New Russia

My latest book was born with difficulty, and its pages were rewritten several times. I wanted to go beyond describing political events to present the reader with a narrative of the experiences, hopes, and disappointments people leave behind, including those of me, my family, and my friends. I also wanted to convey the atmosphere we lived through during those years. I fully expected that this would be my last book. This book is about the importance of the past. If you reflect on what happened in Russia at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, and what awaits Russia in the future, you inevitably return to the years of perestroika. With us now two decades removed from that period, it may be too early to give a final assessment. It is said that Zhou Enlai once responded to President Richard Nixon, who asked him for his assessment of the French Revolution, by saying, "It is still too early to judge it." He may have been right, but we can see many things with greater clarity. Al-Obeikan_2017