The Dark Side of the Earth. Is the Cold War Over
hosted by Professor
Sergey Radchenko
Mikhail Zygar
Journalist, Historian, and Bestselling Author
Mikhail Zygar is a journalist, historian, and bestselling author, known for his work on Russian politics, propaganda, and authoritarianism. He was the founding editor-in-chief of TV Rain (Dozhd), Russia's only independent news television channel, which became a critical voice against state censorship before he was forced into exile.
Zygar is the author of several internationally acclaimed books, including
All the Kremlin's Men (2015), a bestseller that provides an insider's account of Vladimir Putin's inner circle;
The Empire Must Die (2017), a deeply researched narrative on the fall of the Russian Empire and the revolutionary forces of the early 20th century; and
War and Punishment. Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (2023), which was named one of
The New Yorker's best books of 2023. His most recent book,
The Dark Side of the Earth (2025), expands his long-standing interest in how private lives, love, and fear intersect with grand historical violence; the book received a Kirkus star; a
Times History Book Of The Year 2025. Zygar's books have been translated into multiple languages and are widely used in academic and journalistic discussions on Russia.
Since relocating to the United States, Zygar has become a leading commentator on Russian affairs, regularly contributing op-eds to
The New York Times, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, Foreign Affairs, and
The Washington Post. He is also a frequent guest on CNN, providing expert analysis on Russia and global politics. In 2018, he was a TED Fellow and delivered a TED Talk on history, propaganda and disinformation. He is also the founder of Zygaro Publishing House, which publishes books banned in Russia under new censorship laws, and the author of the Substack newsletter
The Last Pioneer.
Zygar holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Portsmouth and degrees from MGIMO and Cairo University. He has lectured at different universities, including Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, and Stanford. In 2024, he taught at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs; in 2025, he is teaching at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and in the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Zygar was a participant in the 2025 Yale World Fellows Program, a global leadership initiative at Yale University. He is also a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.
Zygar also appeared as an expert in the Netflix documentary
Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, a series that explores the history of nuclear weapons and the geopolitical conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries. His insights contribute to the documentary's examination of the Cold War, Russia's role in global power struggles, and the lasting impact of nuclear politics.
His work continues to shape public and academic discourse on the challenges of democracy, media freedom, and historical memory.
