Written by an experienced and prize-winning Guardian journalist who spent time in Russia, Shadow State is an account of how the Russian state is increasingly influencing the course of Western politics via its “shadow state” of GRU (spy) agents, internet trolls, connected business people, and so on. None of this per se should be surprising, but what is, is the sheer extent of it. Putin clearly has and continues to execute on a long-term vision to make Russia great again (and de facto to restore the Soviet Union to its former glory) by undermining the West. His influence over Trump especially, and Boris Johnson (when in power) too, is notable. That this work was written prior to both the Ukraine invasion and Trump's re-election makes Shadow State both all the more chilling and poignant. There is a notable bravery on the part of Harding to have undertaken the level of work necessary for an account such as this, and to have called out bad actors at a personal risk to himself. This is compelling reading if one wants to understand the “deadly shadow monster” (in Harding's words).
By Luke Harding