Dressed Up for a Riot

January 1, 2018
A sometimes-jokey but insightful insider's guide to modern Russia and the Russian mind.Ask a Russian what he or she is proudest of in the nation's history, and the answer will likely be, first, defeating the Nazis and, second, annexing Crimea. "A petty land grab," writes Latvia-born, Berlin-based magazine editor and journalist Idov (Ground Up, 2009, etc.), "beat out Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin's space flights, 'the achievement of Russian science, ' and 'great Russian literature.' " These hallmarks of a triumphant Russia are easily played, as Vladimir Putin has long known. Idov, who ran GQ Russia from 2012 to 2014--he writes entertainingly of the human resources nightmare of trying to fire feckless staffers--is well-versed in the politics of hipster culture as well as the upper echelons of government. The band Pussy Riot may have been adopted as mascots of punky resistance by U2 and Madonna, but at home they're seen differently, for "no stadium-playing Russian musician...would feel professional affinity with a group of masked activists running around quoting Julia Kristeva." The Putin government's take, meanwhile, like that of many Russians, is that the band's Western supporters are all enemies of the state. "In the Russian mind," writes Idov, "[Red Hot Chili Peppers singer] Anthony Kiedis takes direct dictation from Foggy Bottom." Roaming into matters such as the recent conflict with Ukraine over territorial claims, the author considers broadly different perceptions of the world between ordinary Russians and Westerners--as he notes, even the word "Ukraine" means very different things in Ukrainian and Russian. Perhaps most newsworthy, speaking of different perceptions, he offers a sighting of Donald Trump Jr. in Moscow and ventures the thought that the Trumps don't consider Russians of their circle to be foreign agents precisely because "they belong to the same global class, that of second-rate nightclubby strivers; they are all compatriots in a supranational state of poshlust."Breezy but informative and especially useful for readers contemplating a move to Russia for business or pleasure.

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February 1, 2018

National Magazine Award winner Idov (Ground Up: A Novel) writes a memoir of living in Russia between 2012 and 2014, before and during the invasion of Ukraine. Idov's parents left Latvia for the United States in 1992. Several years later, curious about his heritage, Idov moved to Russia with his wife and young daughter after receiving an offer to edit the Russian edition of GQ magazine. In this position, Idov becomes a pop culture insider; interactions with Russian singers such as Pussy Riot as well as actors and decision-makers offer fun anecdotes. Throughout the book, Idov writes of Russian people, especially the middle class, growing weary of President Vladimir Putin's dominating regime. The work concludes with the 2013 riots in Moscow's Biryulyovo district and the invasion of Ukraine in 2014. VERDICT Readers interested in contemporary Russian politics and culture will be interested in this cautionary tale of how one country maintains power and holds influence over others.--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017
For a brief moment, it seemed change was in the Russian air. It was December 2011, and 60,000 people had come out to a rally challenging the fairness of a parliamentary election. With more protests planned, an unexpectedly tepid initial response from the Kremlin, and a presidential election on the horizon, the young leaders of the budding movement sensed opportunityand Idov had a front-row seat. As he relates in this rollicking, fish-out-of-water tale, he was about to take over as the American editor-in-chief of GQ Russia magazine. Although Idov had grown up in Soviet-era Latvia, his ignorance of the intricacies of Russian politics and pop culture doom his attempts to overhaul the magazine, as his one-time liberal friends involved in the protest movement mock him for selling out. Filled in jaunty, Page Six-style with the antics of Muscovite movers and shakers, and offering an unparalleled glimpse into how Russians view themselves and their place on the world stage, Dressed Up for a Riot delivers a fascinating, funny take on Idov's three quixotic years in modern Moscow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)