"Russia's slide back into a dictatorship -- and how the West is now paying the price for allowing it to happen. The ascension of Vladimir Putin -- a former lieutenant colonel of the KGB -- to the presidency of Russia in 1999 was a strong signal that Russia was headed away from democracy. In the intervening years -- as America and the world's other leading powers have continued to appease him -- Putin has grown not only into a dictator but an international threat. With his vast resources and nuclear arsenal, Putin is at the center of a worldwide assault on political liberty and the modern world order. Garry Kasparov has been a vocal critic of Putin for over a decade, even leading the pro-democracy opposition to him in the farcical 2008 presidential election. Yet years of seeing his prophecies about Putin's intentions fulfilled have left Kasparov with a darker truth: Putin's Russia, like ISIS or Al Qaeda, defines itself in opposition to the free countries of the world. As Putin has grown ever more powerful, the threat he poses has grown from local to regional and finally to global. Kasparov shows that the collapse of the Soviet Union was only a change of seasons, as the Cold War melted into a new spring. After years of complacency and poor judgment, winter is once again upon us. For twenty years, Garry Kasparov was the world's no. one ranked chess player. In 2005, he joined the pro-democracy opposition against Vladimir Putin. In 2012, he was named chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, succeeding Vaclav Havel. He lives in self-imposed exile in New York"--Provided by publisher.

2017-03

The end of the Cold War and the fall of the USSR -- The lost decade -- The invisible wars -- Born in blood -- President for life -- The search for Putin's soul -- Off the board, into the fire -- Operation Medvedev -- The audacity of false hope -- War and appeasement.