Thank you for taking the time to read our book. We appreciate the attention you’ve given it.
Just to clarify a couple of small points: you mentioned the phrase “great civilisation,” which you saw as a reflection of our convictions. In fact, the only time that phrase appears in the book is within our description of a Kremlin propaganda documentary:
“We have never been white colonists in pith helmets!” said the narrator, insisting that the myth had been invented simply to belittle the great Russian civilization. According to the authors, the fact that Russia had successfully fought off the invasions of Napoleon and Hitler was proof positive that all the people of Russia wanted to stay in and fight for Russia. It was probably the most revanchist project ever shown on Russian TV.”
You also noted that we don’t discuss some major political events in detail. The book was never intended as a political chronicle, but rather as a portrait of how the events of the last 25 years in Russia shaped the lives of a particular group of journalists — and made them who they are today. As for certain episodes you mentioned, such as the poisonings of Litvinenko and Skripal or the invasion of Ukraine, we focused on those moments we personally witnessed. As journalists, we chose to write only about what we experienced firsthand.
Just to clarify a couple of small points: you mentioned the phrase “great civilisation,” which you saw as a reflection of our convictions. In fact, the only time that phrase appears in the book is within our description of a Kremlin propaganda documentary:
“We have never been white colonists in pith helmets!” said the narrator, insisting that the myth had been invented simply to belittle the great Russian civilization. According to the authors, the fact that Russia had successfully fought off the invasions of Napoleon and Hitler was proof positive that all the people of Russia wanted to stay in and fight for Russia. It was probably the most revanchist project ever shown on Russian TV.”
You also noted that we don’t discuss some major political events in detail. The book was never intended as a political chronicle, but rather as a portrait of how the events of the last 25 years in Russia shaped the lives of a particular group of journalists — and made them who they are today. As for certain episodes you mentioned, such as the poisonings of Litvinenko and Skripal or the invasion of Ukraine, we focused on those moments we personally witnessed. As journalists, we chose to write only about what we experienced firsthand.