2020 Pushkin House Book Prize goes to Sergei Medvedev’s ‘Return of the Russian Leviathan’

“The Return of the Russian Leviathan” by historian, writer, and journalist Sergei Medvedev has claimed the 2020 Pushkin House Russian book prize, which honors English-language nonfiction about the Russian-speaking world. The distinction includes an award of £10,000 (almost $13,000) — twice as much as last year. 

The following titles were also shortlisted for the award:

• Stalin's Scribe: The Life of Mikhail Sholokhov by Brian Boeck                                
• Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future by Kate Brown                
• Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait by Bathsheba Demuth
• An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent by Owen Matthews
• This Thing of Darkness: Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia by Joan Neuberger

Medvedev is the first Russia-based author to win the prize. His book was translated into English by Stephen Dalziel. In “Return of the Russian Leviathan,” Medvedev argues that the Kremlin’s apparent relapse into aggressive imperialism and militarism is the result of mentalities long been embedded within the Russian psyche, stymied by an enduring sense of superiority over its neighbors and a painful nostalgia for empire.

As a politically independent Russian cultural center, the London-based Pushkin House sponsors cultural programs and showcases work by Russian organizations from various backgrounds, staging events centered on Russian literature, art, film, music, history, society, and current affairs.