CaspianReport

Review: Fragile Empire by Ben Judah (2014x19)

: 07, 2014

Of all the recent books about the Russian president, Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin by Ben Judah stands out for a number of reasons. First of all it’s not quite a biography but instead it’s more like a history book with the Vladimir Putin as the central character. Second, unlike many other books on Russia, the author Ben Judah, actually travels throughout Russia and early on establishes that Moscow isn’t Russia. Instead Moscow is a multicultural metropolis that is completely disconnected from the impoverished small towns and cities where most Russians live. So the book underlines the growing gap in the Russian society.