The spectre of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election has cast a shadow over nearly the whole of Donald Trump''s presidency. Yet even the release of the Mueller report didn''t settle key questions related to Russia''s involvement in the election-there''s still little consensus on the extent and nature of covert activity by Russia aimed at influencing the election. With Deception, Richard Sakwa brings the knowledge from a long career of studying Russia to bear on these questions. He lays out the events that led the federal government to charge Russia with interference, and he challenges some of the more overblown claims of collusion, while putting other Russian activities in their historical and political context. In the midst of an overheated environment where political advantage often takes precedence over a search for truth, Deception will be essential reading for those who want to understand the story of 2016 and its implications for today.