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Blowing up Russia: The Book that Got Litvinenko Murdered
Blowing Up Russia contains the allegations of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko against his former spymasters in Moscow which led to his being murdered in London in November 2006.
In the book he and historian Yuri Felshtinsky detail how since 1999 the Russian secret service has been hatching a plot to return to the terror that was the hallmark of the KGB. Vividly written and based on Litvinenko's 20 years of insider knowledge of Russian spy campaigns, Blowing Up Russia describes how the successor of the KGB fabricated terrorist attacks and launched a war.
Writing about Litvinenko, the surviving co-author recounts how the banning of the book in Russia led to three earlier deaths.
In the book he and historian Yuri Felshtinsky detail how since 1999 the Russian secret service has been hatching a plot to return to the terror that was the hallmark of the KGB. Vividly written and based on Litvinenko's 20 years of insider knowledge of Russian spy campaigns, Blowing Up Russia describes how the successor of the KGB fabricated terrorist attacks and launched a war.
Writing about Litvinenko, the surviving co-author recounts how the banning of the book in Russia led to three earlier deaths.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
287 people are currently reading
2166 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Litvinenko
7 books22 followersAlexander Valterovich Litvinenko (Russian: Александр Вальтерович Литвиненко) was a former officer of the Russian State security service, and later a Russian dissident and writer.
Litvinenko became a KGB officer in 1986, and two years later, was moved into the Military Counter Intelligence. He was promoted to the Central Staff, and specialised in counter-terrorism and infiltration of organised crime. Six years later, he was promoted to senior operational officer and deputy head of the Seventh Section of the FSB.
In November 1998, Litvinenko publicly accused his superiors of ordering the assassination of Russian tycoon and oligarch, Boris Berezovsky. Litvinenko was arrested the following March on charges of exceeding his authority at work. He was acquitted in November 1999 but re-arrested before the charges were again dismissed in 2000. A third criminal case began but he fled the country to the United Kingdom with his wife, where he was granted political asylum. During his time in London Litvinenko authored two books, Blowing up Russia: Terror from within and Lubyanka Criminal Group, where he accused Russian secret services of staging Russian apartment bombings and other terrorism acts to bring Vladimir Putin to power.
On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized. He died three weeks later from lethal poisoning by radioactive polonium-210.
Litvinenko became a KGB officer in 1986, and two years later, was moved into the Military Counter Intelligence. He was promoted to the Central Staff, and specialised in counter-terrorism and infiltration of organised crime. Six years later, he was promoted to senior operational officer and deputy head of the Seventh Section of the FSB.
In November 1998, Litvinenko publicly accused his superiors of ordering the assassination of Russian tycoon and oligarch, Boris Berezovsky. Litvinenko was arrested the following March on charges of exceeding his authority at work. He was acquitted in November 1999 but re-arrested before the charges were again dismissed in 2000. A third criminal case began but he fled the country to the United Kingdom with his wife, where he was granted political asylum. During his time in London Litvinenko authored two books, Blowing up Russia: Terror from within and Lubyanka Criminal Group, where he accused Russian secret services of staging Russian apartment bombings and other terrorism acts to bring Vladimir Putin to power.
On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized. He died three weeks later from lethal poisoning by radioactive polonium-210.
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January 12, 2016
Description: Blowing Up Russia contains the allegations of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko against his former spymasters in Moscow which led to his being murdered in London in November 2006. In the book he and historian Yuri Felshtinsky detail how since 1999 the Russian secret service has been hatching a plot to return to the terror that was the hallmark of the KGB. Vividly written and based on Litvinenko's 20 years of insider knowledge of Russian spy campaigns, Blowing Up Russia describes how the successor of the KGB fabricated terrorist attacks and launched a war. Writing about Litvinenko, the surviving co-author recounts how the banning of the book in Russia led to three earlier deaths.
The strapline: Acts of terror, abductions, and contract killings organized by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
Translated from Russian by
Geoffrey Andrews and Co.
Opening: Chapter 1: The FSB foments war in Chechnya: No one but a total madman could have wished to drag Russia into any kind of war, let alone a war in the North Caucasus. As if Afghanistan had never happened. As if it weren’t clear in advance what course such a war would follow, or just what would be the outcome and the consequences of a war declared within the confines of a multinational state against a proud, vengeful, and warlike people. How could Russia possibly have become embroiled in one of its most shameful wars during the very period of its development which was most democratic in form and most liberal in spirit?
Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudaev
Chapter 2: The secret services run riot: It is worth noting the way in which the press office of the Russian government described the terrorist attack carried out on December 23: “Information has been received concerning the dispatch to Moscow [from Chechnya] of three experienced guerrilla fighters, including one woman, who have instructions to assume the leadership of groups of terrorists sent here previously."
The Sting tips Yeltsin, democracy and liberalism into the abyss.
Chapter 3: Moscow detectives take on the FSB: Tskhai was made head of the Twelfth Section, which specialized in solving contract killings, and only ten months later, he was already the deputy chief of MUR (Moscow Criminal Investigation Department). He had previously worked in the Central Criminal Investigation Department (GUUR) of the Russian Ministry of the Interior.
Wiki sourced: In 2007 investigator Mikhail Trepashkin said that, according to his FSB sources, "everyone who was involved in the publication of the book Blowing up Russia will be killed", and that three FSB agents have made a trip to Boston to prepare the assassination of Felshtinsky. After death of exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who sponsored the book, Felshinsky suggested that Berezovsky was killed.
Boris Berezovsky
Chapter 4: Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (a biographical note): Whereas during the first Chechen war of 1994-1996, the state security forces had simply been attempting to forestall Russia’s development towards a liberal-democratic society, the political goals of the second Chechen war were far more serious: to provoke Russia into war with Chechnya, and to exploit the ensuing commotion to seize power in Russia
at the forthcoming presidential elections in 2000. The “honor” of provoking a war with Chechnya fell to the new director of the FSB, Colonel-General Patrushev.
Patrushev Nikolay Platonovich
Chapter 5: The FSB fiasco in Ryazan:
"When someone commits a crime, it’s very important to catch them while the trail is still hot. Nikolai Patrushev—about the events in Ryazan. Itogi, 5 October 1999
In September 1999, monstrous acts of terrorism were perpetrated in Buinaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk. We shall begin with the terrorist attack which could have been the most terrible of them all, if it had not been foiled. On September 22, something unexpected happened: in Ryazan, FSB operatives were spotted planting sugar sacks containing hexogene in the bedroom community of Dashkovo-Pesochnya.
Chapter 6: The FSB resorts to mass terror: Buinaksk, Moscow,
Volgodonsk: The perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in Buinaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk were never found, and we can only guess at who was behind the attacks by analogy with the events in Ryazan. In these three towns, the Ryazan-style “exercises” were carried through to their intended conclusion, and the lives of several hundred people were abruptly cut short or totally ruined.
Chapter 7: The FSB against the people: So far the terrorists had not been identified, or rather they had been identified as not being Chechens. The failed bombing attempt in Ryazan prompted the public to think that the FSB might be behind the bombings. For the “party of war” this was just one more indication that a full-scale war in Chechnya had to be started as soon as possible. The date of September 24 was no coincidence, for if the bombing in Ryazan had succeeded, Putin and the heads of all the military and law enforcement ministries were scheduled to make hard-line speeches in response.
Chapter 8: The FSB sets up free-lance special operations groups: Free-lance conspiratorial military operations groups consisting of former and current members of special armed forces units and the structures of law enforcement began to be set up in Russia in the 1980s.
Chapter 9: The FSB organizes contract killings: From 1993, Lazovsky’s brigade included the Uzbek Quartet. All four of the group were Russians who had been born in Uzbekistan. They were also former special operations
group officers who, according to the head of the 10th Section of the Moscow RUOP, Vitaly Serdiukov, were supremely skilled in using all forms of firearms and could improvise powerful bombs from items that happened to be at hand. These four criminals specialized in contract killings.
Chapter 10: The secret services and abductions: Every time we hear about beheadings, we are reminded of the abduction and brutal execution of hostages in Chechnya. Everybody knows that most of the abductions are
carried out by Chechen bandits in the hope of extorting ransom. Just how difficult a job it is to get hostages freed can be seen from the well-known case of the abduction of Magomet Keligov.
Chapter 11:The FSB: reform or dissolution?: For the sake of objectivity, we should point out that attempts to reform the FSB from within have been made by isolated individuals in the system, but they have not been successful. On the contrary, efforts made by individual FSB officers to maintain the honor of the ranks of the special agencies and the crushing defeat suffered by heroic individuals in this war have only served to demonstrate, yet, again, that reform of the FSB is impossible, and this agency of the state must be abolished.
NB All of the above is as aide memoire, my thoughts straight after reading:
Take a moment to consider all the innocents that had their lives cut short when the Party of War decided to make one of their own the absolute leader. It makes me so sad and I feel dirty knowing the methods employed, however I also now know, utterly and completely, that that man and his cronies are pure evil. No picture of him in Church or wrapping a shawl around a woman will sway my conviction that the world is sporting a megalomaniac equal to Stalin and Hitler.
Funnily enough, he is exactly where those above two were in 1935.
I am glad I have taken the trouble to read in depth everything I could lay my hands on to get a rounded picture as a considered opinion is always preferable to a knee-jerk.
To those agencies who have been alerted by my research items such as hexogene etc. (yep - read Snowden earlier this week so I know what I am talking about) I give you a granny wave and tell you not to worry.
27th November 2014:Russia puts ‘Putin’s banker’ Sergei Pugachev on Interpol wanted list. Thanks for the PBS link Susanna: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontli...
18:05:2015: Fears Russian tycoon Alexander Perepilichnyy may have poisoned with rare plant
12:01:2016: New evidence presented to the Litvinenko Justice Foundation in London suggests he could have been killed to prevent him from testifying about Vladimir Putin’s links with Russian organised crime. A Spanish prosecutor says he had arranged to hear evidence from Litvinenko in November 2006 — a week after he drank a lethal dose of Polonium-210 in London
The strapline: Acts of terror, abductions, and contract killings organized by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
Translated from Russian by
Geoffrey Andrews and Co.
Opening: Chapter 1: The FSB foments war in Chechnya: No one but a total madman could have wished to drag Russia into any kind of war, let alone a war in the North Caucasus. As if Afghanistan had never happened. As if it weren’t clear in advance what course such a war would follow, or just what would be the outcome and the consequences of a war declared within the confines of a multinational state against a proud, vengeful, and warlike people. How could Russia possibly have become embroiled in one of its most shameful wars during the very period of its development which was most democratic in form and most liberal in spirit?
Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudaev
Chapter 2: The secret services run riot: It is worth noting the way in which the press office of the Russian government described the terrorist attack carried out on December 23: “Information has been received concerning the dispatch to Moscow [from Chechnya] of three experienced guerrilla fighters, including one woman, who have instructions to assume the leadership of groups of terrorists sent here previously."
The Sting tips Yeltsin, democracy and liberalism into the abyss.
Chapter 3: Moscow detectives take on the FSB: Tskhai was made head of the Twelfth Section, which specialized in solving contract killings, and only ten months later, he was already the deputy chief of MUR (Moscow Criminal Investigation Department). He had previously worked in the Central Criminal Investigation Department (GUUR) of the Russian Ministry of the Interior.
Wiki sourced: In 2007 investigator Mikhail Trepashkin said that, according to his FSB sources, "everyone who was involved in the publication of the book Blowing up Russia will be killed", and that three FSB agents have made a trip to Boston to prepare the assassination of Felshtinsky. After death of exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who sponsored the book, Felshinsky suggested that Berezovsky was killed.
Boris Berezovsky
Chapter 4: Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (a biographical note): Whereas during the first Chechen war of 1994-1996, the state security forces had simply been attempting to forestall Russia’s development towards a liberal-democratic society, the political goals of the second Chechen war were far more serious: to provoke Russia into war with Chechnya, and to exploit the ensuing commotion to seize power in Russia
at the forthcoming presidential elections in 2000. The “honor” of provoking a war with Chechnya fell to the new director of the FSB, Colonel-General Patrushev.
Patrushev Nikolay Platonovich
Chapter 5: The FSB fiasco in Ryazan:
"When someone commits a crime, it’s very important to catch them while the trail is still hot. Nikolai Patrushev—about the events in Ryazan. Itogi, 5 October 1999
In September 1999, monstrous acts of terrorism were perpetrated in Buinaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk. We shall begin with the terrorist attack which could have been the most terrible of them all, if it had not been foiled. On September 22, something unexpected happened: in Ryazan, FSB operatives were spotted planting sugar sacks containing hexogene in the bedroom community of Dashkovo-Pesochnya.
Chapter 6: The FSB resorts to mass terror: Buinaksk, Moscow,
Volgodonsk: The perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in Buinaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk were never found, and we can only guess at who was behind the attacks by analogy with the events in Ryazan. In these three towns, the Ryazan-style “exercises” were carried through to their intended conclusion, and the lives of several hundred people were abruptly cut short or totally ruined.
Chapter 7: The FSB against the people: So far the terrorists had not been identified, or rather they had been identified as not being Chechens. The failed bombing attempt in Ryazan prompted the public to think that the FSB might be behind the bombings. For the “party of war” this was just one more indication that a full-scale war in Chechnya had to be started as soon as possible. The date of September 24 was no coincidence, for if the bombing in Ryazan had succeeded, Putin and the heads of all the military and law enforcement ministries were scheduled to make hard-line speeches in response.
Chapter 8: The FSB sets up free-lance special operations groups: Free-lance conspiratorial military operations groups consisting of former and current members of special armed forces units and the structures of law enforcement began to be set up in Russia in the 1980s.
Chapter 9: The FSB organizes contract killings: From 1993, Lazovsky’s brigade included the Uzbek Quartet. All four of the group were Russians who had been born in Uzbekistan. They were also former special operations
group officers who, according to the head of the 10th Section of the Moscow RUOP, Vitaly Serdiukov, were supremely skilled in using all forms of firearms and could improvise powerful bombs from items that happened to be at hand. These four criminals specialized in contract killings.
Chapter 10: The secret services and abductions: Every time we hear about beheadings, we are reminded of the abduction and brutal execution of hostages in Chechnya. Everybody knows that most of the abductions are
carried out by Chechen bandits in the hope of extorting ransom. Just how difficult a job it is to get hostages freed can be seen from the well-known case of the abduction of Magomet Keligov.
Chapter 11:The FSB: reform or dissolution?: For the sake of objectivity, we should point out that attempts to reform the FSB from within have been made by isolated individuals in the system, but they have not been successful. On the contrary, efforts made by individual FSB officers to maintain the honor of the ranks of the special agencies and the crushing defeat suffered by heroic individuals in this war have only served to demonstrate, yet, again, that reform of the FSB is impossible, and this agency of the state must be abolished.
NB All of the above is as aide memoire, my thoughts straight after reading: Take a moment to consider all the innocents that had their lives cut short when the Party of War decided to make one of their own the absolute leader. It makes me so sad and I feel dirty knowing the methods employed, however I also now know, utterly and completely, that that man and his cronies are pure evil. No picture of him in Church or wrapping a shawl around a woman will sway my conviction that the world is sporting a megalomaniac equal to Stalin and Hitler.
Funnily enough, he is exactly where those above two were in 1935.
I am glad I have taken the trouble to read in depth everything I could lay my hands on to get a rounded picture as a considered opinion is always preferable to a knee-jerk.
To those agencies who have been alerted by my research items such as hexogene etc. (yep - read Snowden earlier this week so I know what I am talking about) I give you a granny wave and tell you not to worry.
27th November 2014:Russia puts ‘Putin’s banker’ Sergei Pugachev on Interpol wanted list. Thanks for the PBS link Susanna: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontli...
18:05:2015: Fears Russian tycoon Alexander Perepilichnyy may have poisoned with rare plant
12:01:2016: New evidence presented to the Litvinenko Justice Foundation in London suggests he could have been killed to prevent him from testifying about Vladimir Putin’s links with Russian organised crime. A Spanish prosecutor says he had arranged to hear evidence from Litvinenko in November 2006 — a week after he drank a lethal dose of Polonium-210 in London
June 21, 2022
There may well be the odd one or two minor inaccuracies in amongst this unarguable, damning tirade.
The opening pages give a grisly, almost day-by-day, account of Alexander Litvinenko's death. I sets the tone, I'll agree, but it is, and I suppose meant to be, distasteful. I think it would have been enough to say, "He was poisoned with a horrible substance by some horrible people."
This unpicks the whole nest of vipers in the most persuasive detail. The former KGB, in all its hidden and camouflaged out-stations has greater control of the state than they did in the days of the Soviet Union: hard to imagine I know. Yes the KGB ruled the USSR, but it was a tired, ageing dinosaur and its eating habits were well-known. A dinosaur that did not perish, but evolved into a monster that used the aftermath of 1991 to secret itself into every corner and crevice of the newly forming Russian Federation.
We can all wonder at how it all was 'allowed' to happen. Why didn't Western intelligence see what was on the horizon? Well ....
"Why do the Yankees always win? The other team can't stop looking at the pinstripes." Frank Abagnale.
"Why did the IMF give $18 billion to Russia in August 2000? Were they too busy NOT looking at how the game was being played?
Should the West have seen this coming?
I have read that in the years leading up to 1991, the KGB 'shifted' more than $80 billion dollars from Russia into Swiss bank accounts: in cash, flown there in 'state-owned' business jets. A method of bank transfer NOT UNKNOWN to members of Western governments. Were the intelligence agencies fully expecting the KGB top brass to flit the nest, as rats do from sinking ships? I doubt they can be faulted for assuming so.
A great deal in here is truly remarkable, but none of it overshadows the fact that even though previews of the first edition (prior to Alexander Litvinenko's death) were put out in national newspapers and the authors eventually resorted to self-publishing 5000 Russian language copies, not one single 'Western' publishing house picked this up. That is worth note: 'big publishing' nowadays has one aim - making 'big bucks'.
Was it too distasteful?
If so, to whom?
'The Appeasement Committee'? - they do of course, as we have seen in this past week or ten days, have influential members.
What motivates those with their hands on the levers?
M. - Money ✓✓✓
I. - Ideology
C. - Compromat ✓✓✓
E. - Ego
I've read of a term openly used in regard to our fair capital: Londongrad !!!
I'm not a conspiracy theorist.
I'm a wonderer of 'WHY?'
The opening pages give a grisly, almost day-by-day, account of Alexander Litvinenko's death. I sets the tone, I'll agree, but it is, and I suppose meant to be, distasteful. I think it would have been enough to say, "He was poisoned with a horrible substance by some horrible people."
This unpicks the whole nest of vipers in the most persuasive detail. The former KGB, in all its hidden and camouflaged out-stations has greater control of the state than they did in the days of the Soviet Union: hard to imagine I know. Yes the KGB ruled the USSR, but it was a tired, ageing dinosaur and its eating habits were well-known. A dinosaur that did not perish, but evolved into a monster that used the aftermath of 1991 to secret itself into every corner and crevice of the newly forming Russian Federation.
We can all wonder at how it all was 'allowed' to happen. Why didn't Western intelligence see what was on the horizon? Well ....
"Why do the Yankees always win? The other team can't stop looking at the pinstripes." Frank Abagnale.
"Why did the IMF give $18 billion to Russia in August 2000? Were they too busy NOT looking at how the game was being played?
Should the West have seen this coming?
I have read that in the years leading up to 1991, the KGB 'shifted' more than $80 billion dollars from Russia into Swiss bank accounts: in cash, flown there in 'state-owned' business jets. A method of bank transfer NOT UNKNOWN to members of Western governments. Were the intelligence agencies fully expecting the KGB top brass to flit the nest, as rats do from sinking ships? I doubt they can be faulted for assuming so.
A great deal in here is truly remarkable, but none of it overshadows the fact that even though previews of the first edition (prior to Alexander Litvinenko's death) were put out in national newspapers and the authors eventually resorted to self-publishing 5000 Russian language copies, not one single 'Western' publishing house picked this up. That is worth note: 'big publishing' nowadays has one aim - making 'big bucks'.
Was it too distasteful?
If so, to whom?
'The Appeasement Committee'? - they do of course, as we have seen in this past week or ten days, have influential members.
What motivates those with their hands on the levers?
M. - Money ✓✓✓
I. - Ideology
C. - Compromat ✓✓✓
E. - Ego
I've read of a term openly used in regard to our fair capital: Londongrad !!!
I'm not a conspiracy theorist.
I'm a wonderer of 'WHY?'
February 28, 2007
I read this book when I took Eurasian Politics a few years ago. Since then, one of the authors, Alexander Litvinenko, has been poisioned to death - along with a handful of other people who questioned Putin's government. I guess he must have been telling the truth...
Anyways.. the concept behind the book that surprised me at the time was the idea that governments will commit acts of terror in order to build public support for and justify their power grabs and other bullshit.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexande...
"Litvinenko tried to publish a book in Russia in which he described Vladimir Putin's rise to power as a coup d'état organised by the FSB. He stated a key element of FSB's strategy was to frighten Russians by bombing apartment buildings in Moscow and other Russian cities. He alleged the bombings were organised by FSB and blamed on Chechen terrorists to legitimise reprisals using military force in Chechnya
On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill and was hospitalised. He died three weeks later, becoming a rare victim of lethal polonium-210 radiation poisoning under highly suspicious circumstances. The fact that Litvinenko's revelations about alleged FSB misdeeds were followed two years later by his poisoning led to public accusations that the Russian government was behind his death, resulting in worldwide media coverage."
Anyways.. the concept behind the book that surprised me at the time was the idea that governments will commit acts of terror in order to build public support for and justify their power grabs and other bullshit.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexande...
"Litvinenko tried to publish a book in Russia in which he described Vladimir Putin's rise to power as a coup d'état organised by the FSB. He stated a key element of FSB's strategy was to frighten Russians by bombing apartment buildings in Moscow and other Russian cities. He alleged the bombings were organised by FSB and blamed on Chechen terrorists to legitimise reprisals using military force in Chechnya
On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill and was hospitalised. He died three weeks later, becoming a rare victim of lethal polonium-210 radiation poisoning under highly suspicious circumstances. The fact that Litvinenko's revelations about alleged FSB misdeeds were followed two years later by his poisoning led to public accusations that the Russian government was behind his death, resulting in worldwide media coverage."
August 11, 2017
Humbug
There is no vote fraud in Russia, no crime, and certainly not any corruption
There is no vote fraud in Russia, no crime, and certainly not any corruption
March 2, 2008
Only half way through, but this is one interesting book. When you read it, you think it is a movie, but then you remember this is for real and it scares you.
September 7, 2011
Excellent. Well researched, and it's easy to see why Litvinenko was murdered for his part in writing this one.
January 16, 2015
I have to agree with Matteo's review. The book exhaustively sets out evidence to prove that the Russian secret services deliberately killed their own compatriots in "Chechen" terrorist outrages in order to push Russia into the Second Checene War and get one of their own - Vladimir Putin - elected to the apogee of power.
However, the book suffers from being a bit all over the place; and, although there was a Who's Who and a Glossary, there were so many characters (mainly Baddies and Even-More-Baddies) that it was difficult to keep a tab on them all.
Still, an important and chilling work, which probably cost Litvinenko his life.
However, the book suffers from being a bit all over the place; and, although there was a Who's Who and a Glossary, there were so many characters (mainly Baddies and Even-More-Baddies) that it was difficult to keep a tab on them all.
Still, an important and chilling work, which probably cost Litvinenko his life.
January 2, 2022
The story is amazing... or not. Surprising?!? Knowing what people know now-a-days, not anymore. It revolves around the existing contradictions about what really happen in a city in Russia, where some bombs were planted on a building basement and didn't go off. From there it branches to other "similar" situations occurring or occurred in the USSR and now Russia. So who thought that the Americans were original about bringing down the Twin Towers (will expect the "book of revelations" in the next decade), they're wrong. The Russian have been doing it for a long time. In this book the reason for the bombings was to call the Chechen terrorists. Overall good reading. Because it tries to expose the contradictions, at times, it becomes a bit repetitive and boring. The main characters are the Russian Government and Authorities. The level "I can do whatever I want because I have the power" raised to a different level. Try it. You will not regret it.
October 21, 2022
Prosím, než se něco vydá, něco takto obsahově zajímavého a dosud u nás nepřeloženého, dejte někomu tento překlad ještě jednou přečíst. Rozumím, že ne vždy vyjdou finance a chybička se vloudí. Ale věty, ze kterých vypadlo sloveso, 3 verze přepisu jednoho a téhož příjmení z azbuky do latinky, skloňování a neskloňování podle toho, jak se zrovna vyspím nebo záměna rodu mluvčího v rámci jednoho odstavce z mužského na ženský a zpět na mužský - to vše příšerně táhne oči a bohužel dělá celkový dojem.
Jen zopakuju, obsahově zajímavé. Ale kvůli formě jsem dočetla opravdu jen s jedním zavřeným okem. :(
Jen zopakuju, obsahově zajímavé. Ale kvůli formě jsem dočetla opravdu jen s jedním zavřeným okem. :(
April 3, 2013
Scary.
June 25, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Although it was tricky to read with lots of names and dates, it was really interesting and was very detailed.
September 18, 2011
This is a book with an agenda. It does not help that the authors to a great extent refuse to reveal their sources, but want us to take their alligations at face value or that the book is financed by Berezovsky who is a player in the game the book describes. If you search objective and balanced information about contemporary Russia, you will simply have to look elsewhere. Are you ready to make your own sound judgement of the story that you are told in order to pick out what seams reasonable and what seams more like conspiration theories, this is a read-worthy book.
An example of an important and trustworthy story in the book, is the one that the secret services themselves stood behind the so-called terrorist attacks on compartment-blocks in Moscow and other towns in Russia in the months leading up to the 2000 president election. Not surpringly, the story is made trustworthy by being backed by other sources and named witnesses.
An example of an important and undocumented story, is to go far in claiming that in reality it is the FSB that controls the Putin administration and not the Putin administration that controls the FSB. No hard evidence is given for their claim outside their of line of argument, a line of argument that have many of the characteristics of a classic conspiration theory where the fact that you present controversial accusations in itself is a prove that you have reached a deeper understanding than other people.
The book contains an enormous gallery of persons, making it almost impossible to remember all of them and to judge who is important to remember and who is not. To be able to document that they were right, if one day the real truth comes out, this is understandable and neccesary. In order to make the book more readworthy it is highly contra-productive.
Russians I have discussed the book with, have compared people's attitude towards Litvineko's book, with their attitude towards Solshenitsyn's books in the 1970s - while the book is widely discussed, few people are ready to admit that they have read this book. Among those who do, it is likely that ambivalence is a description that will ring many bells. At one hand the book gives some important new insights. On the other it is weakened by conspiration theories, undocumented claims, and an unbalanced hate and bitterness towards the ones in power.
An example of an important and trustworthy story in the book, is the one that the secret services themselves stood behind the so-called terrorist attacks on compartment-blocks in Moscow and other towns in Russia in the months leading up to the 2000 president election. Not surpringly, the story is made trustworthy by being backed by other sources and named witnesses.
An example of an important and undocumented story, is to go far in claiming that in reality it is the FSB that controls the Putin administration and not the Putin administration that controls the FSB. No hard evidence is given for their claim outside their of line of argument, a line of argument that have many of the characteristics of a classic conspiration theory where the fact that you present controversial accusations in itself is a prove that you have reached a deeper understanding than other people.
The book contains an enormous gallery of persons, making it almost impossible to remember all of them and to judge who is important to remember and who is not. To be able to document that they were right, if one day the real truth comes out, this is understandable and neccesary. In order to make the book more readworthy it is highly contra-productive.
Russians I have discussed the book with, have compared people's attitude towards Litvineko's book, with their attitude towards Solshenitsyn's books in the 1970s - while the book is widely discussed, few people are ready to admit that they have read this book. Among those who do, it is likely that ambivalence is a description that will ring many bells. At one hand the book gives some important new insights. On the other it is weakened by conspiration theories, undocumented claims, and an unbalanced hate and bitterness towards the ones in power.
January 25, 2018
I am actually very impressed. This book is well detailed, documented and convincing. The research behind the book is tremendous.
At first I was very skeptical about the whole thing. I considered it to be just another conspiracy theory, but it turned out to be much more real than I thought.
If you love history (especially modern history) and politics, you should read “Blowing Up Russia”. But keep in mind one important thing: your perception of Vladimir Putin and Russian political system will never be the same. You’ll have to learn the tough truth.
At first I was very skeptical about the whole thing. I considered it to be just another conspiracy theory, but it turned out to be much more real than I thought.
If you love history (especially modern history) and politics, you should read “Blowing Up Russia”. But keep in mind one important thing: your perception of Vladimir Putin and Russian political system will never be the same. You’ll have to learn the tough truth.
Want to read
April 14, 2008I saw the author, Yuri Felshtinsky, on Book TV earlier in the year and this looks like a fantastic text dealing with the ever rising powers of the state security agencies in the Russian Federation under the rule of Vladimir Putin.
May 22, 2022
Not an easy book to read, more like a report from an intelligence operative. It describes very well the way Russian FSB worked and works. A must read for anyone trying to understand origins of the current war in Ukraine (this book provides a piece of that puzzle).
August 26, 2019
Great insight into the political-intelligence apparatus of Putinist Russia, however some former knowledge is very helpful.
August 31, 2023
A good look at the way the FSB could potentially manipulate the Russian media and even shape the real world with covert operations that allow them to create narratives to benefit the Russian government and their goals in Russia and abroad. From orchestrated bombings to help create support at home for war abroad, to poisoning dissidents who speak out against the government, the book is as relevant now as it ever was.
August 27, 2016
Эта книга запрещена на территории России, так что лично я её рекомендовать к прочтению не собираюсь. Но саму меня заинтересовала история с таинственным убийством автора книги Александром Литвиненко.
Книга представляет собой расследование автором ситуации вокруг Федеральной службы безопасности и прочих структур, которые в России пришли на смену КГБ, причин чеченской войны 2000 года и взрывов жилых домов в ряде регионов России на основании доступных автору материалов. В общем-то автор фокусируется на происшествии в Рязани, когда бдительные граждане предотвратили взрыв, но потом произошла мутная история и ФСБ объявила, что это якобы были их учения. История очень и очень мутная, учениями происшествие никак не может быть - этот момент очень подробно и хорошо разобран и в книге, и логически все факты в это увязываются. Если это правда учения, ФСБ должна быть привлечена к ответственности за многочисленные чудовищные нарушения в процессе (судебное разбирательство по иску жильцов дома не состоялось, потому что крайних в ФСБ не нашлось - да, учения, но организаторов нет). Больше похоже не на учения, а крышевание какой-то преступной деятельности.
Вывод, который автор делает из своего материала, является названием книги. Я, пожалуй воздержусь от высказывания собственных взглядов на это, тем более, что железобетонными их не назовёшь.
При чтении картины того времени живейше всплыли в памяти: как вся страна боялась, как заваривали чердачные и подвальные двери, как закончилось детство и вместо беззаботных прогулок допоздна после школы все оставались по домам. Теперь это часть истории страны. Как-то само собой это страшное время кончилось, настолько массовые убийства происходить перестали. До сих пор, конечно, мало что изменилось: подвальные двери всё так же закрыты на замок, вход на вокзалы перегораживают рамки металлоискателей, все следят за всеми, но хотя бы перестали убивать. Жутко всё это, кто бы ни организовывал эти массовые убийства - они бесчеловечные садисты.
Книга представляет собой расследование автором ситуации вокруг Федеральной службы безопасности и прочих структур, которые в России пришли на смену КГБ, причин чеченской войны 2000 года и взрывов жилых домов в ряде регионов России на основании доступных автору материалов. В общем-то автор фокусируется на происшествии в Рязани, когда бдительные граждане предотвратили взрыв, но потом произошла мутная история и ФСБ объявила, что это якобы были их учения. История очень и очень мутная, учениями происшествие никак не может быть - этот момент очень подробно и хорошо разобран и в книге, и логически все факты в это увязываются. Если это правда учения, ФСБ должна быть привлечена к ответственности за многочисленные чудовищные нарушения в процессе (судебное разбирательство по иску жильцов дома не состоялось, потому что крайних в ФСБ не нашлось - да, учения, но организаторов нет). Больше похоже не на учения, а крышевание какой-то преступной деятельности.
Вывод, который автор делает из своего материала, является названием книги. Я, пожалуй воздержусь от высказывания собственных взглядов на это, тем более, что железобетонными их не назовёшь.
При чтении картины того времени живейше всплыли в памяти: как вся страна боялась, как заваривали чердачные и подвальные двери, как закончилось детство и вместо беззаботных прогулок допоздна после школы все оставались по домам. Теперь это часть истории страны. Как-то само собой это страшное время кончилось, настолько массовые убийства происходить перестали. До сих пор, конечно, мало что изменилось: подвальные двери всё так же закрыты на замок, вход на вокзалы перегораживают рамки металлоискателей, все следят за всеми, но хотя бы перестали убивать. Жутко всё это, кто бы ни организовывал эти массовые убийства - они бесчеловечные садисты.
March 24, 2014
Litvinenko's account of the madness prevailing in the high spheres of Russian power. Vladimir Putin and his croonies are using the population of Russia and which ever unhappy former Soviet Republic provokes their wrath as tools to further sordid criminal goals. These people are the lowest of the low, giving free reign to their insanity in the golden rooms of the Kremlin fortress.
Since this is written in the insufferable and very masculine style typical of conspiracy theories, I suggest conterbalancing with Anna Politkovskaya's reporting as her work both confirmss what is suggested here and possesses more human depth and literary qualities.
"One gets the impression that both the present party of power and the so-called opposition believe that Russia's democratic project is dead and buried. The authorities are not capable of imposing order founded in the law, it is beyond their ability to build a society governed by law. The alternative to a society governed by law is a bandit-and-police state, a situation in which the actions of terrorists and bandits on the one hand and the agencies of law enforcement on their objectives or the methods they employ. Among the public the mass conviction is gaining ground that democracy has failed to deliver as a form of government."
Since this is written in the insufferable and very masculine style typical of conspiracy theories, I suggest conterbalancing with Anna Politkovskaya's reporting as her work both confirmss what is suggested here and possesses more human depth and literary qualities.
"One gets the impression that both the present party of power and the so-called opposition believe that Russia's democratic project is dead and buried. The authorities are not capable of imposing order founded in the law, it is beyond their ability to build a society governed by law. The alternative to a society governed by law is a bandit-and-police state, a situation in which the actions of terrorists and bandits on the one hand and the agencies of law enforcement on their objectives or the methods they employ. Among the public the mass conviction is gaining ground that democracy has failed to deliver as a form of government."
February 8, 2014
The comprehensive account of KGB/FSB Agents who refused to take part in a plot to embroil the new Russian Federation in another fruitless conflict with Chechnya.
This book has every detail; persons, places, events and the burning question: why?
(With the exception of the author compromising his contacts abroad, who all face almost certain death if they are ever made known to the FSB)
With fantastic detail, this book has acronyms and every major player responsible for the terror plots, but this writing is not for the simple or uneducated (as evident by some of the reviews on this site)
This book has every detail; persons, places, events and the burning question: why?
(With the exception of the author compromising his contacts abroad, who all face almost certain death if they are ever made known to the FSB)
With fantastic detail, this book has acronyms and every major player responsible for the terror plots, but this writing is not for the simple or uneducated (as evident by some of the reviews on this site)
October 31, 2014
The authors seem to have done a lot of research for the book. There is a lot of information in the book that I did not previously know about. I am now sure the Russian secret services are behind some of the terrorist attacks in Russia. I find it difficult to believe that Chechen terrorists have had nothing to do with terrorism in Russia.
In the USA we have been the victims of many terrorist attacks by Islamic crazies, including some from Chechnya. I suspect nearly every other country in the world has suffered the same fate.
In the USA we have been the victims of many terrorist attacks by Islamic crazies, including some from Chechnya. I suspect nearly every other country in the world has suffered the same fate.
July 20, 2009
Meh. Could have been condensed into small dossier. Whilst details of the Russian government's alleged nefarious schemes (blowing up public, pinning blame on Chechens in order to justify subsequent war) disturb, Felshtinsky labours the point, somewhat. Also, too many confusing acronyms; FSB, FKS, NKVD, KGB, ISBN, etc.
July 29, 2018
They do make the case that Putin was behind the apartment bombings but, someone who speaks English as a second language should NOT have translated this book. Poor phrasing and even insulting remarks that I believe were not meant to be that way. Other sources should be available if they can survive Putin's chemical attacks.
April 18, 2015
At times it can be difficult to keep up with the book, a lot of characters, a lot of acronyms and quite frankly a little all over the place.
June 9, 2017
Great insight into Russian intelligence services and Putin's government.
Not the best storyteller, but an important story to read.
Not the best storyteller, but an important story to read.
December 2, 2025
How does a country ever attain a workable democracy when its intelligence services have been allowed to get out of control? That is particularly the case in Russia, where the Communist government gave unlimited control to the very worst of its citizens.
The intelligence services in Russia were intended to terrorise, torture and murder all opponents, with no attempt to curb them. In the circumstances, the very worst people were recruited, those with no morals or empathy or respect for justice, fairness or the law. Communism fell, but the intelligence services remained in the hands of the people who least deserved to have that much power.
Before long, the intelligence services invaded and corrupted all aspects of Russian life. They gained control of Russian businesses, and, as Litvenenko and Felshtinsky make clear in Blowing Up Russia, they worked to destroy democracy, dragging Boris Yeltsin into an unwinnable conflict with Chechenia, which destroyed his international standing and brought about his downfall, allowing Vladimir Putin, one of their own number, to take over the country and run it in an authoritarian way.
The war with Chechenia was manufactured for this purpose, with a range of terror attacks carried out by the intelligence services, and then passed off as being the work of Chechen terrorists. The intelligence services did not care how many Russians or Chechens died in order to allow them to secure greater control of government.
Anyone who opposed them or found out too much about what was going on was murdered, including Litvinenko, who was poisoned before the book was published.
Blowing Up Russia is a dismaying book, portraying a country that is damned by its history, unable to escape the damage done by Stalinism. It is a troubling book for us too. When we hear stories about Trump’s presidency, Farage’s Reform Party or the Brexit campaign being manipulated by Putin’s Russian government, this can sound like the worst kind of conspiracy theory.
After reading this book, it is easy to imagine that the intelligence services who have had so much success in their own country might indeed feel confident enough to begin shaping the governments of other nations too.
The reader may well feel helpless in the sight of this. Nazism did far less long-term damage to Germany because the country was decisively defeated in war, and the victors were able to remove the worst institutions and individuals. Russia was never defeated in war, and perhaps never could be. It is simply too large a state to be completely overran by its neighbours.
With the arrival of the nuclear age, such a scenario is now impossible. There is a reason why Ukraine will never be Putin’s Poland. However appalled many western countries might be, and however much help they wish to give to Ukraine, there will be no World War to curtail Russia, as the dangers are too great.
So Russia must find a way to heal itself, and that seems unthinkable now. Perhaps the country will need to be convulsed by a crisis so severe that even the criminal bureaucracy running its affairs cannot lie, cheat, manipulate or murder its way out of trouble.
Regarding Litvenenko and Felshtinsky’s book, it is a dry affair that is not easy to read if you do not understand much about modern Russian affairs. The writers offer no detailed overview of Russian politics, focusing only on a small number of events. The reader may get lost amidst all the organisations with different initials and all the officials and criminals that are name-checked by the authors.
That is a pity, as the book has some interesting points to make. I am not familiar enough with contemporary Russia to offer an analysis of the book’s accuracy, but read enough to feel concern and pessimism for the future of both Russia and the rest of the world while this situation is perpetuated.
The intelligence services in Russia were intended to terrorise, torture and murder all opponents, with no attempt to curb them. In the circumstances, the very worst people were recruited, those with no morals or empathy or respect for justice, fairness or the law. Communism fell, but the intelligence services remained in the hands of the people who least deserved to have that much power.
Before long, the intelligence services invaded and corrupted all aspects of Russian life. They gained control of Russian businesses, and, as Litvenenko and Felshtinsky make clear in Blowing Up Russia, they worked to destroy democracy, dragging Boris Yeltsin into an unwinnable conflict with Chechenia, which destroyed his international standing and brought about his downfall, allowing Vladimir Putin, one of their own number, to take over the country and run it in an authoritarian way.
The war with Chechenia was manufactured for this purpose, with a range of terror attacks carried out by the intelligence services, and then passed off as being the work of Chechen terrorists. The intelligence services did not care how many Russians or Chechens died in order to allow them to secure greater control of government.
Anyone who opposed them or found out too much about what was going on was murdered, including Litvinenko, who was poisoned before the book was published.
Blowing Up Russia is a dismaying book, portraying a country that is damned by its history, unable to escape the damage done by Stalinism. It is a troubling book for us too. When we hear stories about Trump’s presidency, Farage’s Reform Party or the Brexit campaign being manipulated by Putin’s Russian government, this can sound like the worst kind of conspiracy theory.
After reading this book, it is easy to imagine that the intelligence services who have had so much success in their own country might indeed feel confident enough to begin shaping the governments of other nations too.
The reader may well feel helpless in the sight of this. Nazism did far less long-term damage to Germany because the country was decisively defeated in war, and the victors were able to remove the worst institutions and individuals. Russia was never defeated in war, and perhaps never could be. It is simply too large a state to be completely overran by its neighbours.
With the arrival of the nuclear age, such a scenario is now impossible. There is a reason why Ukraine will never be Putin’s Poland. However appalled many western countries might be, and however much help they wish to give to Ukraine, there will be no World War to curtail Russia, as the dangers are too great.
So Russia must find a way to heal itself, and that seems unthinkable now. Perhaps the country will need to be convulsed by a crisis so severe that even the criminal bureaucracy running its affairs cannot lie, cheat, manipulate or murder its way out of trouble.
Regarding Litvenenko and Felshtinsky’s book, it is a dry affair that is not easy to read if you do not understand much about modern Russian affairs. The writers offer no detailed overview of Russian politics, focusing only on a small number of events. The reader may get lost amidst all the organisations with different initials and all the officials and criminals that are name-checked by the authors.
That is a pity, as the book has some interesting points to make. I am not familiar enough with contemporary Russia to offer an analysis of the book’s accuracy, but read enough to feel concern and pessimism for the future of both Russia and the rest of the world while this situation is perpetuated.
August 26, 2022
В книгата на Александър Литвиненко става дума за разследването му относно взривените жилищни блокове през септември 1999г. , които бяха извършени в няколко града на Русия и отнеха живота на повече от 300 души. Това е един от най-големите терористични актове извършван някога по онова време. Разследвайки и проследявайки следите и доказателствата, Литвиненко стига до заключението, че тези взривове са предизвикани от руските специални служби, впоследствие преписани на чеченците, въпреки че такива доказателства няма, за да се оправдае започването на втората чеченска война. Тогава образът на путин все повече се отвърждава и той печели одобрението на руснаците, заради което впоследствие става президент. Путин тогава напада Чечня, твърдейки, че е длъжен да защити Русия(както в момента с Украйна прави) от чеченските терористи( въпреки че няма такива намерени) и по този начин допълнително намира фалшиви и изкуствени поводи да влезе във война.
Между другото преди атентатите в Буйнакск, Волгодонск и Москва е имало друг опит за атентат в Рязан, при който местната полиция е хванала човек на тайните служби от Москва със сумати хексоген(взривно вещество) и въпреки това не обръща никакво внимание на случая и последният е освободен. Въпреки че след разследване от различни органи и местната полиция в Рязан става съвсем ясно, че е направен опит за взривяване на няколко сгради в града, федералната служба за сигурност и Москва не правят абсолютно нищо и се опитват да замажат нещата като казват, че това е било обучение, но просто на никого не са казали, тъй като им било интересно как хората ще реагират и че чувалите не са били пълни с хексоген, а със захар, при положение че са го проверили и се е оказал хексоген.
Поради това разследване на Литвиненко и критиките му към ФСБ(федералната длужба за сигурност) той няколко пъти е вкарван в затвора. След като излиза, той бяга нелегално и намира политическо убежище във Великобритания. Въпреки това той не успява да се опази и заплаща с живота си заради тези негови действия. На 1-ви ноември 2006 е отровен със смъртоносна доза полоний-210 от негов стар познат. По време на разследванията се създава и незавизима комисия, която също разгледа случая. Напълно случайно(ама друг път) тези хора също са по затвора, отровени и убити. Журналисти изправили се срещу режима на Путин и работили по този случай също са мъртви.
Хареса ми книгата. На моменти беше доста скучна, тъй като има 1-2 глави за някакви тяхни местни мутренски групировки и като не бях запознат с тях не разбрах много и ми доскуча. Но като цяло книгата е добра и ти се струва направо като филм. 4/5 !
Между другото преди атентатите в Буйнакск, Волгодонск и Москва е имало друг опит за атентат в Рязан, при който местната полиция е хванала човек на тайните служби от Москва със сумати хексоген(взривно вещество) и въпреки това не обръща никакво внимание на случая и последният е освободен. Въпреки че след разследване от различни органи и местната полиция в Рязан става съвсем ясно, че е направен опит за взривяване на няколко сгради в града, федералната служба за сигурност и Москва не правят абсолютно нищо и се опитват да замажат нещата като казват, че това е било обучение, но просто на никого не са казали, тъй като им било интересно как хората ще реагират и че чувалите не са били пълни с хексоген, а със захар, при положение че са го проверили и се е оказал хексоген.
Поради това разследване на Литвиненко и критиките му към ФСБ(федералната длужба за сигурност) той няколко пъти е вкарван в затвора. След като излиза, той бяга нелегално и намира политическо убежище във Великобритания. Въпреки това той не успява да се опази и заплаща с живота си заради тези негови действия. На 1-ви ноември 2006 е отровен със смъртоносна доза полоний-210 от негов стар познат. По време на разследванията се създава и незавизима комисия, която също разгледа случая. Напълно случайно(ама друг път) тези хора също са по затвора, отровени и убити. Журналисти изправили се срещу режима на Путин и работили по този случай също са мъртви.
Хареса ми книгата. На моменти беше доста скучна, тъй като има 1-2 глави за някакви тяхни местни мутренски групировки и като не бях запознат с тях не разбрах много и ми доскуча. Но като цяло книгата е добра и ти се струва направо като филм. 4/5 !
March 13, 2018
The Forgotten Bombs
The perfect response to this book would have the U.S. authorities weaponizing social media, as Putin did against them in the 2016 elections, to remind the world of the FSB's role in killing 300 Russian citizens so Putin could rise to power. As the authors state, "instead of a white charger, Putin has been handed a steed stained red with the spilled blood of the people.” ... The criminal element, the assassinations read like an Al Capone-John Dillinger-Mafia crime wave jam-packed into the space of 3-4 years. Russia is horribly broken. Litvinenko was poisoned trying to fix it. The heinous crimes continue 10 years later with the recent nerve agent attack against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in London. ... This book's scope is massive, portraying the criminal life blood that flows within the very security forces meant to protect the Russian people. Pity the poor citizens enslaved by Putin's tyranny. Blaming Chechnya has long grown old. Can mother Russia recover in the next 50 years?
The perfect response to this book would have the U.S. authorities weaponizing social media, as Putin did against them in the 2016 elections, to remind the world of the FSB's role in killing 300 Russian citizens so Putin could rise to power. As the authors state, "instead of a white charger, Putin has been handed a steed stained red with the spilled blood of the people.” ... The criminal element, the assassinations read like an Al Capone-John Dillinger-Mafia crime wave jam-packed into the space of 3-4 years. Russia is horribly broken. Litvinenko was poisoned trying to fix it. The heinous crimes continue 10 years later with the recent nerve agent attack against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in London. ... This book's scope is massive, portraying the criminal life blood that flows within the very security forces meant to protect the Russian people. Pity the poor citizens enslaved by Putin's tyranny. Blaming Chechnya has long grown old. Can mother Russia recover in the next 50 years?
April 23, 2018
Чудова книжка про сутність сучасної російської політичної системи, яка допоможе провітрити голову і прийти до тями тим, хто досі схильний наівно вірити, що десь там запорєбріком можлива якась реальна опозиція чи альтернатива. Це країна, в якій до абсолютної влади прийшла спецслужба, що підконтрольна лише сама собі і не має жодних моральних чи етичних обмежень для своєї діяльності: теракти проти власних громадян, розв'язування воєн чи політичні вбивства по всій планеті - владі чекістів все під силу.
В них все під абсолютним контролем — тому навіть мови не може бути, щоб щось якийсь навальний чи собчак відбувалися без дозволу.
Написана понад деятиліття тому, книга розповідає про прихід до влади ФСБ та кардинального розвороту з демократичного шляху розвитку. Автори писали її безвідносно сучансих подій, але з часом лише набуває щоразу більшої достовірності - бо нові частинки пазлу чітко лягають в описану концепцію. Вбивства Литвиненко, Скрипаля, війна в Грузії та Україні, навіть скандал з допінгом — це не випадковості, а цілком закономірне продовження політики чекістів.
В них все під абсолютним контролем — тому навіть мови не може бути, щоб щось якийсь навальний чи собчак відбувалися без дозволу.
Написана понад деятиліття тому, книга розповідає про прихід до влади ФСБ та кардинального розвороту з демократичного шляху розвитку. Автори писали її безвідносно сучансих подій, але з часом лише набуває щоразу більшої достовірності - бо нові частинки пазлу чітко лягають в описану концепцію. Вбивства Литвиненко, Скрипаля, війна в Грузії та Україні, навіть скандал з допінгом — це не випадковості, а цілком закономірне продовження політики чекістів.
May 21, 2024
I think as a whole I gave this a 4 star rating, but if you just look at the information conveyed I would give it a 5 star rating. This is not a typical novel on the Russian Security Services - but more of an expose. Not written to win a Pulitzer, but to state facts as Lt. Col Litvinenko experienced and recalled before his radiation positioning and ultimate death at the hands of the FSB. I thought the book did an excellent job informing readers about the bombings in Russia by the security services and blamed on Chechnya in order to foment war. Due to the highly risky result of coming out against the FSB many sources are unnamed for good reason. In most instances I am dissuaded from reading a book with so few sources - but considering the context I have to agree with their rationale. A highly informing book on the Russian Security Services and their outsized role in present day Russia.
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