X-Book

Murder in the Gulag

Click Buy to Log in and see personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

'Murder in the Gulag is brilliant journalistic writing: punchy, eloquent, page-turning and factual. It's a powerful reminder of what an extraordinary man Navalny was' - Roland Oliphant, Telegraph

The gripping sequel to the bestselling Killer in the Kremlin, revised and updated for paperback publication.

2:19pm, Moscow time, 16 February 2024. The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District announces that Alexei Navalny is dead. The news sends shockwaves around the world.

In Murder in the Gulag, award-winning journalist John Sweeney goes behind the headlines to reveal what really happened to the Russian opposition leader in the freezing Polar Wolf penal colony in a remote part of Siberia. The book is less a whodunnit - Russian President Vladimir Putin's machinery of repression killed Navalny - than a howdunnit.

The narrative relates Navalny's extraordinary life story in technicolour detail, from his childhood summers spent with his grandparents in the shadow of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine to his untimely death at the age of 47, cut down in his prime.

This is a warts-and-all portrayal of a highly charismatic but controversial figure who flirted with far-right Russian nationalists before course-correcting, told by an intrepid journalist, based in London and Kyiv, who knew Navalny personally.

Murder in the Gulag contains a warning. Navalny made a fatal misjudgement in returning to Russia after his poisoning by Novichok in 2020, betting that Vladimir Putin wouldn't kill him. But as Putin has gained in strength, with the death of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the fortunes of war slowly turning in Russia's favour, Navalny lost that bet. Sweeney argues that if the West fails to stand up more forcefully to Putin, we are in danger not just of betraying Ukraine but our own security too.

Critics Review

Murder in the Gulag is brilliant journalistic writing: punchy, eloquent, page-turning and factual. It's a powerful reminder of what an extraordinary man Navalny was.
Telegraph
[Sweeney] has done a valuable service with this lively page-turner. He is keeping Navalny's name alive and has shown that, despite all that Putin has done to corrupt society, there is a core of decency in Russia.
The Times
[a] forensic and compelling account
RTÉ Guide
In a grimly fascinating read, Sweeney provides a crash course in Russia's recent history . . . and provides a genuinely frightening depiction of what it means to challenge the Russian leader's grasp on power.
The Irish Times
Passionate . . . Sweeney not only gives a detailed backstory to this flawed hero, but also provides an insight into Putin's fears and the lengths he will go to to silence all opposition: something that too many Western observers are still reluctant to understand.
Irish Independent
There is a growing realisation that the West has, yet again, been naively neglectful and that we must do much, much more to secure our world and our children's world too. Sweeney's Murder in the Gulag is a very timely and valuable contribution to that debate and process.
Irish Examiner
Author John Sweeney
Narrator John Sweeney
Duration 10 hours and 43 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781035422326
Format Audiobook
Publisher Headline
Genre Biography: historical, political and military, Corruption in politics, government and society, Politics and government, True crime
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK’s only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at £8.99. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from £3.99. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.