Listen free for 30 days
-
Putin's People
- How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West
- Narrated by: Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $39.07
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Buy it with
-
MBS
- The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
- Written by: Ben Hubbard
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince emerged from Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family to overhaul the economy and society of the richest country in the Middle East - and gather as much power as possible into his own hands. Since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his influence to restructure the kingdom’s economy, loosen its strict Islamic social codes, and confront its enemies around the region, especially Iran.
-
-
Informative
- By Cheryl Benoit on 2020-07-18
Written by: Ben Hubbard
-
Blood and Oil
- Mohammed bin Salman's Ruthless Quest for Global Power
- Written by: Bradley Hope, Justin Scheck
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From award-winning Wall Street Journal reporters comes a revelatory look at the inner workings of the world's most powerful royal family, and how the struggle for succession produced Saudi Arabia's charismatic but ruthless Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS.
-
-
first half is amazing.
- By Amandip Sanghera on 2022-08-25
Written by: Bradley Hope, and others
-
From Russia with Blood
- The Kremlin's Ruthless Assassination Program and Vladimir Putin's Secret War on the West
- Written by: Heidi Blake
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The untold story of how Russia refined the art and science of targeted assassination abroad - while Western spies watched in horror as their governments failed to guard against the threat. Unflinchingly documenting the growing web of death on British and American soil, Heidi Blake bravely exposes the Kremlin's assassination campaign as part of Putin's ruthless pursuit of global dominance - and reveals why Western governments have failed to stop the bloodshed.
-
-
Phenomenal
- By Kimberley Clark on 2022-10-28
Written by: Heidi Blake
-
Overreach
- The Inside Story of Putin’s War Against Ukraine
- Written by: Owen Matthews
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War—and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime—and Russia itself—at risk of destruction. Why? Drawing on over 25 years’ experience working in Moscow, journalist Owen Matthews provides the answer. He takes us inside the COVID bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of nationalist fantasy and bad information.
-
-
interesting listen.
- By Graham Ducke Oldreive on 2023-01-24
Written by: Owen Matthews
-
Control Freak
- My Epic Adventure Making Video Games
- Written by: Cliff Bleszinski
- Narrated by: Kurt Kanazawa
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Video games are dominating the planet. In 2020, they brought in $180 billion dollars globally—nearly $34 billion in the United States alone. So who are the brilliant designers who create these stunning virtual worlds? Cliff Bleszinski—or CliffyB as he is known to gamers—is one of the few who’ve reached mythical, rock-star status. In Control Freak, he gives an unvarnished, all-access tour of the business.
-
-
Inspiring - You've got to lose, to know how to win
- By James on 2022-11-15
Written by: Cliff Bleszinski
-
Kleptopia
- How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World
- Written by: Tom Burgis
- Narrated by: Tom Burgis
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this real-life thriller packed with jaw-dropping revelations, award-winning investigative journalist Tom Burgis weaves together stories that reveal a terrifying global web of corruption. Glimpses of this shadowy world have emerged over the years. In Kleptopia, Burgis connects the dots. He follows the dirty money that is flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators, and poisoning democracies. From the Kremlin to Beijing, Harare to Riyadh, Paris to the White House, the trail shows something even more sinister: the thieves are uniting. And the human cost will be great.
-
-
If you want to know more and understand
- By Paul J. Lane on 2022-03-14
Written by: Tom Burgis
-
MBS
- The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
- Written by: Ben Hubbard
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince emerged from Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family to overhaul the economy and society of the richest country in the Middle East - and gather as much power as possible into his own hands. Since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his influence to restructure the kingdom’s economy, loosen its strict Islamic social codes, and confront its enemies around the region, especially Iran.
-
-
Informative
- By Cheryl Benoit on 2020-07-18
Written by: Ben Hubbard
-
Blood and Oil
- Mohammed bin Salman's Ruthless Quest for Global Power
- Written by: Bradley Hope, Justin Scheck
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From award-winning Wall Street Journal reporters comes a revelatory look at the inner workings of the world's most powerful royal family, and how the struggle for succession produced Saudi Arabia's charismatic but ruthless Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS.
-
-
first half is amazing.
- By Amandip Sanghera on 2022-08-25
Written by: Bradley Hope, and others
-
From Russia with Blood
- The Kremlin's Ruthless Assassination Program and Vladimir Putin's Secret War on the West
- Written by: Heidi Blake
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The untold story of how Russia refined the art and science of targeted assassination abroad - while Western spies watched in horror as their governments failed to guard against the threat. Unflinchingly documenting the growing web of death on British and American soil, Heidi Blake bravely exposes the Kremlin's assassination campaign as part of Putin's ruthless pursuit of global dominance - and reveals why Western governments have failed to stop the bloodshed.
-
-
Phenomenal
- By Kimberley Clark on 2022-10-28
Written by: Heidi Blake
-
Overreach
- The Inside Story of Putin’s War Against Ukraine
- Written by: Owen Matthews
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War—and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime—and Russia itself—at risk of destruction. Why? Drawing on over 25 years’ experience working in Moscow, journalist Owen Matthews provides the answer. He takes us inside the COVID bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of nationalist fantasy and bad information.
-
-
interesting listen.
- By Graham Ducke Oldreive on 2023-01-24
Written by: Owen Matthews
-
Control Freak
- My Epic Adventure Making Video Games
- Written by: Cliff Bleszinski
- Narrated by: Kurt Kanazawa
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Video games are dominating the planet. In 2020, they brought in $180 billion dollars globally—nearly $34 billion in the United States alone. So who are the brilliant designers who create these stunning virtual worlds? Cliff Bleszinski—or CliffyB as he is known to gamers—is one of the few who’ve reached mythical, rock-star status. In Control Freak, he gives an unvarnished, all-access tour of the business.
-
-
Inspiring - You've got to lose, to know how to win
- By James on 2022-11-15
Written by: Cliff Bleszinski
-
Kleptopia
- How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World
- Written by: Tom Burgis
- Narrated by: Tom Burgis
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this real-life thriller packed with jaw-dropping revelations, award-winning investigative journalist Tom Burgis weaves together stories that reveal a terrifying global web of corruption. Glimpses of this shadowy world have emerged over the years. In Kleptopia, Burgis connects the dots. He follows the dirty money that is flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators, and poisoning democracies. From the Kremlin to Beijing, Harare to Riyadh, Paris to the White House, the trail shows something even more sinister: the thieves are uniting. And the human cost will be great.
-
-
If you want to know more and understand
- By Paul J. Lane on 2022-03-14
Written by: Tom Burgis
-
Putin's Playbook
- Russia's Secret Plan to Defeat America
- Written by: Rebekah Koffler
- Narrated by: Joyce Sternton
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle have accused Russia of interfering with our elections and our intelligence agencies. But the war Russia is waging against America is very different from anything you have heard in the press, as Russian-born US intelligence expert Rebekah Koffler reveals. In Putin’s Playbook, Koffler details how Vladimir Putin is orchestrating a wide-ranging, multifaceted campaign to retake his country’s role as a superpower and to defeat America in the process.
-
-
Incredible insight into American intelligence and poutine
- By Cedric Canu on 2022-06-07
Written by: Rebekah Koffler
-
Freezing Order
- A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, State-Sponsored Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath
- Written by: Bill Browder
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Browder’s young Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in a Moscow jail in 2009, Browder cast aside his business career and made it his life’s mission to pursue justice for Sergei. One of the first steps of that mission was to uncover who had killed Sergei and profited from the $230 million corruption scheme that he had exposed. As Browder and his team tracked the money that flowed out of Russia—through the Baltics and Cyprus and on to Western Europe and the Americas—they discovered that Vladimir Putin himself was one of the beneficiaries of the crime.
-
-
I loved it!
- By Sam on 2022-05-09
Written by: Bill Browder
-
The Russia Conundrum
- How the West Fell for Putin's Power Gambit—and How to Fix It
- Written by: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Martin Sixsmith - contributor
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has seen behind the mask of Vladimir Putin. Once an oil tycoon and the richest man in Russia, Khodorkovsky spoke out against the corruption of Putin's regime—and was punished by the Kremlin, stripped of his entire wealth and jailed for over ten years. Now freed, working as a pro-democracy campaigner in enforced exile, Khodorkovsky brings us the insider's battle to save his country's soul. Offering an urgent analysis of what has gone wrong with Putin, The Russia Conundrum maps the country's rise and fall against Khodorkovsky's own journey.
Written by: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and others
-
The Putin Interviews
- Oliver Stone Interviews Vladimir Putin
- Written by: Oliver Stone
- Narrated by: Pete Cross, Qarie Marshall
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Supplemented with referential information and culled from more than a dozen interviews with Putin over a two-year period - spanning Stone's first trip to Moscow to meet with NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden to his most recent visit after the election of President Donald Trump - The Putin Interviews is based on what journalists, news organizations, and other world leaders have long coveted: extended, unprecedented access to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
-
-
Putin is the greatest statesman of our time.
- By Paul on 2018-02-12
Written by: Oliver Stone
-
Winter Is Coming
- Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped
- Written by: Garry Kasparov
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ascension of Vladimir Putin - a former lieutenant colonel of the KGB - to the presidency of Russia in 1999 should have been a signal that the country was headed away from democracy. Yet in the intervening years - as America and the world's other leading powers have continued to appease him - Putin has grown into not only a dictator but a global threat. With his vast resources and nuclear weapons, Putin is at the center of a worldwide assault on political liberty.
-
-
Great Look at Putin's Rise and Hold on Power
- By Chris on 2019-10-31
Written by: Garry Kasparov
-
The New Tsar
- The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin
- Written by: Steven Lee Myers
- Narrated by: René Ruiz
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The epic tale of the rise to power of Russia's current president - the only complete biography in English - that fully captures his emergence from shrouded obscurity and deprivation to become one of the most consequential and complicated leaders in modern history, by the former New York Times Moscow bureau chief.
-
-
Timely
- By TBInAB on 2018-09-14
Written by: Steven Lee Myers
-
There Is Nothing For You Here
- Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century
- Written by: Fiona Hill
- Narrated by: Fiona Hill
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A celebrated foreign policy expert and key impeachment witness reveals how declining opportunity has set America on the grim path of modern Russia—and draws on her personal journey out of poverty, as well as her unique perspectives as an historian and policy maker, to show how we can return hope to our forgotten places.
-
-
Important personal and policy memoir
- By DM on 2021-10-24
Written by: Fiona Hill
-
All the Kremlin's Men
- Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin
- Written by: Mikhail Zygar
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All the Kremlin's Men is a gripping narrative of an accidental king and a court out of control. Based on an unprecedented series of interviews with Vladimir Putin's inner circle, this book presents a radically different view of power and politics in Russia. The image of Putin as a strongman is dissolved. In its place is a weary figurehead buffeted - if not controlled - by the men who at once advise and deceive him. The regional governors and bureaucratic leaders are immovable objects, far more powerful in their fiefdoms than the president himself.
Written by: Mikhail Zygar
-
Secrecy World
- Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite
- Written by: Jake Bernstein
- Narrated by: Jake Bernstein
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Secrecy World offers a disturbing and sobering view of how the world really works and raises crucial questions about financial and legal institutions we may once have trusted. This audiobook discusses the fragile scaffolding upholding any tax haven, the flexible laws of banking, and the radiating impact of an international financial scandal.
-
-
Good listen, but pay close attention
- By James on 2021-08-07
Written by: Jake Bernstein
-
Active Measures
- The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare
- Written by: Thomas Rid
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in the age of disinformation - of organized deception. Spy agencies pour vast resources into hacking, leaking, and forging data, often with the goal of weakening the very foundation of liberal democracy: trust in facts. Thomas Rid, a renowned expert on technology and national security, was one of the first to sound the alarm, even before the 2016 election. But this is not new. The story of modern disinformation begins with the clash between communism and capitalism after the Russian Revolution.
-
-
Neat history
- By AxWRR53 on 2022-05-07
Written by: Thomas Rid
-
On Tyranny (Expanded Audio Edition)
- Updated with Twenty New Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine
- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this exclusive audiobook edition, which includes eight hours of new content, Snyder combines the original essays from On Tyranny with twenty new lessons that answer the questions everyone is asking about this war. With forays into history, he clarifies the causes of the Russian invasion and the meaning of Ukrainian resistance, and explains the war's connections to threats to democracy here in the United States and around the world. Linking past and present, speaking only from notes, he guides the listener into the larger moral universe of On Tyranny.
-
-
Listen to this...
- By Destry Rides on 2022-11-17
Written by: Timothy Snyder
-
Gulag
- A History
- Written by: Anne Applebaum
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 27 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Gulag - a vast array of Soviet concentration camps that held millions of political and criminal prisoners - was a system of repression and punishment that terrorized the entire society, embodying the worst tendencies of Soviet communism. In this magisterial and acclaimed history, Anne Applebaum offers the first fully documented portrait of the Gulag, from its origins in the Russian Revolution, through its expansion under Stalin, to its collapse in the era of glasnost.
-
-
Well researched but wish there were more stats
- By Anonymous User on 2022-06-30
Written by: Anne Applebaum
Publisher's Summary
"This riveting, immaculately researched book is arguably the best single volume written about Putin, the people around him and perhaps even about contemporary Russia itself in the past three decades." (Peter Frankopan, Financial Times)
Interference in American elections. The sponsorship of extremist politics in Europe. War in Ukraine. In recent years, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has waged a concerted campaign to expand its influence and undermine Western institutions. But how and why did all this come about, and who has orchestrated it?
In Putin’s People, the investigative journalist and former Moscow correspondent Catherine Belton reveals the untold story of how Vladimir Putin and the small group of KGB men surrounding him rose to power and looted their country. Delving deep into the workings of Putin’s Kremlin, Belton accesses key inside players to reveal how Putin replaced the freewheeling tycoons of the Yeltsin era with a new generation of loyal oligarchs, who in turn subverted Russia’s economy and legal system and extended the Kremlin's reach into the United States and Europe. The result is a chilling and revelatory exposé of the KGB’s revanche - a story that begins in the murk of the Soviet collapse, when networks of operatives were able to siphon billions of dollars out of state enterprises and move their spoils into the West. Putin and his allies subsequently completed the agenda, reasserting Russian power while taking control of the economy for themselves, suppressing independent voices, and launching covert influence operations abroad.
Ranging from Moscow and London to Switzerland and Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach - and assembling a colorful cast of characters to match - Putin’s People is the definitive account of how hopes for the new Russia went astray, with stark consequences for its inhabitants and, increasingly, the world.
Financial Times Books of the Year - 2020
The Telegraph (UK) Best Books of the Year - 2020
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
More from the same
What listeners say about Putin's People
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2022-08-03
Fascinatingly Depressing
A very well researched and detailed history of recent Russian politics that then goes into how Russia corrupted Western banking, business and politics.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- fishface42
- 2021-08-31
Read the printed book.
Crucial and appalling story of Russia’s devolution to a mafia state with Putin as godfather. Packed with evidential facts to the point that I was often in a brain fog of Russian names and villainous characters, all turning into a blur. Nonetheless, important reading to learn how Putin and his secret services are undermining democracy and the rule of law worldwide. Narrator is irritating; listen to excerpt and decide.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patricia Smith
- 2021-08-22
A real page turner
Belton provides great insight into Russia today, where Putin came from, how he came upon such enormous tsar-like power, and how he, and his cronies, seek to control the West today. I have often wondered why the West has tolerated Putin’s political interference and blatant assassination campaigns for so long and in this book it becomes depressingly clear why, endemic corruption. All levels of political power in the West have been bought to one degree or another and as long as it doesn’t really affect the voters, nothing in done. This a is very brave piece of journalism and I hope Belton not only survives the UK libel courts where she is being sued by a couple of the named oligarchs, but also survives Putin’s thirst for revenge. She also names and shames a number of other political characters, how they will react will also be interesting to see. There is so much detail and the narrator speaks so quickly that I need to listen to it again now just to get the facts straight in my head. My only criticism is the narrator who seems constantly out of breath.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer Gillingham
- 2020-11-30
Interesting look into Putins past
An extremely entertaining listen. I was hooked from start to finish. Probably worth some fact checks, and the author is clearly biased against Trump. Still great!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Victoria Eriksson
- 2020-08-22
Ultimate in nonfiction on Putinism.
I've read about 15 nonfiction books about Putin's Russia in the past 4 years. This was the best. Whether you're a novice or a Kremlin-watching expert, this is well-worth your time! I loved her perspective on Putin's earliest KGB days, it's not the standard narrative but I think she's correct about his days in Dresden. It also covers Putin's kleptocracy and dictatorship really brilliantly. Her sources are unparalleled and she is very thorough about Yanukovych, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. I devoured the book in under a week. Every citizen of the UK, US & Europe it is in your immediate interest to read this book. The national security of the entire West depends on it!
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- K
- 2020-07-15
very good
this book is near perfect. last chapter is the weakest. it tries to incriminate trump, but doesnt do it successfully. yes, i agree russians were happy when he won, and in fact may have gelp him win, but ever since he became a president nothing got easier for russia. he may have benefited but has not returned favor..
other than luberal bias toward trump, this book is near perfect. mafia rules over russia
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Professor Woland
- 2020-07-30
Feels a lot of gap
Those of us following Russia this may fill a lot of interesting gaps and raise some questions. Good information and my only complaint is the narrator.... one his pronunciation of names and words was a lot of times just wrong, but this relentless rush to get through it did not help. I would love to listen to this again to make sure I got some things right, but I don’t think I can face 20 some hours of his urgency. These are descriptions of intricate connections over some 40 years with many references they can be spewed out like a breaking news report on fox.... slow the #*%^ down man...
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Brendon
- 2021-05-30
INFORMATIVE - HIGHLY OVERTLY ANNOYINGLY PARTISAN
Should be subtitled, "Orange Man bad." Trump is a VILE amoral moron. We get it. And the U.S establishment? There was zero attempt at ANY balance in this book. It's a "highly informative hit piece."
But I picked up an awful lot of information. Many thanks.
P.S - next time you write about Russia...Israel should be in the same sentence. ZERO analysis on the Putin Netanyahu relationship and GRU penetration of Israel. "Orange Man bad", only takes you so far. Try harder next time. Preferably with three new chapters on Vlad & Bi Bi and Chabad Lubavitch please with technology transfer front and center.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- What Matters
- 2020-10-06
Essential reading to understand post Soviet Russia
Catherine Benton writes brilliantly about the Byzantine workings of Putin’s Russia and how billions of dollars looted from the state properties of the USSR has empowered Putin’s People to amass enormous domestic and international power. She presents a detailed case of corruption leveraging these looted and laundered billions in influencing politics in the West and contributing to Brexit and the election of Donal Trump. This furthers a resentful Putin’s revenge against NATO, EU, and the western alliance Putin has used his judo black belt well understanding that capitalist greed for money can be used against the longer term interests of their nation.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 2020-09-05
What a tangled web...
Belton patiently lays out the story of Putin’s rise from poverty through the ranks of the KGB to the undisputed neo-tsar like a sinister chess game. Most of the book lays the board for game play, assembling the unbelievably complicated network of chekists & black market bag men & enforcers, & even Russian Orthodox figures who made alliances in unlikely places using laundered money. This could not possibly be a more timely read: Biden warned of the great dangers of RU corruption early, & Trump was the Kremlin’s ideal target for corruption. But Russia’s ambitions for recapturing the glories of its imperial past threaten far more than just a US election. A very clear-eyed assessment, unsentimental about the West’s mistakes in underestimating its Cold War rival, this is a major work of investigative reporting which should be read everywhere.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Krmartin
- 2022-01-16
Good….until the author bowed to the hysterical left.
Enjoyed this book and learned much. And then the “jump the shark” last chapter which ridiculously turned to Trump. I guess I missed the chapter on Joe Biden and son in Russia and Ukraine. Hopefully, soon our “journalists” and authors will awaken to the immaturity and silliness of the Trump obsession and grasp for something akin to objectivity.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- rodan
- 2021-08-13
terrifying...
yup... so not a hoax...
Putin's crew has the cash to buy the world...
the amount of corruption in the Russian government is amazing if 10% of this is true.
and i suspect more like 98% of it is true.
well written. not political. but globally insightful.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nancy V
- 2022-05-04
Russians Need to Revolt. Putin and His People. BAD
This is an excellent but depressing portrayal of the never ending lies, deceit and corruption of the Soviet State. It is hard to believe people don't revolt en mass? You can't make this up. Horrible life for most. With such a history of dictators and stealing from people, perhaps just having food to eat is enough? Mother Russia is a joke. They kill their own people if it suits them politically. Makes me happy we are helping Ukraine. At least it is a necessary revolt. Hopefully they will win.
if you want to understand evil at its roots and how it destroys government, read this book. Putin will go down in history as a criminal the likes of which rivals Hitler.
Makes me want to work in any way I can to strengthen our democracy.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kindle Customer
- 2022-03-12
Current & Well Researched
The author did an amazing job of research coupled with readability. This book is perfect for the layman of current Russian political life.
2 people found this helpful