“A brilliant, deeply reported and deeply felt account of how Putin's Russia descended into delusion, madness and evil from a reporter with a better understanding and experience of Russia than almost any observer writing today.” —Owen Matthews

“Haunting and insightful...(a) pitch-perfect account of how his adopted country descended into evil and madness.” —Edward Lucas, The Times

“Vivid...a particularly fine addition to the genre” —Financial Times

“To understand how Vladimir Putin dominates Russia, you must study how his propaganda works. Other books have explored the country's disinformation state, but this one charts its evolution into a wartime dictatorship.” —Economist

“An unflinching journey in the dark night of the Russian mind under Putin - written by a top British reporter who knows it with an unrivalled quarter-century of intimacy.” —Peter Pomerantsev

“Bennetts blends informed analysis of Russia's descent into autocracy under Putin with the kind of personal insights that only come from living in the country for a quarter of a century.” —Peter Conradi

“A brilliant book from one of our most experienced Moscow correspondents. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Russia's slide into fascism.” —Anna Reid

“Bennetts paints an intimate portrait of Russian thinking that is worth a thousand think-tank reports from London or Washington.” —Tom Parfitt

“(A) vivid...heartbroken memoir.” —Publishers Weekly

“A compelling portrait of twenty-first century Russia under Putin, and its slide into madness and murder. There's vivid reporting from Ukraine & some wonderful personal reminiscences and dark humour. Recommended.” —Luke Harding, author of 'Invasion: Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival'

“Bennetts charts Russia's evolution into a full-on wartime dictatorship.” —The Economist

“[Bennetts] is vulnerable, often emotional and sometimes naive, anything but a detached observer... roaming the streets of Moscow arguing with people from all walks of life.” —The New Statesman

“A fascinating, hard-hitting diary... Bennetts portrays Russia's terrifying descent into violence.” —The Herald