What Went Wrong?: Russia’s Lost Opportunity and the Path to Ukraine

by Philip Yancey, John A. Bernbaum

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ushered in a tumultuous period for Russia and Ukraine. The Soviet Union broke apart, Communism was exposed as morally bankrupt, and Russian leaders turned to the West for help. In an astonishing development, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin invited a group of American evangelicals to give advice on restoring morality to Russia. The nation was moving toward democratic and religious freedoms until, one decade later, Vladimir Putin abruptly reversed course. He labeled most religious organizations as “foreign agents” and set in motion an aggressive plan to restore the pride of the “Russian world.” Putin’s alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church, and his hostility to true democracy, led to the brutal invasion of Ukraine, which had opted for freedom and democracy. Other books have analyzed the economic and social dynamics in Russia and Ukraine after 1991. This one chronicles a previously untold the role religion played in the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the rise of a newly autocratic Russia, and the emergence of democracy in Ukraine. What lay behind the radically different paths chosen by two former Soviet republics?

Genres: History

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2024

About the author

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Philip Yancey earned graduate degrees in Communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago. He joined the staff of Campus Life Magazine in 1971, and worked there as Editor and then Publisher. He looks on those years with gratitude, because teenagers are demanding readers, and writing for them taught him a lasting principle: The reader is in control!

In 1978 Philip Yancey became a full-time writer, initially working as a journalist for such varied publications as Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Weekly, National Wildlife, Christian Century and The Reformed Journal. For several years he contributed a monthly column to Christianity Today magazine, where he also served as Editor at Large.

In 2021 Philip released two new books: A Companion in Crisis and his long-awaited memoir, Where the Light Fell. Other favorites included in his more than twenty-five titles are: Where Is God When It Hurts, The Student Bible, and Disappointment with God. Philip's books have won thirteen Gold Medallion Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, have sold more than seventeen million copies, and have been published in over 50 languages. Christian bookstore managers selected The Jesus I Never Knew as the 1996 Book of the Year, and in 1998 What’s So Amazing About Grace? won the same award. His other recent books are Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image; Vanishing Grace: Bringing Good News to a Deeply Divided World; The Question that Never Goes Away; What Good Is God?; Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?; Soul Survivor; and Reaching for the Invisible God. In 2009 a daily reader was published, compiled from excerpts of his work: Grace Notes.

The Yanceys lived in downtown Chicago for many years before moving to a very different environment in Colorado. Together they enjoy mountain climbing, skiing, hiking, and all the other delights of the Rocky Mountains.

Visit Philip online:
https://www.philipyancey.com
https://www.facebook.com/PhilipYancey

Catch his monthly blog:
https://bit.ly/PhilipYanceyBlog

Reviews

[Ethan Conn · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”

I think Vladimir Putin was born wicked and should be held fully responsible for the atrocities he has committed, but it was interesting to see how the actions of the West, especially the US, led to the this point.

I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of Russia and Ukraine in this book and their responses to adversity

[Allan Nemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. Easy to read and easy to follow along. Packs a powerful punch. I read it in 3 days. I will say this though . . . The second half of the book dealt more with history, events and politics. I found the second half, as far as religion, Putin and the Ukraine invasion is concerned, dealt more with Putin's support of the Russian Orthodox Church and their subsequent support of him and the invasion. Despite that, it is still a book to be read.

[James Hallmark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. These authors are heavy hitters in the Christian community. Yancey has written several thoughtful and popular books. Bernbaum is an academic with decades leading international initiatives, many focused on Russia. Importantly, in 1990 following the fall of the Soviet Union Bernbaum and Yancey were part of a small group of evangelical leaders invited to Russia by the Russian government to aid Russia in re-embracing Christianity (more specifically, morality). The book essentially compares the Russia of circa 1991 with the Russia of 2022 which invaded Ukraine. I think Bernbaum and Yancey have outstanding and meaningful insights into Putin that would be helpful for our president and his team to understand. The complicity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the roots and propagation of the Russian-Ukrainian war is particularly interesting. I had no idea. The roots of the Russian Orthodox Church were in Kiev (Russian spelling). Kiev was the “Rome” of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries. It was it’s spiritual center. Combine that with the unholy partnership between the Oligarch Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church that has led to a spiritual legitimizing of Putin’s war to followers of that faith and to the Russian people in general. It’s a good book. If you want a different/better understanding of this war, read this book.

[Brad Layland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Thought-Provoking Look at Russia’s Lost Opportunity

What Went Wrong is a fascinating and insightful read that explores Russia’s post-Soviet transition through an insider’s lens. Philip Yancey masterfully weaves history, faith, and personal stories to examine why the country failed to experience deep transformation after the fall of communism.

I especially appreciated the discussion on the spiritual vacuum left by Marxism, the role of evangelism in post-Soviet Russia, and the inspiring stories of awakening and resistance—particularly the deaf translator’s role in the Orange Revolution. The book also introduced me to new ideas, such as the true definition of Perestroika and the historical framework of the First, Second, and Third Worlds.

Yet, despite the access Christians had in Russia, the hoped-for renewal never fully materialized. Yancey leaves us with a haunting question: What went wrong? Or perhaps more pointedly, What did we do wrong? This book doesn’t offer easy answers, but it does force us to reflect on what true transformation looks like.

Highly recommended for those interested in history, faith, and the intersection of culture and politics.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a series of essays by Christians who went to the Soviet Union during its twilight years, and to post-Soviet countries immediately after the Soviet Union's fall. They look at the initial religious revival, and its degeneration into a kind of religious nationalism, leading up to the invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. The book provides some good insights into religion in Russia and Ukraine, as well as information about the history of Ukrainian culture. At the same time, most of the information in it was familiar, and there wasn't much analysis beyond what I had already heard. I thought this was disappointing, since the authors talk so much about the importance of ideas, particularly spiritual ideas, that I hoped they would have some additional insights into the current situation.