Putin's Dark Ages Political Neomedievalism and Re-Stalinization in Russia

"In Putin's Dark Ages, Dina Khapaeva offers an original interpretation of the Russian president and his apocalyptic, reactionary worldview, arguing that it is not just neo-Stalinist, but neo-medievalist: clearly written, deeply researched and thought provoking."

Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, USA

"In this fascinating and innovative work, Dina Khapaeva offers a new perspective on the Putin regime as part of a wider cultural phenomenon, that of neomedievalism in the totalitarian political imagination. This book is a must for those seeking to understand Putin's war on Ukraine and his politics of memory."

Serhy Yekelchyk, University of Victoria, Canada

"An illuminating inquiry, a necessary book to understand the nature of Putinism - combining Restalinization with a multifaceted Neomedievalism. A severe dissection of a terrorist regime."

François Hartog, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, France

"Putin's Dark Ages is a strikingly timely intervention in the study of Russian history, memory, and politics. Before February 24, 2022, it was still possible to argue that the phenomena covered in this book-neo-medievalism, neo-Eurasianism, the celebration of Ivan the Terrible and Joseph Stalin, etc.-were curious, but marginal developments. As Khapaeva compellingly shows, they are in fact crucial and central features of Russian society today-symptoms of a distinctive anti-modern worldview that has gained an extraordinary and inimical potency."

Kevin M.F. Platt, University of Pennsylvania, USA