Despots

Terrific. Gripping, terrifying, urgent and necessary. – Ian RankinDespots is not only timely but exceptionally valuable. No one is better equipped than Sixsmith to make this ruthless but scrupulous comparison between Putin and Trump. His rare combination of first-hand experience with thorough research makes for a gripping and chilling read. It is an arsenal of telling insights and compelling analysis. Anyone who cares for democracy and freedom and who fears for the future of both should go and read it. – Jonathan Dimbleby

Martin Sixsmith

Martin Sixsmith studied Russian at Oxford, Leningrad, and the Sorbonne. He was a Slavics Tutor at Harvard and wrote his postgraduate thesis about Russian poetry. From 1980 to 1997, he was the BBC’s correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels, and Warsaw. From 1997 to 2002, he worked for the British government as Director of Communications and Press Secretary to several cabinet ministers. He is now a writer, presenter, and journalist.

He is the author of non-fiction titles including Russia - the Wild East, Putin’s Oil, The Litvinenko File, and The War of Nerves. His bestselling 2009 book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, was adapted for film and became the multiple Oscar-nominated Philomena, starring Steve Coogan and Judi Dench.

Daniel Sixsmith

Having completed degrees in History and Russian Studies, Daniel Sixsmith worked as an archaeologist in Siberia and Kazakhstan before turning to historical research and writing. He contributed to the BBC Radio 4 series Russia - The Wild East, and co-authored The War of Nerves - Inside the Cold War Mind, which was named a Washington Post non-fiction book of the year in 2022, and Putin and the Return of History. He lives with his partner and daughter in London.

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