Ilya Venyavkin, author of "The Temple of War," explored the life trajectories and ideological perspectives of several public figures who played a key role in Russia's transformation from the unstable democracy of the early 1990s to the deeply militarized and chauvinistic autocracy of the early 2020s. Satirist Mikhail Zadornov, Army General Sergei Surovikin, security officer Nikolai Patrushev, economist Elvira Nabiullina, priest Mikhail Vasiliev, philosopher Alexander Dugin, political strategist Timofey Sergeytsev, media manager Margarita Simonyan, and blogger Andrei "Murz" Morozov—using these nine individuals as examples, the author demonstrates the origins of the peculiar religion of war that captivated so many minds and led modern Russian society to embrace aggression against Ukraine.

Ilya Venyavkin is a historian and co-founder of the Russian Independent Media Archive. Meduza is publishing his book, The Temple of War, in collaboration with the StraightForward Foundation.