Fortress Russia is worth reading for two important reasons. First, it provides an informed and detailed analysis of the evolution of key Russian conspiracy theories, with a particular focus on anti-western and anti-American narratives. In addition, it shows how conspiracy theories moved from the margins of Russian politics to the center of the Kremlin's strategy. Either of these detailed insights would have made it worth reading; the fact that the work deftly delivers on both makes it a book important not to miss.

A casual observer would immediately see that conspiracy theories, notably how the west is the cause of Russia's struggles, are prevalent in the Russian political narrative. While the presence and style of these conspiracy theories are evident from sources ranging from RT news aimed at the west to the prime domestic Russian television channel, the way in which conspiracy theories have come to dominate Russian political narratives is less clear. Yablokov analyzes the origins of Russian conspiracy theories, noting that they started at the fringes of Russian politics (often with nationalists who were opposed to the Kremlin) but moved steadily closer to the center of Putin's regime. In particular, challenges to state power over vote falsification in 2011 and the Ukrainian Euromaidan revolution in 2014 motivated the Kremlin to find a more powerful way to quell opposition. According to Yablokov, this included a more forceful use of anti-western conspiracy theories. Indeed, the theory that NATO and the US orchestrated both the Euromaidan and the war in eastern Ukraine is prevalent in Russia.

The book shows the development of conspiracy theories initially at the margins of political discourse, how these conspiracy theories were adapted by the state as a tool to support Putin, and how television in particular was used as a powerful tool to disseminate conspiracy theories. Yablokov provides detailed and compelling evidence of how specific Russian pundits and academics were instrumental in developing key strands of anti-western conspiracy theory. He also describes how particular events, including the arrest of wealthy businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the demonization of Russian NGOs as “foreign agents” were justified with this narrative. Eventually, this narrative allowed the Kremlin to marginalize their opponents within society as allied with enemy conspirators, transforming political choice into betrayal of their own nation.

The book is both erudite and highly readable, with an astonishing level of detail and knowledge about Russian intellectual life that is rarely available in English in a single volume. While negotiating an impressive amount of information about Russian public intellectuals as well as relating this information back to the concept of conspiracy theories, Yablokov is able to weave an intriguing tale that makes a convincing argument for understanding both the nature and power of conspiracy theory in Russian political life. In particular, his analysis of how the Putin regime came to embrace anti-western conspiracy theories is powerful and helps to clarify why Russia chose to pursue and justify military action, notably in Ukraine. If you are able to bring anti-western conspiracy theory to a fever pitch, then military action against the west is a logical—and probably necessary—step.

Understanding conspiracy theory, or a kind of “magical thinking,” is becoming ever more important in a range of countries, including in the US, where pervasive conspiracy theories, ranging from vaccine safety to political pedophile rings persist and often shape citizen actions. An issue for further consideration is both the definition and limits of a “conspiracy.” It would seem that conspiracies that can at least appear to be grounded in fact can be the most effective type of conspiracy theory. Russia has reason to be aggrieved at NATO for eastward expansion, but the inconvenient truth is that Russia's economic and political problems are hostage to global financial forces and domestic corruption much more than any specific actions by the US. Blaming the conspiratorial Other is politically expedient, but can this replace ideology or efficacy in governance? Will there come a time when once-alluring conspiracy theories ring hollow or false—or will conspiracy theories come to crowd out real political discourse? Yablokov's evidence that conspiracy theories both have a long history in Russia and have become a critical tool for the government elites suggest the latter.