The Collapse That Created Today’s Russia

Mikhail Zygar’s new book on the decline and demise of the Soviet Union, The Dark Side of the Earth , is filled with hundreds of such vignettes drawn from late Soviet cultural and political life. Based on archival research and interviews with key figures, the book depicts a land where the belief in the communist ideal evaporated with such a totality that a superpower collapsed. Out of that implosion in 1991 emerged today’s ruling elite, which believes in nothing but its own hold on power and money.

In 1982, the ailing Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan—then still part of Moscow’s empire—for a vast public spectacle. Crowds, stages, and performers awaited the general secretary. But Brezhnev, too sick and weak to climb the steps to the dais, stepped out of his limousine, changed his mind, and left again. The spectacle unfolded anyway. Performers staged their acts, and an orchestra struck up. A sword was presented to no one, in a ceremony without a subject. The event was staged for a leader who was, in effect, already absent.

In 1982, the ailing Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan—then still part of Moscow’s empire—for a vast public spectacle. Crowds, stages, and performers awaited the general secretary. But Brezhnev, too sick and weak to climb the steps to the dais, stepped out of his limousine, changed his mind, and left again. The spectacle unfolded anyway. Performers staged their acts, and an orchestra struck up. A sword was presented to no one, in a ceremony without a subject. The event was staged for a leader who was, in effect, already absent. The book cover for The Dark Side of the Earth.

Mikhail Zygar’s new book on the decline and demise of the Soviet Union, The Dark Side of the Earth, is filled with hundreds of such vignettes drawn from late Soviet cultural and political life. Based on archival research and interviews with key figures, the book depicts a land where the belief in the communist ideal evaporated with such a totality that a superpower collapsed. Out of that implosion in 1991 emerged today’s ruling elite, which believes in nothing but its own hold on power and money.

The Dark Side of the Earth i