Mikhail Zygar is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker, and the founding editor-in-chief of Russian news channel Dozhd, which provided an alternative to Kremlin-controlled federal TV channels by giving a platform to opposition voices. The recipient of a CPJ International Press Freedom Award, Zygar writes a weekly column on Russia and the war for DerSpiegel and also writes for The New York Times, Time, Vanity Fair, and Foreign Affairs. He is also the author of All the Kremlin’s Men, The Empire Must Die, and War and Punishment. Currently a guest lecturer at Columbia University, he lives in New York with his husband.
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"Marking an important turn in Zygar's career, The Dark Side of the Earth signals his shift from chronicler of political life to a thinker about cultural politics . . . Zygar reminds us that Russia is not some mysterious enigma, but rather a violent, nihilistic mirror of what other polities might equally become . . . Pointed, novel, and profoundly relevant." —Foreign Policy
"A marathon effort . . . a dramatic story, full of wonderful anecdotes." —Financial Times (UK)
"The Dark Side of the Earth is a consequential addition to contemporary Russian studies and Cold War historiography. It challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the unfinished business of the 20th century and the enduring shadows cast by empire. Zygar’s work is not only a historical reckoning but also a call to vigilance in the face of resurgent authoritarianism." —The Cipher Brief
"Seasoned journalist Zygar draws from a decade of interviews with a wide array of Soviet leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev, writers, musicians, poets, and academics, to reveal a lively underground of Russian hopes and yearning for freedom. . . . Zygar's richly specific and dynamic history sets the stage for today's Russian fascism." —Booklist
"Exiled Russian journalist Zygar delivers a sobering portrait of Russia’s brief moment in democratic sunlight. . . . an extraordinarily revealing account of how the Russia we know from today’s headlines came into being." —Kirkus (starred review)
"Mikhail Zygar's The Dark Side of the Earth is an idiosyncratic, insightful account of both the end of the Soviet Union and the rise of Putinism—a useful and timely reminder of how closely these two forms of dictatorship are connected." —Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag and Autocracy, Inc
"I love books that tell the story of an entire country through the intimate, everyday lives of its people—both famous and unknown. Mikhail Zygar is one of the most thoughtful Russian writers of our time, and behind every page lies meticulous, painstaking work. You may think you know how it all ends, but still, you simply can't put it down." —Yulia Navalnaya
"In Zygar’s book, it's people who take center stage—not messiahs; individual characters, not abstract nations. We see that it wasn't dictators who saved the world from apocalypse, but humanists. And the contrast with today's rulers makes the book all the more bitter and revealing. And yes, it's brilliantly written—with a lively, sparkling wit." —Dmitry Muratov, journalist and winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
"Mikhail Zygar is one of the most brilliant observers of contemporary Russia. He is both a protagonist in his country's recent history and a skilled analyst of its politics. The Dark Side of the Earth showcases his unique perspectives, and considerable talent for vivid storytelling as he looks back at the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is also a deeply personal story, which makes for a particularly powerful narrative and a profoundly moving book." —Fiona Hill, former National Security Council official and New York Times bestselling author of There Is Nothing For You Here
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