"Mikhail Fishman, a veteran journalist of the Putin era, tells the Nemtsov story with extraordinary reportorial detail and a profound sense of what could have been."
—David Remnick, author of Lenin's Tomb

"Searching, propulsive.... Offers a glimpse of the open, pluralist Russia that almost was—and may yet be."
—The New York Times

"An engrossing account of Russia's fleeting brush with democracy and its slide back into authoritarian rule, told through the life of a man once expected to succeed Yeltsin. Fishman brilliantly evokes the charged atmosphere of those years, a time when anything seemed possible—until it wasn't."
—Daniel Treisman, co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century

"[A] fascinating account of two men—and two irreconcilable visions—for Russia’s future... An intimate portrait of political rivals at the moment Russia’s fragile freedom gave way to authoritarian rule."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Richly detailed... An intricate, political cautionary tale."
—Publishers Weekly

"For anyone who wants to understand how, despite all the hopes for freedom and democracy as Soviet communism was dying in the 1980s, Russia has turned back into one of the world’s worst tyrannies, this excellent book is as good a place as any to start. It is less a biography of Nemtsov than the story of modern Russia seen through his subject’s eyes... A vaulable reminder of one of Russia’s important martyrs for freedom."
—The Sunday Times

"Much more than a biography... A fascinating insider account of Russia’s descent from imitation democracy to fully-fledged tyranny, with Nemtsov’s life as a connecting thread."
—The Irish Times