A Russian Diary is a valuable testimony of political events occurred in Russia from the 8th of December 2003 to the 31st of August 2005. Anna Politkovskaja, writer and journalist of contemporary Russian history, documents how Putin and his elected officials slowly obtain the monopoly of the Russian political power. In the form of a daily diary, Anna Politkovskaya denounces Putin’s dirty political games and the slow death of Russian democracy.
The first part of the book focuses on Putin's re-election and covers events from December 2003 to March 2004. Anna Politkovskaya denounces the rigged Duma elections, which witnessed the weakening and disappearing of every party in opposition to Putin. Putin’s campaign is scheduled so well that it seems fake and his speeches are built in such a way to avoid answering to uncomfortable questions on topics dear to the Russian people. He avoids discussing the future of the war in Chechnya, the investigation of the Beslan bombing, the cover-up of the investigation into the massacre at the Dubrovka theatre, and the reforms of the Russian army, where young recruits continue to die from abuse by their superiors. All these stories are extensively covered in Anna Politkovskaja’s previous book, Putin’s Russia. The concepts of free speech and information begin to fade during these months of pre-elections, when political opponents are not given the opportunity to appear on television, and demonstrations are violently broken up by the Russian army.
After the elections, Anna Politkovskaya's journey moves into the second part of the book and becomes an irregular flow of historical political events occurred from April to December 2004. Following the daily news, Anna Politkovskaya reports kidnappings or violent murders covered up by the will of Putin. From her interviews, it becomes obvious that the Duma’s elections were manipulated by creating non-existent votes for United Russia and Putin. Anna Politkovskaya criticizes the abuse of power, but, at the same time, is also disappointed by the apathy of Russian people in forming a suitable form of opposition. The only opposing political party that actively survives is the Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia. The party finds its strengths to survive to the bureaucratic difficulties in the passion and desperation that only a mother who has lost her son can have. The Russian army is described as a place where any normal person is afraid to end up. And as long as this is the case, mothers' committees can aspire to immortality. Anna Politkovskaya reports about many political events of that period. The Moscow underground explosion, the collapse of the Jasenevo water park, the assassination of Chechen president Achmat Kadyrov, and the interview with his violent son and successor Ramzan Kadyrov are just some examples.
Because of unpunished tortures and covered up attacks in Chechnya and Ingushetia, the Russian people slowly begin to become fragmented and racist towards minorities, especially towards the inhabitants of these two regions and the Islamic ethnic group. The third part of the book mainly focuses on this topic of fragmentation and hate, and covers the historical and political events occurred from January to August 2005. Anna Politkovskaya focuses on the ethnic minorities and poor Russian citizens who suffer the abuse of power by Putin's oligarchs and friends. The huge scandal of the Law 122 of that time is the most glaring example. Anna Politkovskaya extensively criticises this law, which monetises social bonuses for poor citizens and deprives them of the economic assistance of subsidies. Disabled people, soldiers, and pregnant women are deprived of their rights to discounted medicine, free stamps, psychological support, and paid maternity leave. For many of these people, the lack of subsidies on these primary commodities is equivalent to a death sentence. There is no form of protest, not even a three-week hunger strike, that can convince Putin to change it. Another tremendous law amendment of that period is Article 10 of the Federal Defence Law, which authorises the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to use any military means to fight terrorist activities. Anna Politkovskaya criticises this amendment as a free pass to violence against ethnic minorities by the Russian army. A policeman is in fact free to judge anyone he wants to be a terrorist and to use all means at his disposal to eliminate him/her.
Anna Politkovskaya often inserts personal comments in italics while remaining extremely objective in reporting historical facts. She appears angry and disappointed by the apathy of Russian people in front of these horrendous abuses. She states: “Misery makes the Russian people incapable of fighting for their democracy. Until we all have full bellies, we can forget democracy. On the other hand, it is difficult to fill one's belly in a non-democratic social system” (the quote was translated from Italian by us). This book is a real portrait of the funeral of democracy, just as it was done in Južno-Sachalinsk by the local For Human Rights movement. A group of activists hangs signs with the latest unconstitutional measures of power, among which also the Law 122, on a beautiful life-sized doll, symbol of the young democracy. The weight of the posters bends the doll, which is then laid in an authentic coffin with the inscription “funeral of democracy”. The political critiques of Anna Politkovskaya are blatant and, unlike in her previous book, they are clearly directed against Putin and his abuses. This book could be a tacit explanation for her murder that went unpunished on 7 October 2006.