| Revision as of 04:51, 23 February 2007 editVlad fedorov (talk | contribs)4,845 edits Defamatory and unsupported by sources sentences deleted← Previous edit | Revision as of 19:29, 28 February 2007 edit undoHodja Nasreddin (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers31,217 edits This is simply description of his book based on critical reviews; if there are any other published opinions/reviews they can be cited as an alternativeNext edit → | ||
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| ==His books== | ==His books== | ||
| David Satter made his name writing non-fiction books ''Age of Delirium: the Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union'' (1996) and ''Darkness at Dawn: the Rise of the Russian Criminal State'' (2003). |
David Satter made his name writing non-fiction books ''Age of Delirium: the Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union'' (1996) and ''Darkness at Dawn: the Rise of the Russian Criminal State'' (2003), which describe two consequent periods of modern Russian history. First book begins with citation of Russian philosopher ] who wrote in ]: "We are exception among people. We belong to those who are not an integral part of humanity but exist only to teach the world some type of great lesson". Satter reports about lifes of ordinary people in the period of dramatic social changes and events, including the decline of Soviet economy and ideology, ], ], ] of the 1990th, rise of ], sinking of ], and ]. Satter emphasizes the importance of psychology and opinions of the general population for development and future of the country. He described how the Soviet ideology and ] undermine the people's "moral center" (especially in the chapter ]) and investigates the criminalization of human ] in contemporary Russia where ] and corrupted state officials are omnipotent and omnipresent. | ||
| Reviewers have found some similarities between his book ''Darkness at Dawn'' and "]" by ]: "Both these books underline the moral vacuum that the destruction of the Soviet Union has left. There are no values to believe in except theft."<ref name="Theft"> , Review of ''Darkness at Dawn'' by Angus Macqueen, ]</ref> Satter noted that "Russia has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and the death rate of a country at war...and some of it was caused by poverty, some by alcoholism." <ref name="Theft"/> Satter quotes the director of Russia's State Center for Prophylactic Medicine saying that the depopulation and alcoholism are caused by "the spiritual condition of the Russian people and the failure of the new society to provide a new purpose after the fall of communism." <ref name="Theft"/> | |||
| ==Documentary films== | ==Documentary films== | ||
Revision as of 19:29, 28 February 2007
David Satter (born in 1947 in Chicago) is an American journalist who wrote books about the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and rise of post-Soviet Russia.
Life and career
David Satter graduated from the University of Chicago and Oxford University. He worked for the Chicago Tribune and as Moscow correspondent of the Financial Times. He worked in Moscow for six years since 1976, and then became a special correspondent on Soviet affairs for the Wall Street Journal. He is currently a Hoover Institute scholar.
His books
David Satter made his name writing non-fiction books Age of Delirium: the Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union (1996) and Darkness at Dawn: the Rise of the Russian Criminal State (2003), which describe two consequent periods of modern Russian history. First book begins with citation of Russian philosopher Pyotr Chaadaev who wrote in 1829: "We are exception among people. We belong to those who are not an integral part of humanity but exist only to teach the world some type of great lesson". Satter reports about lifes of ordinary people in the period of dramatic social changes and events, including the decline of Soviet economy and ideology, perestroika, attempted coup of 1991, economic reforms of the 1990th, rise of Russian mafia, sinking of Kursk submarine, and Russian apartment bombings. Satter emphasizes the importance of psychology and opinions of the general population for development and future of the country. He described how the Soviet ideology and propaganda undermine the people's "moral center" (especially in the chapter Homo soveticus) and investigates the criminalization of human consciousness in contemporary Russia where mafia and corrupted state officials are omnipotent and omnipresent.
Reviewers have found some similarities between his book Darkness at Dawn and "Putin's Russia" by Anna Politkovskaya: "Both these books underline the moral vacuum that the destruction of the Soviet Union has left. There are no values to believe in except theft." Satter noted that "Russia has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and the death rate of a country at war...and some of it was caused by poverty, some by alcoholism." Satter quotes the director of Russia's State Center for Prophylactic Medicine saying that the depopulation and alcoholism are caused by "the spiritual condition of the Russian people and the failure of the new society to provide a new purpose after the fall of communism."
Documentary films
A documentary film has been made based on David Satter's book Age of Delirium. David Satter also appears in documentary "Disbelief" about the Russian apartment bombings made by director Andrei Nekrasov in 2004.
Notes
- ^ Nothing left but theft, Review of Darkness at Dawn by Angus Macqueen, Guardian Unlimited
- Disbelief. The record in IMDB.
- Google Video
His books
- David Satter. Age of Delirium: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union, Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-300-08705-5
- David Satter. Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State. Yale University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-300-09892-8
- David Satter. The Future of an Illusion. Yale University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-300-11145-2
External links
- His site at the Hoover Institution
- Nothing left but theft, Review of Darkness at Dawn by Angus Macqueen, Guardian Unlimited
Some of his articles
- His articles at the Hudson Institute site
- Who Killed Alexander Litvinenko?
- The Return of the Soviet Union
- A Low, Dishonest Decadence: A Letter from Moscow.