"An ambitious study [and] a welcome addition to this area of scholarship."--Susan Gorgioski, Cipher Brief "An extremely valuable and comprehensive treatment of trends in post-Soviet Russian politics and society, and how these have impacted Russia's place in the world."--Precious Chatterje-Doody, co-author of Russia, Disinformation, and the Liberal Order " The Return of Russia is an exciting account of the descent into authoritarian threats to dissidents and neighbouring countries told by a fine correspondent who was there at the time."--Robert Service, author of Kremlin Winter: Russia and the Second Coming of Vladimir Putin "An insightful and deeply researched study of what went wrong with Russia and the West's reaction to the country after the optimism of the 1990s. James Rodgers has drawn on illuminating interviews and archive documents to tell this important story which helps us to understand present-day Russia and its behaviour."--Terry Stiastny, author of Believable Lies: The Misfits who Fought Churchill's Secret Propaganda War "A welcome contribution to the debate about what went wrong, coming from someone who has long observed--and often been present at--key moments in Russian history as a journalist, from the final days of the Soviet Union to the rise of Putin's regime. Rodgers offers a clear-eyed analysis, drawing extensively on documents from the time."--Andrei Soldatov, co-author of Our Dear Friends in Moscow: The Inside Story of a Broken Generation.