Mikhail Zygar’s book Imperiia dolzhna umeret' (The Empire Must Die) was written in 2017, for the centenary of the two Russian revolutions, February and October. It traces, step by step, how the events unfolded that led the imperial House of Romanov to an inglorious fall and Russia to the greatest historical catastrophe, the consequences of which have still not been overcome. The author draws on numerous written testimonies of those days (archival documents, letters, newspapers, proclamations, memoirs) to understand what led to the collapse of a regime that had seemed unshakable. Was it doomed? Who took a direct part in these events? And why was the Provisional Government of young democratic Russia unable to prevent the Bolshevik coup, which became the first step toward establishing one of the darkest dictatorships of the twentieth century?

This book is being reissued by the Meduza publishing house in partnership with Zygaro.