian state where political murders and staggering corruption are routinely hushed up by the powers that be, while the authorities encourage xenophobic paranoia and religious mania in an attempt to cover for governmental flaws. The majority of this book focuses on events in Moscow, although there are mentions of other provinces in Russia and one or two foreign countries. I was unaware of the extent to which Hillary Clinton is evidently demonized in Russia, as well as the existence of any opposition movements at all, regardless of how strong or weak they are.The main weakness of the book is, like everything else covering authoritarian states, that the author does not have a complete picture of the affairs he is covering. This is hardly his fault, since communicating with Western journalists can get people arrested, beaten up, and probably killed, especially in Russia. It is therefore illogical to hold this very heavily against the author.
    • 4/5
      Mr. Bennett's writes masterful prose. At once he brought Mr. Putin's character to center stage, and what a character he is. He left the KGB (after 16 years) to work in President Boris Yeltsin's administration where in 3 short years he became acting President when Boris Yeltsin resigned. Lucky man. He is very popular with the Russian people and gets reelected by wide majorities. He is the strong man whom many Russians want as a leader. Author Bennetts succintly dissects this almost robber baronesque character. On the one hand the people love him but woe betide those who do not. Those folks are interred in near gulag-like prisons, and Putin has imprisoned many people who landed on the wrong side of him. Mr. Bennetts history is vivid and pungent.
    • 5/5
      A well written and thorough look at the struggles faced by political opposition and protesters in Putin's Russia. The book is an engaging and engrossing overview of the social and political climate imposed by Putin and his allies. While many will be familiar with the larger events, the full picture painted once the finer details are filled in exposes a worrying state of corruption in a country on the brink of dictatorship. [Review posted to GoodReads last year, forgot to crosspost]
    • 5/5
      Vladimir Putin has always interested me. It is amazing that a little known KGB agent could muscle and intimidate his way to Russias top office. The author does a wonderful job chronicling Putin's ruthless struggle to maintain his leadership. Enemies Beware! I won my copy of this book from Library Thing.
    • 3/5
      Interesting and informative read, at times it was difficult to keep track of all the people. However, if you're looking to expand your knowledge on this topic, this book is a great option.
    • 5/5
      Marc Bennetts’ account of the crackdown on those inside Russia who are opposed to Vladimir Putin is both powerful and disturbing. While many of us in the West have long believed that Putin is more KGB or Mafia boss than anything approaching a democratic leader, his high vote returns notwithstanding, the extent of his oppression is still stunning. Bennetts does an excellent job of explaining the key leaders and major events of the opposition movement against Putin. He explains the disparate groups who are united primarily, or only, by their antipathy for the Russian President, whom they see as the leader of a wide group of crooks and thieves. He offers a great deal of insight into the major players of the opposition; individuals such as the charismatic blogger Alexei Nalvany, Sergei Udaltsov, the leading members of the punk rock group Pussy Riot (who were jailed for their notorious protest concert within an Orthodox Cathedral), as well as more ordinary citizens who have received extraordinary punishment for essentially…nothing. A key example of the latter is former Russian marine, Denis Lutskevich, sentenced to prison for the “crime” of being present at an opposition march. It is difficult to believe that this sort of repression could be occurring today inside Russia, twenty years after the end of the Cold War. Bennetts’ reporting is excellent and the book is a compelling read. Putin is a new type of tsar and ordinary Russians are once again on the losing side. The injustice is all the more infuriating when considering the sad part played by the Orthodox Church in Russia, the police, and the state media, all of which Bennetts details in his book. The passage that was perhaps the most starkly descriptive of the circumstances inside Russia was the one about Putin traveling to his May 2012 inauguration through deserted streets. Riot police had raided cafes and arrested those wearing white ribbons, a symbol of the opposition, while another man was arrested simply for speaking to a news crew. Bennetts then describes a young woman with tears and mascara running down her face asking, “Is this how the president wants to start his rule?...He’s afraid of his own people.” The book makes a convincing argument that Russia has a corrupt, ruthless autocrat who is waging war on any and all who oppose him, and who will do whatever is necessary to silence them.
    • 5/5
      I just finished reading I’m Going To Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin’s War on Russia’s Opposition by Marc Bennetts. Prior to reading it, I wondered why certain events happened in Russia. I wondered why Putin was still president. I wondered what was really going on in Russia. Of course I knew that he used to be in the KGB but I that was about it. Now, I see that he has painted himself into a corner. He cannot leave office, if he did he must surely know that he will be punished for all the horrible changes that he has made. This is a very different culture with a very different history. Protests may start and no one may show up, it is very dangerous to express your true thoughts. You may be shot in the street, put in a faraway prison or be under house arrest. Some of the reports of the protestors' demise can give you the chills. Putin lies when he wants to manipulate the feelings of people towards his rule. At first he was a welcome break after the embarrassing Yelsin’s public drunkenness. Now how can Russia be free of him?Now we learn how this country that could had so much lost the promise of freedom of speech. How were the protesters “taken care”? How did Putin cement his hold on Russia? How were elections handled? What happened when Putin decided to put a successor to himself? Did that successor have any power at all or did Putin control his successor too. What do you do when people are thinking of kicking you out of office? All these questions are answered in this book.This is well document in the back of the book with the interviews that his information came from and all the websites that he referred to. Although the print was small, the report kept reading through several nights. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Russia and/or political systems. I received a finished copy of this book as a win from LibraryThing from the publishers in exchange for a fair book review. My thoughts and feelings in this review are totally my own.
    • 4/5
      Based on interviews with many of the participants of protest groups in the new Russia, it exposes Putin and his cronies for the totalitarian monsters they really are. Putin controls the media and works hand in hand with the Orthodox Church to manipulate the presentation of events in Russia and to crush dissent; often with draconian Stalin-style tactics.
    • 5/5
      I thought I was confused about Russian politics before I read this book but doing so has erased all doubt. Bennetts amasses a suffering amount of detail concerning who Putin’s opposition is within Russia and sorting out their often conflicting objectives. A mistake that general readers like me might make reading the book is to digest the data and to keep track of who is doing what and the agenda each is following. The detail is staggering. A better approach is to let the detail fade into the background and focus on universal themes.We often judge a country based on the characteristics of its leader and sometimes we judge a leader based on the characteristics of the country. Bennetts provides the means to judge both Russia and Putin based on the characteristics of the groups opposing Putin’s policies. The picture is one of political chaos and social intrigue. Other than a common aversion for Putin and his policies, the opposition has no cohesion—environmental protectionists, anti-corruption advocates, nationalists, civil libertarians, et al sometimes team together but often negate the acts of one another. As an example, Cossacks are depicted as both anti and pro Putin on different issues. That the Russian Orthodox Church is supportive of Putin came as a surprise.Bennetts’ data seems to support the notion that Putin has positioned himself firmly between the Right and Left but the Russian concepts of Liberal and Conservative are not easily translatable to either the U.S. or G.B. constructs. The author adroitly uses the terms based on his long familiarity with the Russian political culture but fails to communicate what the terms mean.The focus of the book, Putin’s social opposition was diluted by a digression into power struggles within the Kremlin and anti-war sentiments associated with the Crimean, Ukraine, and Syrian involvements. Those subjects deserve separate narratives and inclusion here only convolutes the book’s message. Another image emerges from the book. The vast majority of foot noted cites are to Internet URLs and social media pages. This marks an important trend that will probably dominate investigative reporting in the future. Mining those sources is productive and this book proves the point. It paints a picture of the current Russian political and social atmosphere as a large wad of bread dough with the Internet and social media acting as leavening agents—each resultant space occupied by the voice of an opposing position. We must wait for the loaf to bake to determine if the processes that Bennetts has described results in a more enlightened Russia or if Putin has poisoned the yeast.