Russian daily newspaper

The key to understanding modern Russia: The last notes of a murdered journalist

The diary of a well-known Russian journalist murdered in autumn 2006. The voice they tried to silence speaks to us today more urgently than ever before. A Russian Diary is more than just a book of reportage – it is a chilling testament to the decay of democracy in Russia between 2003 and 2005. In it, Anna Politkovskaya documents the rise of authoritarianism under the leadership of Vladimir Putin with relentless honesty. The book captures key and tragic moments in Russian history, including the parliamentary elections, the Beslan school massacre, and the dismal situation in Chechnya. The author focuses not only on high politics in the Kremlin, but also on the fates of ordinary people – soldiers, parents of victims, and the unjustly prosecuted. The text is saturated with a sense of urgency and moral indignation at the corruption, the cynicism of the powerful, and the indifference of society. More than just the factual findings, what stands out is the precise analysis of why democratic forces in Russia completely ceded ground, leaving President Putin, ruling ever more autocratically, as the sole player in the Russian political arena. The book was published abroad only after the author's death and to this day serves as a key to understanding the roots of the current Russian regime.