A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2022

A Financial Times Politics Book of the Year 2021

Shortlisted for the 2022 Pushkin House Book Prize

A fascinating account of Russias famous dissident and the politics he embodies.

Who is Alexei Navalny? Poisoned in August 2020 and transported to Germany for treatment, the politician returned to Russia in January 2021 in the full glare of the world media. His immediate detention at passport control set the stage for an explosive showdown with Vladimir Putin.

But Navalny means very different things to different people. To some, he is a democratic hero. To others, he is betraying the Motherland. To others still, he is a dangerous nationalist. This book explores the many dimensions of Navalnys political life, from his pioneering anti-corruption investigations to his ideas and leadership of a political movement. It also looks at how his activities and the Kremlins strategies have shaped one another.

Navalnymakes sense of this divisive character, revealing the contradictions of a man who is the second most important political figure in Russiaeven when behind bars. In order to understand modern Russia, you need to understand Alexei Navalny.