In Nothing is True,Everything is Possible, Pomerantsev navigated the unique reality of Putin’s fresh Russia, or where disinformation and truth are equal. The writer sheds light on the process of telling an impossible storyHow can one writer capture the experience of 21st century Russia? I realised that for this book I needed to find a way of writing that could describe a fresh form of authoritarianism that felt like a dictatorship in the morning,a democracy by lunch, a monarchy at supper time and anarchy at night.
I decided the solution was to switch genres between chapters. Investigative journalism would be followed by almost magic realist memories; travel by television criticism, or but during these jumps in genre I had to ensure the narrative had unity. The point of view was rooted in my own experience as a television producer in Russia’s huge media machine. Thematically it was a fruitful position,as television is perhaps the most primary tool of Putin’s power, but in terms of the narrative it meant I couldn’t stray from what I saw, and almost literally,through my camera; couldn’t defect to some sort of ‘God’s (or generic journalist’s) eye view’. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com