The Future Is History

Posted on 17 August 2017 by Masha Gessen

Putin s bestselling biographer reveals how, in the space of a generation, Russia surrendered to a virulent and invincible new strain of autocracy Hailed for her fearless indictment of the most powerful man in Russia by the Wall Street Journal, award winning journalist Masha Gessen is unparalleled in her understanding of the events and forces that have wracked her native country in recent times In The Future Is History, she follows the lives of four people born at what promised to be the dawn of democracy Each came of age with unprecedented expectations, some as the children and grandchildren of the very architects of the new Russia, each with newfound aspirations of their own as entrepreneurs, activists, thinkers, and writers, sexual and social beings Gessen charts their paths not only against the machinations of the regime that would crush them all, but also against the war it waged on understanding itself, ensuring the unobstructed reemergence of the old Soviet order in the form of today s terrifying and seemingly unstoppable mafia state Powerful and urgent, The Future Is History is a cautionary tale for our time and for all time. Best Download The Future Is History [ Author ] Masha Gessen [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Bias on top of bias on top of bias I feel about this book the way I felt about The Bronze Horseman It is clearly written by an emigrant from Russia who hates EVERYTHING about Russia There is no attempt to be objective here, vitriol in every sentence, where even the most innocuous things are described as depressing and dire and BAD free, government sponsored, mind you, preschools portrayed as a cross between baby prisons and warehouses really how did we all make it then after attending Bias on top of bias on top of bias I feel about this book the way I felt about The Bronze Horseman It is clearly written by an emigrant from Russia who hates EVERYTHING about Russia There is no attempt to be objective here, vitriol in every sentence, where even the most innocuous things are described as depressing and dire and BAD free, government sponsored, mind you, preschools portrayed as a cross between baby prisons and warehouses really how did we...Superb illustration of Russia s slide into totalitarianism over the past three decades, through the lives of four ordinary Russians and three members of the intelligentsia I m impressed how Gessen finds these people a young gay man in a rural town, the daughter of a businesswoman, a grandson of a Soviet politician, the daughter of a Boris Nemtsov, an assassinated dissident.Yet Gessen is intelligentsia, and so she best converses with others, as they grapp...4 stars for the content and 3 stars for the audio.In The Future Is History, Masha Gessen looks at Russia since the mid 1980s to today It s not a pretty picture She focuses on three young people born in the mid 1980s, from different backgrounds She weaves in a lot of history and political theory She essentially argues that contemporary Russia is under a totalitarian regime, zeroing on themes like the lack of true elections and state sanctioned homophobia.For anyone interested in recent Russia 4 stars for the content and 3 stars for the audio.In The Future Is History, Masha Gessen looks at Russia since the mid 19...Admittedly this book took me longer to read than most I ve read in the last year it s because there s at least five books with in this one The quality of journalism, paired with the incredible insight to the timelines...One of the most stunningly brilliant books I have read this year If you are interested in Russia, Putinism, and the depth psychology of totalitarianism, you will find this book fascinating Gessen is utterly brilliant.Gessen s careful telling of the lives of four Russians who saw the Soviet Union collapse and who also saw Putin take power is a thrill to read Their are three additional characters whose position in Russian society and political influence garners attention Despite following the lives of 7 characters across landscapes of city to country life and occupations from psychology to politics, Gessen manages to keep the reader on a path toward making sense of what it was like for these people to live Gessen s careful telling of the lives of four Russians who saw the Soviet Union collapse and who also saw Putin take power is a thrill to read Their are three additional characters whose position in Russian society and political influence garners attention Despite following the lives of 7 characters across landscapes of city to country life...This is an important book.Its purpose is to explain how, and why, Russia returned to a state of totalitarianism despite the initial hope and democratisation of the Yeltsin period Why did the Russian people not fasten on to their new freedoms in the way that the citizens of the Baltic republics and, to a lesser extent, those of Ukraine did Masha Gessen s explanation explores, via the lives of seven in...Taking the past forty or so years of Russian history from its emergence from to its retreat back into Totalitarianism this book focuses of individuals who experienced firsthand this false dawn and the broken promise of democracy since the fall of the Soviet Union The stories of individu...4.5 5.0Don t know if she explicitly proved her title thesis, but the book progressed tragically through the lives of her protagonists Extremely insightful unpassionate analysis of Russian character and psychology regarding authority Told from activist viewpoint but emotionally fair and balanced Minimal villainy attributed to Putin Her points are subtle but strong and the accumulated total is devastatingly enlightening Particularly in this time of simple convenient truths her nu...This book presents an oral history of sorts covering this transition from Gorbachev to Yeltsin to Putin I read Gessen s biography of Putin and enjoyed it Masha Gessen is a journalist and a fine story teller who lived through the events she discusses and knows or knew many of the people she writes about This is not an objective history and does not claim to be one It is difficult to imagine how one could live ...

English
17 August 2017

Masha Gessen