Black Wind, White Snow ─ The Rise of Russia's New Nationalism

In this important, thought-provoking work, journalist Charles Clover, former Moscow bureau chief for theFinancial Times, attempts to shed light on the sometimes perplexing political actions and ambitions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Clover suggests that a nearly century-old ideology known as Eurasianism has taken hold in the region following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with Putin a strong proponent. Originally formulated as a counter to Communism, Eurasianism posits a Russian national identity based not on politics but on geography and ethnicity, and it portends a stark and troubling future reality for Eastern Europe.

Clover’s eye-opening study explores the roots of Eurasianism, its growth, and its relationship to recent events, including the annexation of Crimea and the dramatic rise in Russia of anti-Western paranoia and imperialist sentiments. Based on extensive archival research and interviews with Putin’s close advisors, as well as with politicians and academics in Russia and the Ukraine, this timely study is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the political and social trajectories of Russia and the countries of the former USSR in the coming years.

American journalist Charles Clover is currently the Financial Times’s China correspondent. In 2011 he received the Foreign Reporter of the Year Award at the British Press Awards.