The Last Man in Russia is a riveting history of Russia, played out in the present. The unfortunate situation in the Crimea has brought new focus on Russia, whose actions and motivations seem at times to be completely divorced from reality. But there is a reason for everything, and much of Russia's reasoning remains rooted in its recent Soviet past.

The book focuses on the story of Fr. Dmitry Dudko, who rose from an obscure village at the end of the Second World War to become one of the Soviet Union's most famous dissenters of the 1960s and 70s. Bullough, a journalist by profession, attempts to piece together Dudko's life by visiting the places he lived and talking to those who knew him. In the process he also shares his experiences of modern Russia, of a people drink themselves to death and who die in far greater numbers than they are born. While Moscow grows, village after village shrinks out of existence. What could cause such a state? And how does it relate to Fr. Dudko's legacy? At a time when iit seems like Russia is slipping back to the Soviet mindset, these are important questions and Bullough's answers are both sobering and hopeful at the same time.

A must read for anyone with an interest in Russia today. The only thing it really needs is a map. Highly, highly recommended. ( )

Oliver Bullough has written a fascinating book about the current population decline in Russia that endangers the future of the country. Using the life of one man, Father Dmitry Dudko, as a metaphor for what has happened in the country, the author traces the priest's rise and fall. The high rate of alcohol abuse, the low birth rate, and the destruction of freedoms by the KGB are the main contributors to the current crisis in which Russia finds itself. Except for the largest cities, the country's population is shrinking rapidly with entire villages abandoned and their buildings collapsing. The books ends on a hopeful note that a new generation of socially aware and informed citizens will effect change so that Russia can once again become a great nation. Very interesting reading! ( )