Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible - The Surreal Heart of the New Russia

Lots of really interesting content, but doesn't really draw it together into anything conclusive. Seemed like it was setting up for a central critique on Russia's modern propaganda but then pulls its punches at the end. Maybe it's meant for you to come to your own conclusions...but the way the book was going, it seemed like there would be one last hard-hitting chapter that summed up how all these different sub-stories were part of the larger Kremlin strategy.

I was still sucked in to the book the whole way through and it definitely sheds some new light on the current state of American politics. Worth a read if you're curious about what life is like in post-Soviet Russia.

I was hoping to read how Putin's system undermines people's critical faculties (along the lines of "1984" or "Brave New World") Instead, the book describes a cast of characters who could as easily be found in, say, Calabria (the hoodlum with the local judiciary in his pocket: the businesswoman being robbed by a corrupt functionary: the young woman falling foul of a sect reminiscent of Scientology etc.) Although the book is well written, it did not tell me anything I would not have expected.

Excellently written and via a collection of real word experiences,,, flips all your understanding (at least for us typical Americans) of the relationships between markets, politics and the media on its head,,, fascinating and engaging read,,,

A unique picture of the workings of the artistic/film culture of modern Russia. An easy read with a light touch which opens the panorama of Putin's approach to ruling this rich and varied country, which seems to be a return to Czardom in the 18th and 19th centuries. The general population seems content to have issues of State firmly delegated to a closed elite inner circle. The question remains "Is this an accurate picture of the country or is it a snapshot through the keyhole of one small segment of the whole"? Does the Hollywood we see in TV and film really portray the USA really functions? No real answer in this book.

Informative, passionate, and wry. As the author describes the Russians he encounters, the book is able to show several faces simultaneously, making for a rich volume that doesn't flinch from dissonance and paradox.

Pomerantsev was born in Russia and moved to England as a child with his family. Working in broadcasting in the U.K. gave him the kind of experience Russian television was looking for when the iron curtain fell. Western cultural ideologies and practices found an entirely new audience in the millions of Russians who wanted to embrace this insurgence of new ideas. Taking this experience to Moscow where he lived for nine years, he worked originally for light-hearted local television, then later for Ostankino, the Kremlin’s official mouthpiece. What he found in his former native land was at times hilarious, sad, evocative and sobering. He describes the work of Golddigger Academies who offer classroom-style training for beautiful young Russian women on how to attract rich men to sponsor their lifestyles of nice apartments, glamorous clothes and financial security.

Russia’s attempts to embrace and emulate everything western has resulted in varying degrees of success and failure. As a broadcaster/producer, Pomerantsev describes the colossal failure of his attempt at a Russian version of Dragon’s Den or The Apprentice. After decades of Communism, corruption and graft, viewers and participants had no conception of western-style business philosophy based on hard work, market research, customer service and supply and demand. Accustomed to simply buying what they were told to buy and paying whomever and whatever they were told to pay without any consideration for market conditions, the Russian viewers simply could not comprehend the entrepreneurial concept. In fact, their entire value system is very different from our own.

Teaching Russians the capitalist principles of business resulted in growth industries in business training and education. Even the scary and questionable Western organizations like LifeSpring that were popular in the 80s gained a strong foothold as people experimented with new philosophies. The Rose of The World is based on LifeSpring and a modification of an earlier Stalinist personal growth and development program with incremental levels of training and financial outlay required to evolve into the perfect person (sound familiar?). Members are humiliated and intimidated into increasingly more controlling “personal training” and is considered by many to be a dangerous cult. Russia is also rife with racism and prejudice against segments of their own population.

In their enthusiasm to embrace everything western, Russia has undergone a circle of trial and error leading up to Putin’s current backpedaling toward old-style Communism. And like the ancient Egyptians, Russians systematically destroy physical and psychological evidence of previous rulers and governments to proclaim the virtues of the latest flavour-of-the-month running the country.

Throughout these transitions, however, the one constant is corruption. No one trusts the system and everyone is always looking over their shoulder to protect themselves. Former Russian crime bosses and oligarchs have been replaced by Putin’s appointees who are once again the official manipulators and rapists of the system. Organized crime bosses have expanded outside Russia to the U.K., United States and other countries where their activities are legitimized through laundered businesses and enterprises. Pomerantsev describes hyper-projects such as the Russian Winter Olympics in Sochi. At $50 billion “the project cost $30 billion more than the previous summer games in London and five times more expensive than any Winter Olympics ever”. The extra money is siphoned off to benefit and enrich those individuals and organizations loyal to the Kremlin bosses.

My quest to become better informed about Russia and to better understand its people was somewhat satisfied but at the same time, having finished the book I know I would never like to live there although I definitely would like to visit. The country and its people are fascinating, fallible and functioning under a set of principles completely different from how we live life in the west. Many of their more unsavory characters are infiltrating western business and cultural practices and our law enforcement agencies are constantly monitoring their movements and activities. Nothing is True and Everything is Possible is a fascinating read and while it did satisfy some of my curiosity it also heightened my quest to learn even more. It was an amazing book and I highly recommend it.

Interesting and quite shocking. My theory that the glass is half full and therefore the world and its people are getting better. Hmmm, not true is it? The book kept me reading - I didn't want to put it down, and suddenly it was finito. As a Christian, I found it sad that there is very little concern or empathy for one's fellow Russians. Is that what happens when a violent dictatorship takes away Christianity? Lots of food for thought in the tome!

This book explains much. Being in Moscow and Russia generally is more of an emotional event than a physical condition. Understanding why is set out with exacting detail in this work. It has shaped what I have felt, but made my feeling take on a substance I could not have realized without the analysis of Mr. Pomerantsev. My thanks.

Pomerantsev's account of life in modern-day Russia benefits from his having been a journalist. As does holding dual Brit/Russian citizenship and native Russian language. He was able to swim with the fishes--including the minnows and some pretty big sharks. Using examples of real people's lives in Putin's Russia the author gives the reader vivid characters whose lives and experiences, taken together, present a startling picture of the infinity of mirrors that is Russia today. Pomerantsev's style reminds me of the Gonzo journalists of the 1960s and '70s, who didn't hesitate to step inside their characters' minds to illustrate a point or set a mood. Good stuff. But scary.

The title says it all: Nothing has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union in terms of the life of the common citizen, and there are promises of a glorious future made now by Putin instead of Stalin. A chilling read. At times the reader is saddened by what he reads, other times, angry, and still at other times, perplexed at life in Russia. A fascinating glimpse at the social history of one of the greatest nations on earth. Very easy and interesting to read. The Western reader will realize that understanding the political and social aims of Russia are not that easy to understand.

I picked up this book with huge expectations regarding the propaganda aspects of Putin's Russia, I was disappointed. Articles which appeared captured the totality of coverage of propaganda, invented news and disinformation in Pomerantsev's book, which is truly off the charts, but there was little if anything not in the articles.

What is not said about propaganda in the articles was the depth of misinformation and non-journalistic qualities in the news and entertainment television in Russia. Television in Russia is about entertainment, truth and reality have nothing to do with the news, with entertainment television. This is why conspiracy theories seem to be status quo emanating out of Russia.

My biggest takeaway from the book was not expected. The book gave me a true appreciation for how truly and totally corrupt Russia is and will be, into the foreseeable future, as long as Putin is President. From bottom to the top, the system in Russia is corrupt, on an unbelievable scale. It is beyond shameful and impossible to see ending without a monumental effort. Anyone who attempts to get rid of corruption in Russia must be powerful enough to overcome strong resistance from every single person in a position of authority in Russia, period.

I gave 4/5 stars only because I expected more insight into how propaganda is made, who controls the themes and memes, how news is coordinated and controlled by the Kremlin, and the mechanism for 'talking points'.

George Orwell (Erik Blair) was the rarest of aves, an honest Leftist. His novel, "1984," presented a ferocious depiction of a future dystopia controlled by dishonesty and terror. Peter Pomerantsev's "Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible" brings "1984" to life in sound and color. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 of psychopathic inefficiency and corruption. In order to prevent total collapse and chaos with loose nukes, the United States of America sent aircraft loads of $100 bills to Russia to stabilize the economy. But the 1991 collapse did not revive or stimulate the moral order within Russia, which remains as corrupt and short-sighted as ever. So the Soviet Union collapsed as a bankrupt, amoral, and perverted state and Russia is now revived as a perverted, amoral, and much richer state. As luck would have it, American entrepreneurship in the oil patch is bankrupting Russia again. Will anything be different this time around?

The mash-up of relativistic thinking and magical thinking as the title suggests is a dominant feature in the mentality I observed in the hundreds of English language students from the former Soviet Union that I taught beginning in 1990. This book is a horror tale of what the consequences of that belief system are for modern day Russia, and for every country that is traduced by the oceans of wealth being parlayed by Russian oligarchs to co-opt wealth and culture. Utterly compelling reading.

I was really impressed by the book. Pomerantsev shares his first hand experience with contemporary Russia. With the help of real characters, presented in a unique and catchy manner, he guides you through life-as-is in a wide range of social layers. Although he openly shares his own opinion about events and encounters, Pomerantsev leaves the reader enough space to make his own mind, without being judgemental. With the help of his book, one can see the psychological background and driving forces behind many, if not all, Russian political actions and media broadcasts. Definitely worth reading.

the absolute best book on the current situation of the mafia dictatorship in the Kremlin and its effect on Russian media and people .. read "Putin's Plutocracy" for the facts .. read NIT&EIP to flesh out those facts .. very very sad .. and very very true .. one of the saddest is that President's Bush and Obama both enabled the growth of this murderous fantasy world that rationalizes a ideology of fascism which it calls "power vertical" ..

The whole book is a weird mishmash of only thinly connected annecdotes about his time in Russia which makes reading a bit chaotic and difficult to follow. I think his core argument about Russia is actually pretty good, though at times I feel like he oversells it to his own detriment. Worth taking a look at for sure though.

A must read for those wondering where Russia under Putin is headed these days. Hint, nothing is true and it's all very troubling for world stability. The Kremlin force feeds belief in there lies using nationalism and that is a recipe for disaster.

I think the author captures aura of the new Russia very well. He wisely avoids the question of why it is as it is and what should change and forces the reader to form his own opinions on this. It would be very interesting to read an equivalent book about the United States.

The book uncovers horrible Russian TV propaganda making process. Indeed, Nothing is true and everything is possible in this suicidal country that many people used to love and were proud of. Not anymore.

this book told me everything i thought and feared about russia and putin. i gave me the strong sense that soviet life is a fraud and the poor and gullible soviet people are being conned and putin is not to be trusted. this book brings you up to date with the depth that russian autocrats and diplomats will go to in revealing their belief that truth is a flexible and transitory process.