I have a feeling that if a section of the Great British population were to be questioned about Vladimir Putin , a sizeable proportion wouldn't know who he was but of those that did a decent percentage would have no idea about Putin,s governments many abuses of power .He appears to be an acceptable player on the world stage unlike say Robert Mugabe but is also guilty of many of the punitive measures of the African dictator. Anna Politkovskaya was the one real voice of truth emerging from within Russia itself, and it cost her her life -shot four times in the head in October 2006 in her Moscow apartment. She died because she wrote books like this one.
Covering the period from the Russian parliamentary elections of 2003 to the dreadful conclusion of the Beslan siege in 2005 A Russian diary is devoid of personal detail so it less a diary and more a terrible narrative of Russian political life over a two year period. It's a staggering indictment of Putins presidency as the reforms of the 1990,s are swept away to be replaced by a system that facilitates ballot rigging, suppression of the media and the illegal marginalisation of all political opposition. This is an oligarchy that is not shy of ruthlessly removing resistance to their rule with extreme force. This explains why characters in her book suddenly disappear never to be mentioned again , just like in real Russian life. And if they do disappear only to return mysteriously a few days later as in the case of Parliamentary candidate Ivan Rybkin( Who former Russian spy, the assassinated Alexander Litvinenko claims was dosed with psychotropic drugs) they are a shadow of their former selves and have to withdraw from political life.
Much of what Politkovskaya writes about is second hand and it's something her critics used to decry her work. Because she didn't witness most of the events recounted here they say it's a work of fiction and as most of her witnesses are the downtrodden- Russian war widows living on a pittance every month, Russians soldiers injured in Chechnya then forsaken by the state- and societal pariahs -traumatised war veterans , human rights campaigners- it lacks credence, after all you are only as reliable as the witnesses you use. But the fact remains if Plitkovskaya hadn't told this story it wouldn't have been told at all and she is also scathing of the democrats . liberals and the Russian population for not mounting a more effective challenge to Putin, though of course what happened to her is hardly likely to change that.
Not many people are capable of the bravery of Anna Politkovskaya though. She even see's fit in one instance in this book to badger a Chechen warlord and then accuses the interpreter of the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov-who is suspected of involvement in her death- of making up his own answers. She refused to bow or be intimidated ,never resorted to obsequiousness . We all like to think we would be the same should we have the opportunity to questions those who misuse power but the truth is very few of us would. That's the most overwhelming reason why this book deservers to be read by as many people as possible
