Ztracená země - Příběh moderního Ruska (2026)

Why did Russia break away from the Western world? In recent years, the entire Western world has tried to understand present-day Russia, but analysts, commentators and philosophers repeatedly make the same mistake: they interpret Russian politics, society and history through the prism of Western values, ideas and experience. Russian history and the present are built on different foundations, shaped by different traumas, expectations and hopes, and driven by a dynamic that is often difficult for a Western observer to understand. This book corrects that mistake by telling the history of modern Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union from a Russian perspective. It recounts the failed economic transformation led by American consultants, which gave rise to oligarchs and resentment toward the West. It presents the story of a former superpower that fell almost to rock bottom until someone promised to restore its greatness and strength, even at the cost of separation from the democratic world. It also reveals the story of a gradual loss of the country, which few people noticed. This history of modern Russia offers an unusual perspective and surprising connections, and is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand events in Ukraine and Russia itself, according to editor Zdeněk Staszek.