Mikhail Zygar – War and Punishment
The Story of Russian Oppression and Ukrainian Resistance
It's our pleasure to be welcoming Mikhail Zygar to the bookshop to mark the publication of his new book, War and Punishment: The Story of Russian Oppression and Ukrainian Resistance. Zygar's experiences as an independent journalist reporting from the frontlines of Russian politics frame this brave work of non-fiction that traces exactly how his country ended up at war with Ukraine.
This event will take place in the bookshop with an in-person audience.
In-person vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event against a single copy of War and Punishment – we will have a list of attendees with vouchers to be redeemed. Please note that only one voucher can be redeemed per book.
About War and Punishment:
‘History is made up of myths,’ writes the renowned Russian dissident journalist Mikhail Zygar. ‘Alas, our myths led us to the fascism of 2022. It is time to expose them.’ Drawing from his perilous career investigating the frontiers of the Russian empire, Zygar reveals how 350 years of propaganda, bad historical scholarship, folk tales and fantasy spurred his nation into war with Ukraine.
How did a German monk’s fear of the Ottoman Empire drive him to invent the fiction of a united Russian world? How did corny spy novels about a ‘Soviet James Bond’ inspire Vladimir Putin to join the KGB? How did Alexander Pushkin’s admiration for a poem by Lord Byron end with him slandering the legendary chief of the Cossacks? And how did Putin underestimate a rising TV comic named Volodymyr Zelensky, failing to see that his satire had become deadly serious, and that his country would be a joke no longer?
A noted expert on the Kremlin with unparalleled access to hundreds of players in the current conflict – from politicians to oligarchs, gangsters to comedians (not least Zelensky himself) – Zygar chronicles the power struggles from which today’s politics grew, and digs out the essential truths from behind layers of seductive legend. By surveying the strange, complex record of Russo-Ukrainian relations, War and Punishment reveals exactly how the largest nation on Earth lost its senses. A work of history can’t undo the past or transform the present, but sometimes it can shape the future.
In fact, that’s how the story begins.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Mikhail Zygar Author
Mikhail Zygar is a journalist and filmmaker, and the founding editor-in-chief of Dozhd, Russia's last independent TV news channel. He is also the author of a number of books, including All the Kremlin's Men (2017), a critical portrait of Putin's inner circle that was a number-one bestseller in Russia. In 2014 he received the International Press Freedom Award. As soon as the invasion of Ukraine began, Zygar wrote a public condemnation that was signed by hundreds of his cultural and journalistic contacts and then by thousands of ordinary citizens. A new law criminalizing criticism of the war swiftly followed, and Zygar went into exile.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.