Ruský deník (2026)

Russian Diary is more than a work of reportage: it is a chilling account of the disintegration of democracy in Russia between 2003 and 2005. With uncompromising honesty, Anna Politkovská documents the rise of authoritarianism under Vladimir Putin. The book covers key and tragic moments in Russian history, including parliamentary elections, the Beslan school massacre and the desperate situation in Chechnya. The author looks beyond high politics in the Kremlin to the lives of ordinary people, including soldiers, parents of victims and those persecuted unjustly. The text is filled with urgency and moral outrage at corruption, the cynicism of the powerful and society’s indifference. More compelling than its factual findings is its precise analysis of why democratic forces in Russia completely abandoned the field, leaving President Putin, ruling ever more autocratically, as the only major player in the Russian political arena. Published abroad only after the author’s death, the book remains a key to understanding the roots of Russia’s present-day regime. The contents are in Czech.