The Invention of Russia: The Journey from Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War

Dramatis Personæ

Alexander Yakovlev, a Soviet statesman, member of the Soviet Politburo, close ally of Gorbachev and the ideologist of Perestroika and Glasnost.

Yegor Yakovlev, referred to as Yegor, journalist and editor of Moskovskie novosti, the mouthpiece of Perestroika, and briefly the head of post-Soviet television.

Alexander Bovin, the bon vivant of Russian journalism, a speechwriter for Leonid Brezhnev and an expert on foreign relations.

Otto Latsis, economist and author, a columnist for Izvestia newspaper and editor of the Kommunist journal.

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Vladimir Yakovlev, the son of Yegor Yakovlev and the founder and editor of Kommersant, Russia’s first capitalist newspaper.

Maxim Sokolov, the erudite and sceptical chief political columnist at Kommersant.

Alexander Timofeevsky, an essayist and Kommersant’s in-house reviewer.

Sergei Parkhomenko, a liberal journalist and editor of Itogi magazine.

Natalia Gevorkyan, the daughter of a KGB resident, a journalist at Moskovskie novosti and Putin’s interviewer.

Veronika Kutsyllo, a young intrepid reporter at Kommersant who kept a diary about the siege of the White House.

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Oleg Dobrodeev, the son of a documentary film-maker, the head of news and current affairs at NTV and later the general director of the state television corporation Rossiya.

Konstantin Ernst, one of the country’s top television and film producers, the head of Channel One.

Evgeny Kiselev, TV anchor, the face of NTV Russia’s first large private television channel.

Leonid Parfenov, a style-conscious television journalist and presenter of the Namedni programme that turned him into a celebrity.

Alexander Nevzorov, a stuntman and maverick television journalist.

Sergei Dorenko, a popular television presenter and a mercenary known as the ‘TV hit man’.

Yegor Gaidar, a child of the Soviet intelligentsia, a prime minister and the author of Russian economic reforms.

Anatoly Chubais, the economist in charge of privatization and later Yeltsin’s chief of staff.

Boris Nemtsov, a governor from Nizhny Novgorod, Yeltsin’s groomed successor and deputy prime minister.

Viktor Anpilov, an archetypal Soviet proletarian, agitator and leader of the Working Russia movement.

Alexander Borodai, the son of an orthodox nationalist philosopher, a PR man helping the Kremlin with the annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Gusinsky, the founder and owner of the Media Most holding, including the NTV television channel.

Boris Berezovsky, the wheeler-dealer and manipulator of Russian politics, in charge of Channel One.

Igor Malashenko, ideologue, creator and first president of the NTV television channel.