Lost in the Russia scandal maze? Read your way out.
| Washington
聽A Monitor reader recently asked an excellent question: What are the best books on the Russia scandal - the meddling in the 2016 election, and the investigations that have followed?
I could simply suggest 鈥淐rime and Punishment,鈥� the 19th-century classic by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and leave it there. But aside from being flip, that would ignore the growing pile of more immediately relevant journalistic accounts of President Trump鈥檚 travails.
You might start with 鈥淩ussian Roulette鈥� by investigative reporters David Corn and Michael Isikoff, who promise 鈥渢he inside story of Putin鈥檚 war on America and the election of Donald Trump.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
It's easy to get confused about the ins and outs of the Russia scandal. Here are some books that take a deeper look at Russia and might illuminate current events.
Their book runs through events as they happened, explaining the origins of the 鈥淪teele dossier鈥� 鈥� a document containing raw, unsubstantiated private intelligence about Trump and Russia 鈥� and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort鈥檚 history of campaign work for the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine.
Or you could choose 鈥淐ollusion,鈥� by reporter Luke Harding of the Guardian. This one provides more insights into the origins of Mr. Trump鈥檚 Russia links. In particular, Mr. Harding offers first-hand knowledge of Mr. Manafort, whom he first met in Ukraine in 2008, and who now faces prison after his Aug. 21 conviction for financial crimes.
If you are already convinced that Trump has been collaborating with the Russian government for decades, by journalist Craig Unger, will confirm your opinion. For those looking to affirm the view that there is no such thing as a Trump-Russia conspiracy, there鈥檚 the new book by Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, called 鈥淭he Russia Hoax.鈥�
Putin's favorite author
In short, there鈥檚 something for everybody, just like cable news. But, alas, any book that claims to offer the definitive story on Trump and Russia can鈥檛 possibly deliver. That鈥檚 because the story isn鈥檛 over. Special counsel Robert Mueller hasn鈥檛 finished his investigation, and there鈥檚 no smoking gun proving any collusion between Russia and Trump associates. There hasn鈥檛 even been an indictment that points to collusion. There's lots we don't know.
So here鈥檚 another idea: Read a different sort of book about Russia, one that helps you better understand how Russia鈥檚 past shapes its present, or one that gives you a glimpse into the Russian soul.
鈥淢ore than anything, I always recommend reading as much Russian history and literature as one can, which is the best way to be an informed observer,鈥� says Matt Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies in Washington.
A great place to start would be 鈥淭he Icon and the Axe鈥� 鈥� an interpretive history of Russian culture by former Librarian of Congress James Billington. My well-worn copy still sits on a bookshelf, a relic from my days as a Russian language and literature major in college. Above all, the book captures the essential duality of Russian life 鈥� the spiritual and the material.
If you鈥檝e got a taste for the classics, you might find Nikolai Gogol especially instructive; he is said to be a favorite of Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of Gogol鈥檚 best-known works, a satirical play called 鈥淭he Inspector General,鈥� depicts a man pretending to be a government inspector, and reveals the folly and corruption of 19th-century Russia.
Or you could try Dostoyevsky鈥檚 novella 鈥淣otes from Underground.鈥� 鈥淗ere you get the psychopathology of Russia, an envy of the West,鈥� says Michael Kimmage of Catholic University. It鈥檚 the story of a man who says 鈥渘o鈥� so that he鈥檒l be heard. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 Russia on the world stage at this moment.鈥�
First-hand accounts
In a different vein, Bill Browder鈥檚 2015 memoir, a real-life thriller called 鈥淩ed Notice,鈥� paints a brutal picture of today鈥檚 Russia. (The Monitor review is here.) Mr. Browder is an American-born businessman who made a fortune in Russia, called out government corruption, and infuriated President Putin.
When Browder鈥檚 tax lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in prison, the businessman became a human-rights activist, the driving force behind a 2012 US law punishing Russian officials believed to be responsible for Mr. Magnitsky鈥檚 death. The Magnitsky Act plays a supporting role in the current Trump-Russia drama.
At the Helsinki summit last month, Putin made the that Trump allow the Russian government to question Browder, now a British citizen. 鈥淩ed Notice鈥� provides the back story. The New Yorker just published a , 鈥淗ow Bill Browder Became Russia鈥檚 Most Wanted Man.鈥�
Putin also proposed that Washington hand over a former US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, for questioning about his supposed 鈥渋llegal activity鈥� 鈥� another shocking idea, which the Trump administration seemed briefly to entertain. And that leads to another book recommendation: Mr. McFaul鈥檚 new memoir, 鈥淔rom Cold War to Hot Peace," reviewed here by the Monitor.
McFaul faced constant harassment by Russian authorities during his tenure in Moscow (2012-2014), dooming the 鈥渞eset鈥� in US-Russian relations that he helped craft. His memoir, like Browder鈥檚, is a very readable cautionary tale.
Both men can be accused of naivet茅. Browder was clever enough to buy Russian assets at bargain-basement prices, and naive enough to think he could get away with it. McFaul, an academic, failed to realize that his job as ambassador wasn鈥檛 to reform the host country but to manage relations, says Mr. Kimmage.
Consulting the hive-mind
Just for fun, I threw out my 鈥渂est books on Russia鈥� question to the hive-mind of my Russian and Russophile friends. 鈥淧utin鈥檚 Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?鈥� by Karen Dawisha got rave reviews.
鈥淪he does an extraordinary job of presenting the rise of Putin as the leading edge 鈥� and, to some degree, logical consequence 鈥� of the rough-and-tumble crony capitalism of the Yeltsin era,鈥� writes Vladimir Klimenko, a Russian-American history teacher in New York.
Vladislav Zubok, a historian at the London School of Economics, recommends Arkady Ostrovsky鈥檚 鈥淭he Invention of Russia: The Rise of Putin and the Age of Fake News.鈥�
Jill Dougherty, former Moscow correspondent for CNN, suggests a more offbeat choice: 鈥淢astering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing,鈥� by Anya Von Bremzen.
鈥淚 ADORE this book,鈥� writes Ms. Dougherty. 鈥淭otally unique approach to Russia, her family, Russian (and Soviet) food 鈥� and why, in spite of the horrors of communism, some Russians have nostalgia for the old Soviet Union.鈥�
It also sheds light 鈥� albeit indirectly 鈥� on current events. But for a more straightforward account, perhaps it would be better to wait for 鈥淭he Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy,鈥� a new book by veteran Washington Post reporter Greg Miller and colleagues, due out Oct. 2.
Like the other books, it won鈥檛 spill all the beans because it can鈥檛. But at the very least it will provide a narrative sweep and a useful reference guide to what's known so far in what Mr. Miller calls 鈥渢he craziest and most complicated [story] that any of us have ever seen.鈥�
