TEHRAN – The Persian translation of the book “Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Remaking of the West” written by Luke Harding has been released in the Iranian book market.

Abdolhamid Bayati has translated the book that has been brought out in 304 pages, Mehr reported.

The book is a thrilling account of how Russia is waging a hidden war against America and the West, using espionage, corruption, fake news, and KGB-style murder.

In March 2018, two Russian assassins arrive in a provincial English city to kill a former officer from Russia’s GRU intelligence agency. His crime? Passing secrets to British spies. The poison? A lethal nerve agent, Novichok. The attempted execution was a reminder – as if one were needed - of Russia’s contempt for international norms. The Soviet Union and its doctrine are long gone, but the playbook used by the Kremlin’s spies during that long confrontation with the West is back. And the underlying goal remains the same: to undermine democracy and exploit divisions within American and European society and politics.

Moscow’s support for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election has grown into the biggest political scandal of modern times. Its American players are well-known. In “Shadow State,” award-winning journalist and bestselling author Luke Harding reveals the Russians behind the story: the spies, hackers, and internet trolls. 

Harding charts how the Kremlin has updated Communist-era methods of influence and propaganda for the age of Facebook and Twitter, and considers the compelling question of our age: what exactly does Vladimir Putin have on President Trump?

Similar to those of the Cold War, Putin’s ambitions are truly global. His emissaries include oligarchs, bankers, lawyers, mercenaries, and agents of influence. They roam from Salisbury to Helsinki, Ukraine to Central Africa, London to Washington, D.C. 

“Shadow State” is the singular account of how the Kremlin seeks to reshape the world, to divide the US from its European friends, and to remake America in its own dark and kleptocratic image.

Luke Harding, 58, is a British journalist who is a foreign correspondent for The Guardian. He is known for his coverage of Russia under Vladimir Putin, WikiLeaks, and Edward Snowden.

He was based in Russia for The Guardian as their Moscow bureau chief from 2007 until, returning from a trip out of the country in 2011, he was refused re-entry to Russia and deported the same day. 

His 2011 book “Mafia State” discusses his experience in Russia and the political system under Vladimir Putin. His subsequent books include “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy” and “The Snowden Files”.

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