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dellaposta's review against another edition
4.0
Gessen’s book is a striking attempt to weave together personal narratives of life in post-Soviet Russia, big-picture sociological theories of totalitarian societies, and Freudian psychoanalysis, all while tracing simultaneous political and social developments in the rise of Putin’s regime. Some of her arguments are stronger than others, but the whole thing is packaged in a way that’s deeply informative, digestible, and engaging.
gadicohen93's review against another edition
3.0
I felt a bit dissatisfied after finishing the book. My understanding of the Russian mindset wasn't especially enhanced, and part of the reason was that Gessen's subjects aren't the ones we should be talking to: They're urban activists' children or activists themselves, not the folks who have been shepherded to the Putin cult, who were disillusioned enough with the collapse and chaos of the privatization of the 1990s to devote themselves to a strongman. Gessen explains Putin's rise with an exiled eye, so that it seemed like by the time the narrative arrived at the mid-2000s she was going through the motions of history, without expressing what I would imagine was the euphoria of a rising economy, renewed stability, national reawakening that may have propelled Putin to his current level of popularity. Yes, those things were discussed and assumed, but she didn't give them any credibility as legitimate political motivations.
The parallels to America (and other countries in the West) are uncanny. The clearest example was Dugin, a character Gessen follows throughout the book, who plays the role of the Russian Steve Bannon, a nationalist Russian supremacist with a hankering for civilizational conflict and minority suppression and with much more influence than should be okay. And yet as clear as those parallels were, I still feel like I don't understand the facts on the ground in Russia, the political trends. By the end of the book especially, Gessen just hammered on the cycle of activists demonstrating in the Maidan, being systematically surveilled, jailed, assassinated, repeat - not that this isn't happening, but it felt disembodied from the long-term narrative of the Russian body politic.
I also wish it had discussed the assassinations of journalists and former spies, the entrance to the Syrian war, etc. Overall, though, the book was impressive and fascinating.
The parallels to America (and other countries in the West) are uncanny. The clearest example was Dugin, a character Gessen follows throughout the book, who plays the role of the Russian Steve Bannon, a nationalist Russian supremacist with a hankering for civilizational conflict and minority suppression and with much more influence than should be okay. And yet as clear as those parallels were, I still feel like I don't understand the facts on the ground in Russia, the political trends. By the end of the book especially, Gessen just hammered on the cycle of activists demonstrating in the Maidan, being systematically surveilled, jailed, assassinated, repeat - not that this isn't happening, but it felt disembodied from the long-term narrative of the Russian body politic.
I also wish it had discussed the assassinations of journalists and former spies, the entrance to the Syrian war, etc. Overall, though, the book was impressive and fascinating.
ashablue's review against another edition
4.0
A very accessible exploration of what happened during Perestroyka and the fall of the USSR and how nearly a century of the soviet system, full of extreme contradictions, created a psycho social landscape that shaped modern post Soviet landscape of Eastern Europe and Russia in particular. A good mix of history, psychology and sociology.
It does not paint a positive picture of the soviet experience, but it backs this view well, though it's thesis lies elsewhere.
It does not paint a positive picture of the soviet experience, but it backs this view well, though it's thesis lies elsewhere.
jeffcarlson96's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. Really loved this and Gessen does a masterful job of weaving personal, individual stories with the larger political and social context of Russia. It definitely will not give you hope for the future of Russian totalitarianism (?)/authoritarianism (?), but is an important read to more deeply understand the heart of Russian culture and people, along with the generational impact of political structures. It did drag at points and some of the stories felt slightly superfluous, but overall helpful especially in our present context.
dkatreads's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly pretty masterful storytelling. Very impressed with the craft and execution.
Finished with a better sense of both the universal pining for security, dignity, freedom true of Russians and all people, but also the distinct expressions that pining takes peculiar to the Russian people, and that go beyond my understanding.
I think I naively expected certain pro-democratic reactions to the invasion of Ukraine. To my dismay, support for the regime has deepened. I think this book helped me better understand why that is the case. The generational trauma of the Stalin reign of terror, the gulag…etc, among other traumas, and a whole history of culture that is definitely not western in the way I understand it. I’m very thankful for that new awareness, and hungry to learn more.
One application for me is to more strongly pushback against the dehumanizing language people use to talk about the Soviet Union - rather than reference mass starvation campaigns as simply exemplars of the inferiority of communism, can we not just lament the fact that millions of people (image-bearers) died?
Also, that culture is upstream of politics. Meaning, that both politics and political structures are products of the cultures we live in and create. I feel even more committed to this truth, and to the work of cultural transformation here in the US as a means of achieving systemic, political change.
The book could’ve been 100 pages shorter. And didn’t really need 10 slightly adjusted definitions of totalitarianism in a row. But overall, the stories kept me so engaged in a complex and thorough history. Russia feels like such an enigma to me. But after this, it’s an enigma I feel more interested in unraveling.
Finished with a better sense of both the universal pining for security, dignity, freedom true of Russians and all people, but also the distinct expressions that pining takes peculiar to the Russian people, and that go beyond my understanding.
I think I naively expected certain pro-democratic reactions to the invasion of Ukraine. To my dismay, support for the regime has deepened. I think this book helped me better understand why that is the case. The generational trauma of the Stalin reign of terror, the gulag…etc, among other traumas, and a whole history of culture that is definitely not western in the way I understand it. I’m very thankful for that new awareness, and hungry to learn more.
One application for me is to more strongly pushback against the dehumanizing language people use to talk about the Soviet Union - rather than reference mass starvation campaigns as simply exemplars of the inferiority of communism, can we not just lament the fact that millions of people (image-bearers) died?
Also, that culture is upstream of politics. Meaning, that both politics and political structures are products of the cultures we live in and create. I feel even more committed to this truth, and to the work of cultural transformation here in the US as a means of achieving systemic, political change.
The book could’ve been 100 pages shorter. And didn’t really need 10 slightly adjusted definitions of totalitarianism in a row. But overall, the stories kept me so engaged in a complex and thorough history. Russia feels like such an enigma to me. But after this, it’s an enigma I feel more interested in unraveling.
drdreuh's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
"The Future is History" is such an interesting book. It's so interesting that I'm seriously considering rereading it (er, re-listening to it) straight away. I like hearing Masha Gessen in long form. My only difficulty with the audiobook is that, since I don't speak Russian, I find Russian names difficult to hear, difficult to conjure in my mind's eye, and difficult to remember. It was therefore difficult for me to track the multiple persons of interest
over the decades the book unfolds, and difficult - as I often wanted to do - to even Google for further information.
It's astounding how much has happened since "The Future is History" was published in 2017. All the seeds were planted, though, and so in some ways its more interesting to read Gessen's account knowing that they didn't know what was to come - with the death (murder?) of Navalny, with Putin's war on Ukraine, with the post Trump election shenanigans. That said, I do hope Gessen issues an epilogue to the epilogue forthwith!
over the decades the book unfolds, and difficult - as I often wanted to do - to even Google for further information.
It's astounding how much has happened since "The Future is History" was published in 2017. All the seeds were planted, though, and so in some ways its more interesting to read Gessen's account knowing that they didn't know what was to come - with the death (murder?) of Navalny, with Putin's war on Ukraine, with the post Trump election shenanigans. That said, I do hope Gessen issues an epilogue to the epilogue forthwith!
ridanwise's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking account of the socio-political nightmare that has taken hold over Russia. This book schools us about the dangers of nationalism, the ever-present threat of euphoric populism, and about the effectiveness of euphemisms as a tool for denegrating moral values.
11corvus11's review against another edition
5.0
I was interested in this book first because of the author, Masha Gessen. I already knew a little bit about her including that she was a lesbian who had lived in Russia. I hoped to learn more about LGBTQ lives throughout the highlighted history in this book and she did not disappoint.
The book is well researched, well written, and creatively organized. She weaves the stories of many people from several generations throughout the book which ties together the facts and history very well. It taught me a lot about many things that happened during my early childhood (I was born early 1980's) that I recall my parents watching on the news but that I was too young to comprehend. She also draws a line between authoritarianism and totalitarianism that I was not previously exposed to, believing that the latter was a subset of the former.
The parts of the book I found most interesting though were the sections highlighting the homophobic movements in Russia and LGBTQ resistance movements as well as other kinds of activism for liberation of marginalized and oppressed people. The stories are both heart wrenching and motivating. Not only do those of us who are Queer in the USA have more freedom, but our trash in the form of homophobic far right Christian groups made its way to Russia (and other places) to help promote homo-antagonism there, resulting in imprisonment and death.
The book shows us that even when they feel there is "no future," people still survive unimaginable experiences against all odds.
The book is well researched, well written, and creatively organized. She weaves the stories of many people from several generations throughout the book which ties together the facts and history very well. It taught me a lot about many things that happened during my early childhood (I was born early 1980's) that I recall my parents watching on the news but that I was too young to comprehend. She also draws a line between authoritarianism and totalitarianism that I was not previously exposed to, believing that the latter was a subset of the former.
The parts of the book I found most interesting though were the sections highlighting the homophobic movements in Russia and LGBTQ resistance movements as well as other kinds of activism for liberation of marginalized and oppressed people. The stories are both heart wrenching and motivating. Not only do those of us who are Queer in the USA have more freedom, but our trash in the form of homophobic far right Christian groups made its way to Russia (and other places) to help promote homo-antagonism there, resulting in imprisonment and death.
The book shows us that even when they feel there is "no future," people still survive unimaginable experiences against all odds.