Publishers Weekly
10/09/2023
In this propulsive debut biography, Washington Post editor Herszenhorn portrays 47-year-old Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny as a “deeply patriotic, even nationalist Russian” with a “keen sense of justice and outrage that often morphs into vigilantism.” Herszenhorn describes how Navalny—who grew up as a “military brat” (his father was a Soviet officer)—channeled his angst over “the lies and hypocrisy of the Soviet state” into becoming an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin. Among other tactics, Navalny created videos and blogs accusing high-level officials of corruption, including a “tongue-in-cheek” 2007 video depicting Putin as the Devil. Navalny also set up an antigraft website, RosPil, and organized the Anti-corruption Foundation. Herszenhorn notes that some of Navalny’s investigations lacked compelling evidence, such as his attempt to prove the Kremlin meddled in the 2020 U.S. elections. Nevertheless, his watchdogging prompted a series of reprisal investigations into his business ventures, and in 2020 FSB agents poisoned Navalny with a deadly nerve agent (which had been applied to his underwear), but he survived the attack. In 2021 he was arrested on fabricated charges and is now serving a nearly 12–year prison sentence. Herszenhorn shies away from delivering a conclusive political analysis of this complex figure, instead aiming for a balanced and informative “news driven” recap of Navalny’s career. The result is an immersive look at the cutthroat world of Russian politics. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"[A] valuable guide to understanding contemporary Russia, its boss, and a major opponent.”—New York Journal of Books
“Where did Alexey Navalny find the courage and stamina to become the most prominent opposition voice in Russia, fighting Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship from the streets and from prison? In ‘The Dissident,’ David Herszenhorn smartly reveals a dissident of remarkable tenacity and high ideals, determined to build a free Russia. If he survives, Navalny could lead it.”—David E. Hoffman, author of The Oligarchs and The Dead Hand
"David Herszenhorn paints a gripping portrait of the complex career of Alexey Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition politician and Putin nemesis, who sits behind bars in a Russian maximum security prison. His vivid account of how Putin’s Russia has descended into a repressive, corrupt autocracy raises important questions about the fate of this famous dissident—and of Russia itself."
—Angela Stent, author of Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest
“David Herszenhorn deftly tracks the public career of Vladimir Putin’s leading opposition challenger [and…] doesn’t shy away from the paradoxes that make Alexei Navalny a problematic figure for some Western supporters, and reflect something about the wider nature of Russian society: his dynamism, bravery and political talent confronting the Kremlin together with his nativist and imperialist views. THE DISSIDENT is a compelling portrait of the man who, despite languishing in prison for the foreseeable future, remains the brightest light of the Russian opposition.”—Gregory Feifer, executive director, Institute of Current World Affairs; author, Russians: The People Behind the Power
“Many people think there’s no political competition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, but that’s not true. In a free and fair election in Russia Alexei Navalny could easily become Russia's next president. David Herszenhorn, with a wealth of experience reporting on the ground in Russia, does the world a service by painting a portrait of Navalny, so we can understand this intriguing alternative to Putin. Herszenhorn also describes the lengths Putin is ready to go to shut down Navalny and his message with his unconscionable abuse of the criminal justice system to torture Navalny and his fellow political prisoners."—Bill Browder, author of Red Notice and Freezing Order
“A valuable addition to the literature surrounding a tyrannical Russian state.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Journalist Herszenhorn's biography of Alexey Navalny celebrates the currently imprisoned Russian opposition figure’s lifelong persistence.”—Booklist Reviews
“A balanced and informative ‘news driven’ recap of Navalny’s career. The result is an immersive look at the cutthroat world of Russian politics.”—Publisher's Weekly
Gregory Feifer
David Herszenhorn deftly tracks the public career of Vladimir Putin’s leading opposition challenger [and…] doesn’t shy away from the paradoxes that make Alexei Navalny a problematic figure for some Western supporters, and reflect something about the wider nature of Russian society: his dynamism, bravery and political talent confronting the Kremlin together with his nativist and imperialist views. THE DISSIDENT is a compelling portrait of the man who, despite languishing in prison for the foreseeable future, remains the brightest light of the Russian opposition.
author of The Oligarchs and The Dead Hand David E. Hoffman
Where did Alexey Navalny find the courage and stamina to become the most prominent opposition voice in Russia, fighting Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship from the streets and from prison? In ‘The Dissident,’ David Herszenhorn smartly reveals a dissident of remarkable tenacity and high ideals, determined to build a free Russia. If he survives, Navalny could lead it.
author of Red Notice and Freezing Order Bill Browder
Many people think there’s no political competition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, but that’s not true. In a free and fair election in Russia Alexei Navalny could easily become Russia's next president. David Herszenhorn, with a wealth of experience reporting on the ground in Russia, does the world a service by painting a portrait of Navalny, so we can understand this intriguing alternative to Putin. Herszenhorn also describes the lengths Putin is ready to go to shut down Navalny and his message with his unconscionable abuse of the criminal justice system to torture Navalny and his fellow political prisoners.
Library Journal
10/06/2023
In August of this year, Alexey Navalny, a 47-year-old Russian opposition leader, was sentenced to an additional 19 years (beyond his existing 11-year one) in a penal colony in Melekhovo, 150 miles east of Moscow. Few outside Putin's regime see any legal basis for Navalny's conviction for six counts related to inciting and financing extremism, creating an illegal NGO, and more. The Washington Post's Herszenhorn writes a detailed, convincing political biography that begins in 2020 with Navalny being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok and his dramatic recovery in a German hospital, then jumps backward in time to 2011–13, when Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow. It was also during that period that Navalny's popularity soared when he exposed the corruption in Putin's circle, and ensuing massive public protests challenged the notion that Russia has a politically passive population. Putin's fraudulent 2012 presidential election occasioned a new level of popular repression and Navalny's persecution, including horrific prison conditions and torture. VERDICT Herszenhorn expertly portrays Navalny as a resilient figure and as a "prisoner of conscience" who evolves from a crusader to a political leader symbolizing democratic Russia.—Zachary Irwin
Kirkus Reviews
2023-08-03
Comprehensive study of Vladimir Putin’s chief domestic opponent, who exercises his resistance from behind prison walls.
According to Washington Post Russia, Ukraine, and East Europe editor Herszhenhorn, Alexey Navalny is the most iconic of all the political leaders to have resisted Putin’s totalitarian rule. After all, he survived a poisoning attempt that, Navalny said, “inflicted a mortal offense against him by the fact that I just survived after they tried to kill me on his order.” He returned to Russia soon thereafter, after having testified before the European Parliament that it needed to do more to stand up to the regime and that “Russia is degrading in every sense.” The return earned him an 11.5-year prison sentence. Herszhenhorn’s title is somewhat ironic, for Navalny believes that he is not a dissident, which he describes as a minority view. He insists that he speaks for most Russians, despite the apparent indifference of so many of them. Indeed, a minority position makes it easy for the government to crack down on dissent, which Putin has done by, among other things, imposing a fine of 1 million rubles on protest organizers. For all that, Navalny, at least one of whose convictions in Putin’s courts has been declared invalid by the European Court of Human Rights, continues to speak out against tyranny and official corruption. While the conviction technically makes him ineligible to run for office, he shows no signs of slowing down. Herszhenhorn closes with Navalny’s recently appearing outside prison for a courtroom hearing only to learn of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted coup. “Navalny, whose only crime had been working to expose corruption and pleading for a chance to run in a free and fair election, was on trial for extremism charges,” writes the author, while the “murderous warlord” Prigozhin, “Putin’s chef,” faced no criminal charges.
A valuable addition to the literature surrounding a tyrannical Russian state.
