for Book Riot

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, the majority of my “knowledge” about Russia came from the television show, The Americans. I peripherally followed the prosecution of Pussy Riot and had some general knowledge of the Cold War from Rachel Maddow’s book, Drift, but I hadn’t made an effort to learn more about the realities of Putin’s Russia. Now that the CIA and FBI agree Russia interfered in our presidential election, I decided to brush up on my knowledge of Putin’s rise and modern day Russia. This is by no means a complete list–-feel free to add suggestions for further reading in the comments.

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich

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