''Quite simply the best and most powerful book I-ve read this year'' David Peace''A magnificent book . . . beautifully written and passionately argued'' Dominic SandbrookA unique, personal insight into Vladimir Putin-s Russia and the devastating impact his rule has had on his own people and those of neighbouring Ukraine. In 2021, Sarah Rainsford set out to write a book about how Russians who dared to think differently to the Putin regime were being labelled as enemies, foreign agents and even traitors. It began as the story of Russia-s slide from democracy and a warning of where the crushing of liberties could lead. She had experienced something of that herself when she was expelled from Russia as a supposed -security threat-. Then in February 2022 Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is the story of how Putin changed Russia so deeply that he was able to launch the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Sarah-s focus is
