'TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN . . .' On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union begins its countdown. From the steppes of Kazakhstan, the first human - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin - launches into space.

In that moment, another countdown begins. How could it be that a single generation - just three decades - would separate the USSR's crowning achievement from the collapse of the Soviet empire?

More than a history lesson, The Dark Side of the Earth is a testament to the enduring fight for truth and freedom. In pursuit of the real story, renowned Kremlin opponent Mikhail Zygar ('one of Russia's smartest and best-sourced young journalists' - New York Times) gathered witness statements of jaw-dropping candour from hundreds of key players: the last first secretaries and first presidents of the post-Soviet republics, the leaders of independence movements, Western politicians and diplomats, and Mikhail Gorbachev himself, not to mention dozens of scientists, authors, film directors, aspiring rockstars and ordinary men and women who for a time became the accidental protagonists of history.

The end of the USSR set the stage for today's vengeful return. But as Gagarin looked down from the stars at his home world, was Russia's fate already written?

About the Author
Mikhail Zygar is a journalist and the founding editor-in-chief of TV Rain, which was Russia's last independent news channel. His books include War and Punishment (2023), a defence of Ukrainian sovereighty, and All the Kremlin's Men (2017), a critical portrait of Putin's inner circle that was a number-one bestseller in Russia for several months. In 2024, a Moscow court convicted him for his critical reporting and sentenced him to eight and a half years in prison. He now lives in exile.

Reviews
I love books that tell the story of an entire country through the intimate, everyday lives of its people - both famous and unknown. Mikhail Zygar is one of the most thoughtful Russian writers of our time, and behind every page lies meticulous, painstaking work. You may think you know how it all ends, but still, you simply can't put it down -- YULIA NAVALNAYA, pro-democracy activist and widow of Alexei Navalny
This is history as experience, systems rendered through the lives they shape and often destroy . . . The Dark Side of the Earth shines * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Savage, comic and tragic. Mikhail Zygar's brilliant eye-witness account of the end of the Soviet Union takes you to the heart of modern Russia -- JOHN CRACE, author of DEPRAVED NEW WORLD
Blends political history, cultural studies, and biographical narrative to illuminate the persistence of imperial ideology . . . The Dark Side of the Earth reads less like a history book and more like a strategic briefing disguised as cultural analysis. Zygar's central insight is that Russia's post-Soviet trajectory cannot be understood through policy alone - it must be decoded through the stories it tells itself * THE CIPHER BRIEF *
A marathon effort to retell the story of perestroika through hundreds of interviews [Zygar] conducted over several years with many of the leading participants . . . The tale jumps from one personality to another, weaving world events in the background, meandering across Russia's vast landscape . . . It is a dramatic story, full of wonderful anecdotes . . . Perhaps it is the only way to write about a revolution * FINANCIAL TIMES *
Paints a vivid picture . . . a wide-ranging narrative that frames the Soviet collapse amid events including the Tiananmen Square massacre in China and the Islamic Revolution in Iran * TIMES *
In Zygar's book, it's people who take center stage, not messiahs; individual characters, not abstract nations. We see that it wasn't dictators who saved the world from apocalypse, but humanists. And the contrast with today's rulers makes the book all the more bitter and revealing. And yes, it's brilliantly written - with a lively, sparkling wit -- DMITRY MURATOV, winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Zygar is one of the most brilliant observers of contemporary Russia. He is both a protagonist in his country's recent history and a skilled analyst of its politics. The Dark Side of the Earth showcases his unique perspectives, and considerable talent for vivid storytelling as he looks back at the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is also a deeply personal story, which makes for a particularly powerful narrative and a profoundly moving book -- FIONA HILL, former White House Russia advisor and witness in the impeachment of Donald Trump
An idiosyncratic, insightful account of both the end of the Soviet Union and the rise of Putinism - a useful and timely reminder of how closely these two forms of dictatorship are connected -- ANNE APPLEBAUM, author of AUTOCRACY INC
This is history as it should be: written like a novel and brimming with moral urgency. An extraordinary piece of work -- IAN DUNT, author of HOW WESTMINSTER WORKS . . . AND WHY IT DOESN'T
A book that will surely endure as the definitive account of an historic era, and serve as a timely reminder that where political systems are concerned, we should perhaps be a little more careful what we wish for. -- Mark Staniforth * PRESS ASSOCIATION *



Book Information
ISBN 9781398714038
Author Mikhail Zygar
Format Paperback
Page Count 560
Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publisher Orion Publishing Co
Weight(grams) 696g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 152mm * 44mm