'Absolutely gripping deeply authoritative hugely important and lethally lurid'Simon Sebag
Montefiore Sunday Times bestselling author of The World: A Family History Yevgeny Prigozhin
emerged as one of the most dangerous warlords in the world and as one of Vladimir Putin's chief
rivals in Russia's tumultuous political climate exiled after leading Wagner's attempted coup
and killed in a mysterious plane crash. But what is the truth about this enigmatic figure his
role in the war with Ukraine and the chaos unleashed across Russia by his turn against Putin?
And in the aftermath of his death what is next for Russia in the new stage of late Putinism
that Prigozhin's life forged? Drawing on years of research this book traces the rise of
Russia's most prominent non-state actor and examines the political climate that propelled a
convicted gangster with no government office to the formidable role he came to occupy. An
essential story of Russia's recent history Downfall is also a compelling insight into its
likely future.
