Murder in the Gulag - by John Sweeney

Book Synopsis

'Murder in the Gulag is brilliant journalistic writing: punchy, eloquent, page-turning and factual. It's a powerful reminder of what an extraordinary man Navalny was' - Roland Oliphant, Telegraph

In this revised and updated paperback edition, award-winning journalist John Sweeney goes behind the headlines to investigate what really happened to Alexei Navalny in the freezing Polar Wolf penal colony in a remote part of Siberia in February 2024. This is a warts-and-all portrayal of the highly charismatic but controversial Russian opposition leader who at one time flirted with the far right. Murder in the Gulag lifts the lid on the reality of life in Russia today and asks what Navalny's death means for the future of Putin, Russia and the West.

Review Quotes

Passionate . . . Sweeney not only gives a detailed backstory to this flawed hero, but also provides an insight into Putin's fears and the lengths he will go to to silence all opposition: something that too many Western observers are still reluctant to understand.

Murder in the Gulag is brilliant journalistic writing: punchy, eloquent, page-turning and factual. It's a powerful reminder of what an extraordinary man Navalny was.

Murder in the Gulag is brilliant journalistic writing: punchy, eloquent, page-turning and factual. It's a powerful reminder of what an extraordinary man Navalny was.--Roland Oliphant, Telegraph

[a] forensic and compelling account

[a] forensic and compelling account--RTÉ Guide

[Sweeney] has done a valuable service with this lively page-turner. He is keeping Navalny's name alive and has shown that, despite all that Putin has done to corrupt society, there is a core of decency in Russia.--Victor Sebestyen, The Times

[Sweeney] has done a valuable service with this lively page-turner. He is keeping Navalny's name alive and has shown that, despite all that Putin has done to corrupt society, there is a core of decency in Russia.

In a grimly fascinating read, Sweeney provides a crash course in Russia's recent history . . . and provides a genuinely frightening depiction of what it means to challenge the Russian leader's grasp on power.--John Walshe, The Irish Times

There is a growing realisation that the West has, yet again, been naively neglectful and that we must do much, much more to secure our world and our children's world too. Sweeney's Murder in the Gulag is a very timely and valuable contribution to that debate and process.--Jack Power, Irish Examiner

About the Author

John Sweeney is a writer and journalist who has challenged dictators, despots, cult leaders, con artists and crooked businessmen for almost half a century. As a reporter, first for the Observer and then for the BBC, he has covered wars in around 100 countries and has been undercover in the danger zones of Chechnya, North Korea and Zimbabwe. The author of 16 books, including the Sunday Times bestseller Killer in the Kremlin, he has challenged both Donald Trump and Vladamir Putin face-to-face. He regularly appears on Good Morning Britain to report on life in Kyiv, where he has lived on and off since the Russian invasion.