Downfall, Anna Arutunyan
Downfall, Anna Arutunyan
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Downfall
Putin, Prigozhin, and the fight for the future of Russia

Author: Anna Arutunyan, Mark Galeotti

Narrator: Mark Galeotti

Unabridged: 6 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ebury Digital

Published: 06/13/2024


Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

In the early years of Vladmir Putin’s Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin emerged as one of the President’s most trusted assets. By 2023, he had become a dangerous warlord – and also one of Putin’s chief rivals in Russia’s tumultuous political climate, exiled after leading an attempted coup, and shortly after killed in a mysterious plane crash.

But what is the truth about this enigmatic figure, his role in the war with Ukraine, and the chaos unleashed across Russia by his turn against Putin? And, in the aftermath of his death, what is next for Russia in the new stage of late Putinism that Prigozhin’s life forged?

In a compelling tale that unravels a complex web of power, betrayal and recrimination, Downfall delves into the profound impact of Prigozhin on the heart and soul of a nation at a crossroads. Drawing on years of research, this book traces the rise of Russia's most prominent non-state actor and examines the political climate that propelled a convicted gangster with no government office to the formidable role he came to occupy. An essential story of Russia's recent history, Downfall is also a compelling insight into its likely future.

©2024 Anna Arutunyan & Mark Galeotti (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Reviews

Goodreads review by Corry on June 15, 2024

De opkomst en neergang van Prigozjin, de man die dacht meer te zijn dan een lijfeigene van Poetin. Helaas. Zijn laatste gok bleek hem fataal. Interessant zoals altijd omdat Galeotti goeie bronnen rond het Kremlin heeft.......more

Goodreads review by Kenneth on August 02, 2024

Exciting and interesting.......more

Goodreads review by Mike on January 12, 2025

Yevgeny Prigozhin's life is tracked from his days as a criminal to becoming a hotdog vendor, caterer to the Russian elite, real estate mogul and eventually founder and leader of the mercenary army known as the Wagner Group. There is a wealth of information on his early years, then the book drops off......more

Goodreads review by Adrian on July 27, 2024

An excellent overview of Prigozhin‘s and Putin‘s complicated history together, and so far the only English-language biography on the matter. While I would have appreciated more details on Wagner‘s operations and their commanders (on Utkin in particular), it is nonetheless a balanced overview of what......more


Quotes

[Mark Galeotti and Anna Arutunyan] have penned not only a deeply interesting biography of Prigozhin, but also a penetrating account of Russia under Putin. Downfall is as much a biography of a system as a biography of a man. Joshua Huminski, Diplomatic Courier

A year after the failed uprising of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the mercenaries of the Wagner Company against the regime led by President Vladimir Putin, a book written by two of the greatest experts on Russia makes the biography of this character as violent as it is complex. Radio France Internationale