The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory over Totalitarianism

by Mikhail Zygar, Михаил Зыгарь

From “one of Russia’s smartest and best-sourced young journalists” (The New York Times) comes a gripping and urgent exploration of why the Soviet Union’s collapse was incomplete and the Cold War was never over—revealing the resurgence of imperialism in Russia and its current implications for the war in Ukraine.

Russian-born journalist Mikhail Zygar was ten years old when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now, after nearly ten years of research, he offers a timely and compelling new approach on Russian history—one that rewrites everything we thought we knew about the fall of the Soviet Union—and argues that its ending is yet to come. Starting with the historic launch of the first human into space in April 1961, Zygar unravels a dramatic story of resistance, resilience, and resurgence that led to the Soviet Union’s dissolution—and the echoes of its legacy today.

Zygar conducted several hundred exclusive interviews with key figures, including Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, first presidents of the independent post-Soviet republics, the last first secretaries of these republics, and leaders of independence movements within them, as well as Western politicians and diplomats who were witnesses to and participants in those events. He dives into the struggles and triumphs of figures like Andrei Sakharov, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Vladimir Vysotsky, whose defiance of totalitarianism is both inspiring and deeply relevant. Zygar explains how the “victory” over the Soviet Empire may have been short-lived, as today’s Russian regime maintains its imperial ambitions.

A must-read for anyone looking to understand the origins of modern Russian fascism, The Dark Side of the Earth explores how imperial and nationalist ideas developed during the Soviet era and eventually gave rise to the current Putinist ideology. Zygar’s work is uniquely powerful—fueled by his personal ties to the Soviet era, access to historical archives, and interviews that crack open hidden truths, including several with individuals who had never before spoken on the record.

More than a history lesson, The Dark Side of the Earth is a call to action and a testament to the enduring fight for truth and freedom. Zygar urges us to confront the narratives we’ve accepted and rethink how we face oppression today. Bold, brilliant, and deeply human, this is a story that demands to be heard.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Politics

560 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2025

Reviews

[David Arredondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A history of the Soviet Union, focused on the fall of Stalinism. I learned SO much about the nuances and psychology of Soviet politics, and the reemergence of the Russia psyche.

Always startlingly to learn how much of “history” comes down to personalities in a room.

Other things I loved:
- the attention played to the Soviet Union and Soviet people’s conception of themselves, versus the world’s conception of the Soviet Union, both the good and the bad, and the things one considered important, and the other considered frivolous.

- stories about how the “big” events affected common people’s lives, and how those common people’s sometimes had an effect on the course of history.

[Barksdale Penick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads something like a long magazine article in that it recounts events without much analysis--that might sound like criticism, but it is a very readable book that I found fascinating because I was always a political junkie and closely followed the events that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. But there was so much that I couldn't have known and much that I forgot. Here are people and the events as they unfolded, in chronological order. It also seems less like a tome than a long article because the author throws in lots of little details that really aren't part of the main narrative but interest the author, such as where the 21 year old future Meliana Trump was when the Balkan wars of the 1990's broke out. There are quite a few details like that.

I also found some of the discussion of Ukraine fascinating, such as that President George H. W. Bush gave a speech arguing that Ukraine should not try to leave the Soviet Union. It appears that Bush was trying to prop up Gorbachev, who was on weak footing at home. And the Soviet Union unraveled, Yeltsin and Gorbachev and everyone in or near power was aghast at the idea that Ukraine could sever its ties to Russia, specifically stating that Crimea was only part of Ukraine because the Soviets so declared in 1954.

[Ben Kitchener · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent and captivating chronicle of the collapse of the USSR, expertly woven together by avoiding the common pitfalls of history through the lens of ‘Great Men’, instead drawing on extensive interviews to take the reader on a journey through the personal battles and other events that provide an excellent context to the period being explored.

The pace of the book is superb and there is a refreshing focus on not just events in Moscow, but across the former USSR and worldwide, adding much needed points of comparison, such as the protests on Tiananmen square, cultural milestones in the US, and the events marking the collapse of the USSR in other countries like the Baltic states, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

This book is a masterpiece and a must read for anyone interested in understanding the collapse of the USSR and its effects on Russia and the rest of the world as well.

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Автор очень любезно дал почитать перед публикацией и я ответил ему восторженным отзывом; а меня сложно привести в восторг. Мощный сторителлинг, увлекательные истории, многого не знал, что знал — классно рассказано и связано вместе. Лайк.

(Читал на русском).