{"product_id":"power-play-sergey-radchenko-9781541703919","title":"Power Play: The Ruthless Rise and Perilous Future of Russia's Energy Empire","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe incendiary history of Russia's fossil fuel empire, revealing how energy has been the Kremlin's most critical lifeline and most potent weapon\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Historians have long regarded 1989 as the most significant turning point of our times. Soviet-dominated regimes fell one after another. Russia briefly seemed on course to embrace democracy, but veered toward authoritarianism within just a few years. The Kremlin's return to aggressive imperialism was only possible thanks to oil and gas. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003ePower Play\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of how energy became a key to Russia's success on the world stage. From the early days of the Cold War, energy permitted Soviets to bribe adversaries and keep allies docile. Once the Soviet economic model began showing signs of malaise, energy helped keep the USSR alive. It powered great factories that employed Soviet workers and warmed Soviet citizens in the depth of winter. It was sold for desperately needed hard currency that plugged holes in the Soviet budget. And, after the Soviet Union's collapse, it provided Vladimir Putin with a much-needed war chest that he used to weather Western sanctions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Dramatically reframing Soviet and post-Soviet history into a new, cohesive narrative, \u003ci\u003ePower Play\u003c\/i\u003e reveals that contemporary Russia can only be understood as an empire sustained by oil and gas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sergey Radchenko\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 154170391X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781541703919\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e PublicAffairs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/09\/2027\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.50h x 6.25w x 1.05d","brand":"Sergey Radchenko","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48852928135423,"sku":"9781541703919","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/power-play-sergey-radchenko-9781541703919","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}