My interest in political science was shaped in large part by reading fiction about autocratic rulers and the struggles of ordinary people navigating life under repression—or even fighting for survival. Below are five books that left a lasting impact on me.

This selection is followed by five academic works that have shaped my research interests in voter behavior and public opinion manipulation during electoral campaigns in the post-Soviet region and beyond.

I hope you will find these books as fascinating as I do.

Fiction books: Mario Benedetti. Springtime in the Broken Mirror. ~ Gabriel García Márquez. The Autumn of the Patriarch. ~ Ana Matute. The Island. ~ George Orwell. Homage to Catalonia. ~ Anatoly Pristavkin. The Inseparable Twins.

Academic books: Sarah Birch. Electoral Malpractice. ~ Henry Hale. Patronal Politics. ~ Lee Morgenbesser. The Rise of Sophisticated Authoritarianism. ~ Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation. ~ Andreas Schedler. The Politics of Uncertainty.