How to Survive Authoritarianism

The indispensable lexicon you need to face authoritarianism—from the country that’s been surviving it for centuries.

America is not the first country to experience the stirring of tyranny; in Russia, it has been the law of the land for generations. Over the years, a vernacular of double-speak emerged, one that helped ordinary people make sense of how illiberalism takes shape and makes itself felt in daily life. It allowed them to talk about authoritarianism and to subvert it—with a healthy dose of humor and irony along the way.

In this edifying yet lighthearted glossary, two exiled dissidents share one hundred Russian idioms and turns of phrase, from “apparatchik” to “samizdat.” Some, like “power vertical,” give name to a hypercentralized form of government. Others are playful, like mnogohodovochka (“master plan”), used to deride bizarre, misguided state measures. Taken together, they make up the vocabulary we need to understand what is really taking place, and offer a roadmap to what might still lie ahead.