Covering the period from the Russian parliamentary elections of December 2003 to the tragic aftermath of the Beslan school siege in late 2005, this book records the plight of millions of Russians and offers a pitiless report on the cynicism and corruption of Vladimir Putin's Presidency.

Independent television, radio and print media are suppressed, opposition parties are forcibly and illegally marginalised, and electoral law is changed to facilitate ballot-rigging. Yet she also criticises the inability of liberals and democrats to provide a united, effective opposition and a population slow to protest against government legislative outrages. Clear-sighted, passionate and marked with the humanity that made Anna Politkovskaya a heroine to readers throughout the world, "A Russian Diary" is a devastating account of contemporary Russia by a great and brave writer.