Between Two Fires chronicles the lives of eight ambitious Russians - from politicians and entrepreneurs to artists and historians - who have built their careers and constructed their identities in the shadow of the Putin system, where astonishingly, Putin's approval rating remains at 80%. Torn between their own ambitions and the omnipresent demands of the state, some muster cunning and cynicism to extract privileges from those in power while others are broken or demoralized. For each, the question of compromise - where to bend, how much, and in the service of what goal - is ever-present. The result is an intimate and probing portrait of the way citizens shape their lives around the demands of a capricious and repressive state, which offers urgent lessons about the nature of modern authoritarianism.

How everyday Russians survive and thrive under Putin's rule, from The New Yorker's correspondent in Moscow.

About the Author
Joshua Yaffa is a correspondent for The New Yorker in Moscow, where he has lived for the last eight years. He has been a fellow at the New America foundation, a finalist for the Livingston Award, a visiting scholar at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, and a grantee of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.


Book Information
ISBN 9781783783700
Author Joshua Yaffa
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint Granta Books
Publisher Granta Books
Weight(grams) 430g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 153mm * 22mm