
War and Punishment
Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
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Narrated by:
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Richard Attlee
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By:
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Mikhail Zygar
About this listen
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2023
From “one of Russia’s smartest and best-sourced young journalists” (The New York Times)—the first work by a Russian author to reveal his country’s history of oppressing Ukraine, providing an unprecedented overview of the war for Ukrainian independence that affects us all.
As soon as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, prominent independent Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar circulated a Facebook petition signed first by hundreds of his cultural and journalistic contacts and then by thousands of others. That act led to a new law in Russia criminalizing criticism of the war, and Zygar fled Russia. In his time as a journalist, Zygar has interviewed President Zelensky and had access to many of the major players—from politicians to oligarchs. As an expert on Putin’s moods and behavior, he has spent years studying the Kremlin’s plan regarding Ukraine, and here, in clear, chronological order he explains how we got here.
In 1996 to 2004, Ukraine became an independent post-Soviet country where everyone was connected to the former empire at all levels, financially, culturally, psychologically. However, the elite anticipated that the empire would be back and punish them. From 2004 to 2018, there were many states inside one state, each with its own rulers/oligarchs and its own interests—some of them directly connected with Russia. In 2018, a new generation of Ukrainians arrive, and having grown in an independent country, they do not consider themselves to be part of Russia—and that was the moment when the war began, as Putin could not tolerate losing Ukraine forever.
Authoritative, timely, and vitally important, this is an unique overview of the war that continues to threaten the future of the entire world as we know it.
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Comprehensive Account of the War Through September 2022
- By Jason777 on 12-30-22
By: Owen Matthews
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Putin's Wars
- From Chechnya to Ukraine
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: David Sibley
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers.
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Botched Attempt on Russian Stress
- By Alexey B. on 12-20-22
By: Mark Galeotti
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The War for Ukraine
- Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire
- By: Mick Ryan
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The Russo-Ukraine War is a vital learning opportunity for military strategists across the globe. The first and clearest lesson to be gleaned from it is this: the soundness of a military's strategy and the nimbleness with which it can adapt to unforeseen circumstances are the two most important factors in deciding victory or defeat. The War for Ukraine analyzes the war through these twin lenses of strategy and adaptation, detailing how each army has succeeded or failed to plan for and adapt to this twenty-first century war.
By: Mick Ryan
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The Future Is History
- How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia
- By: Masha Gessen
- Narrated by: Masha Gessen
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning journalist Masha Gessen's understanding of the events and forces that have wracked Russia in recent times is unparalleled. In The Future Is History, Gessen follows the lives of four people born at what promised to be the dawn of democracy. Each of them came of age with unprecedented expectations, some as the children and grandchildren of the very architects of the new Russia, each with newfound aspirations of their own - as entrepreneurs, activists, thinkers, and writers, sexual and social beings.
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The author is an international treasure
- By ThreeGems on 10-16-17
By: Masha Gessen
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Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know
- By: Serhy Yekelchyk
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians.
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Everyone Should Read This Book in 2022
- By Theo Horesh on 03-09-22
By: Serhy Yekelchyk
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War
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars—Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle for the American Presidency. War provides an unvarnished examination of the vice president as she tries to embrace the Biden legacy and policies while beginning to chart a path of her own as a presidential candidate.
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Draws Connections
- By Kyle on 10-18-24
By: Bob Woodward
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Patriot
- A Memoir
- By: Alexei Navalny
- Narrated by: Matthew Goode
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Alexei Navalny began writing Patriot shortly after his near-fatal poisoning in 2020. It is the full story of his life: his youth, his call to activism, his marriage and family, his commitment to challenging a world super-power determined to silence him, and his total conviction that change cannot be resisted—and will come. Patriot is Navalny’s final letter to the world: a moving account of his last years spent in the most brutal prison on earth; a reminder of why the principles of individual freedom matter so deeply; and a rousing call to continue the work for which he sacrificed his life.
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oh finish your pumpkin latte and go do something to save the world
- By Svetlana on 11-02-24
By: Alexei Navalny
What listeners say about War and Punishment
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Philip J. Kurle
- 09-15-23
Remarkable review of a terrible situation.
Mr. Zygar goes back about 400 years to examine and dissect many of the factors that led to today's Ukrainian - Russian conflict on a microscopic level. The depth of his historical and psychological review of the situation is stunning. His writing style is clear and compelling. The narration is also remarkably good, especially in light of the frequent insertion of Ukrainian and Russian names and phrases. The detailed biographical depiction of both Putin and Zelenskiy really does afford a great deal of insight into the complicated human factors at play in this horrendous and unnecessary war. It is clear that Putin's nationalistic/imperialistic notions and twisted sense of history and the concept of novorossiya combined with his ability to suppress truth and dissension within his country and within his people is at work. This also has implications for imperialist tendencies in many other places, including obviously the US. Absolutely required reading to have any hope of understanding this unfortunate situation.
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- Jeffrey Bisker
- 12-03-23
Excellent unbiased historical review extremely informative and pertinent to world politics in general
The only negative is perhaps the length regarding the details of the very early historical events likely unknown to most readers and quickly forgotten
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-11-24
An Outstanding Read
The book was well researched, extremely informative and insightful, the audio read was a pleasure. I could not wait to listen to it every day, and I just wish that more readers would consider picking it up, especially those who are genuinely interested in the history of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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- Aaron C. Jones
- 10-01-23
A great breakdown of Ukrainian history.
Zygar does an excellent job of going back 300-400 years down through today to recount Ukrainian history and the run up to the start of the 2022 war. Going into the book I was already a big supporter of Ukraine 🇺🇦 and Zelensky and it enlightened me on many things i was not aware of. As a result of this book my support of them and their fight against Putin remains strong.
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- Marc G Amigone
- 02-20-24
Amazing perspective
An amazingly deep and thorough dive into the history of a part of the world overlooked in traditional western Eurocentric education - very timely and incredibly well reported and researched
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