Lucas Bogs About The Future is History
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| Game recognizes game, as the young people say. Excellent face concealment! |
So let's talk about Masha Gessen's The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. Before reading this book, I knew Gessen mainly from her appearances on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. So all I really knew was that she was a sharp-witted Russian journalist and activist who had fled the country. Having read the book, I now know that she is both a skilled prose writer and an excellent journalist. However, as the book is not about her, I had to do some quick googling to obtain a little biographical info for this review. Per Wikipedia: Masha Gessen was born into a Jewish family in the Soviet Union in 1967, but lived in the US from 1981 to 1991. After returning to Russia she worked as a journalist and LGBT rights activist, but has since returned to the US due to concerns that the Russian parliament might pass laws revoking adoption by gay couples (Gessen's oldest son is adopted).
Gessen focuses on the years between the late Soviet period and now-ish, primarily as seen through the eyes of four people born in 1984 (who have lived their entire adult lives with Putin in power) and a trio of older academics in the social sciences. Interspersed among these personal experiences are descriptions of the political and cultural developments that shaped how Russians viewed the rapid changes of the 80s and 90s. Now, the focus on individual stories does somewhat skew the narrative, because all of the kids (spoiler alert) grow up to be opposed to the Putin government (only one of the academics could be described as pro-Putin). I'm not saying that this is a weakness, the subtitle alone makes it clear that Gessen is arguing a specific point of view.
That point of view being, obviously, that Vladimir Putin has taken advantage of the not quite dismantled apparatus of state power left over from the Soviet Union to accrue power to himself and his associates and bring about a return to totalitarianism. However, the book isn't really about Putin (Gessen has already published a book on him) but about interrogating the events that allowed him to come to power and hold on to it. Gessen examines the failure of perestroika, the dismal state of social sciences under the Soviet regime, the struggle to establish democratic institutions, growing nostalgia for the stability of one party rule following the chaos of the 90s, the rise of right-wing movements in Europe, and the scapegoating of LGBT people.
The question of whether Putin's government is totalitarian or authoritarian is central to the book's thesis. Whether Gessen successfully proves that Putin's regime is totalitarian depends on how you define your terms (I've seen a couple of reviews that argue that Putin's regime is actually authoritarian). However, that is also part of Gessen's argument as she examines various definitions of totalitarianism and even asks whether they should be updated in light of real life circumstances. Whatever term you use to characterize the regime, Gessen does paint a clear picture of the dangers faced by LGBT people and opposition reporters, politicians, and activists there.
This book makes for a good, albeit depressing, read and I recommend it. Does it give a complete picture of contemporary Russian politics? No. But, you know, that's a big ask for one book. If I were an expert on the subject, this is where I'd recommend further reading, but I'm not so I won't. Hey, endings are hard.
The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen, edition, 2017, 486 pages, pairs well with imperial stout, the firm conviction that things will get worse before they get better
Links:
Here's an unattributed review from The Economist, which specifically counters Gessen's argument that the Putin regime is totalitarian.
Here's a review from The Guardian's Daniel Beer, who also feels that the label of "totalitarianism" goes too far.
Oh, did I mention that this won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction last year. Okay, I know that I didn't, but it did.
Gessen focuses on the years between the late Soviet period and now-ish, primarily as seen through the eyes of four people born in 1984 (who have lived their entire adult lives with Putin in power) and a trio of older academics in the social sciences. Interspersed among these personal experiences are descriptions of the political and cultural developments that shaped how Russians viewed the rapid changes of the 80s and 90s. Now, the focus on individual stories does somewhat skew the narrative, because all of the kids (spoiler alert) grow up to be opposed to the Putin government (only one of the academics could be described as pro-Putin). I'm not saying that this is a weakness, the subtitle alone makes it clear that Gessen is arguing a specific point of view.
That point of view being, obviously, that Vladimir Putin has taken advantage of the not quite dismantled apparatus of state power left over from the Soviet Union to accrue power to himself and his associates and bring about a return to totalitarianism. However, the book isn't really about Putin (Gessen has already published a book on him) but about interrogating the events that allowed him to come to power and hold on to it. Gessen examines the failure of perestroika, the dismal state of social sciences under the Soviet regime, the struggle to establish democratic institutions, growing nostalgia for the stability of one party rule following the chaos of the 90s, the rise of right-wing movements in Europe, and the scapegoating of LGBT people.
The question of whether Putin's government is totalitarian or authoritarian is central to the book's thesis. Whether Gessen successfully proves that Putin's regime is totalitarian depends on how you define your terms (I've seen a couple of reviews that argue that Putin's regime is actually authoritarian). However, that is also part of Gessen's argument as she examines various definitions of totalitarianism and even asks whether they should be updated in light of real life circumstances. Whatever term you use to characterize the regime, Gessen does paint a clear picture of the dangers faced by LGBT people and opposition reporters, politicians, and activists there.
This book makes for a good, albeit depressing, read and I recommend it. Does it give a complete picture of contemporary Russian politics? No. But, you know, that's a big ask for one book. If I were an expert on the subject, this is where I'd recommend further reading, but I'm not so I won't. Hey, endings are hard.
The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen, edition, 2017, 486 pages, pairs well with imperial stout, the firm conviction that things will get worse before they get better
Links:
Here's an unattributed review from The Economist, which specifically counters Gessen's argument that the Putin regime is totalitarian.
Here's a review from The Guardian's Daniel Beer, who also feels that the label of "totalitarianism" goes too far.
Oh, did I mention that this won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction last year. Okay, I know that I didn't, but it did.
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