The Good Russian

An important and necessary book… a work of honesty and humanity * Mishal Husain *This is a unique and necessary book. The Good Russian takes us inside wartime Russia, to a city that Jana Bakunina knows intimately. She brings us face to face with ordinary Russians, and also tells her own compelling personal story. Best of all, she writes very well * Simon Kuper, FT journalist and author of the bestselling Chums *In exile, Bakunina will be free to speak and write what she likes. It is a long and honourable Russian tradition – Quentin Peel * Financial Times *A fine and brave book * Luke Harding, author of Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival *An important and necessary book, taking us inside the complexities of the Russian psyche at a tumultuous time. The writer is uniquely placed to be our translator and interlocutor, as she grapples with her own torment, and the result is a work of honesty and humanity * Mishal Husain *The Good Russian offers an unflinchingly honest look at the choices facing Russians today amid autocracy and war. In crisp and compelling prose, Jana Bakunina explores what Putin has done not only to her country, but also her family, taking the reader on an illuminating journey to Yekaterinburg, the city of her childhood. Perceptive, humane, and insightful * Howard Amos, author of Russia Starts Here *Unique and fascinating close-up insights into Russian thinking… The Good Russian looks to the future with a mix of foreboding and hope * Steve Crawshaw, author of Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice *From the start, I have hungered to understand what ordinary Russians think of their ‘special military operation.’ Jana Bakunina has written a cogent, conversational, and compelling book that feeds that appetite * Lionel Shriver *A powerful and deeply personal exploration of what it means to be Russian today, from a writer seeking to understand her own country after its slide into authoritarianism and a devastating war. Engagingly written and thought provoking, this book takes the reader beyond Moscow and the well known names to probe how Russians of all kinds think in the author’s own hometown, a city to which she can no longer return * Sarah Rainsford, author of Goodbye to Russia *

Jana Bakunina came to Britain in 1999 to study at Oxford University and after a career in finance, she has written on Russia for multiple publications including the Financial Times, New Statesman, The Standard, Sifted and the Spectator. Her fiction was shortlisted in the 2022 Bridport Prize, she was finalist for the 2022 London Independent Short Story Prize and in 2023 came second in the Olga Sinclair Prize.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.