The Dark Side of the Earth

From “one of Russia’s smartest and best-sourced young journalists” (The New York Times) comes a gripping and urgent exploration of why the Soviet Union’s collapse was incomplete and the Cold War was never over—revealing the resurgence of imperialism in Russia and its current implications for the war in Ukraine. Russian-born journalist Mikhail Zygar was ten years old when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now, after nearly ten years of research, he offers a timely and compelling new approach on Russian history—one that rewrites everything we thought we knew about the fall of the Soviet Union—and argues that its ending is yet to come. Starting with the historic launch of the first human into space in April 1961, Zygar unravels a dramatic story of resistance, resilience, and resurgence that led to the Soviet Union’s dissolution—and the echoes of its legacy today. Zygar conducted several hundred exclusive