The Descent
Witnessing Russia's Spiral into Madness Under Putin
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Descent
Pre-order for $21.99
-
Narrated by:
About this listen
Marc Bennetts, foreign correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times, moved to Russia in the chaotic yet free final years of President Yeltsin's rule. Twenty-five years later, The Times pulled him out of Russia over concerns for his security following his arrest in Moscow at a protest against the war in Ukraine.
From the “wild” 1990s in Moscow to narrowly escaping death under fire in Ukraine, The Descent is a unique and personal diary of how Russia spiraled into violent insanity. Bennetts witnessed the often-terrifying events in Russia up close, observing how the Kremlin's ubiquitous propaganda warped minds and fomented hatred of Putin's foes, both real and imagined, even among people close to him. After leaving Russia, he travelled in war-torn Ukraine, where he came face-to-face with the appalling consequences of this madness.
Bennetts meets a vast array of characters, from Russian politicians, influential Russian Orthodox Church officials and aggressive Kremlin activists to opposition figures and a Siberian shaman who tried to “exorcise” Putin, as well as Russians who took up arms to fight Moscow's invading forces. In this extraordinary panorama, Marc Bennetts shows in frightening detail how a society can lose its mind, and how easily a power-hungry leader can reshape an entire country in his own malevolent image.©2026 Marc Bennetts (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.