A Russian Diary

[5] According to Viv Groskop of The Guardian, A Russian Diary has a stronger emphasis on politics compared to A Dirty War and Putin's Russia, and therefore is "less moving and immediate".

[2] Kendall also found it strange that Politkovskaya did not discuss falling ill shortly before trying to fly to Beslan due to tea that she drank at the airport, a coincidence that led some to believe that she may have been poisoned, but was not remarked upon.

[2] Andrew Meier wrote in The New York Times that Politkovskaya's "insightful black humor" was a positive, and helped to alleviate the intensity of the content depicted.

"Her murder robbed too many of us of absolutely vital sources of information and contact", he concluded, "Yet it may, ultimately, be seen to have at least helped prepare the way for the unmasking of the dark forces at the heart of Russia's current being.

"[10] Kirkus Reviews stated that the diary entries in the book "may lack total journalistic objectivity, but Politkovskaya more than justifies her bias with this emotional portrait of the dangerous lives of the Russian people.