Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West

Published Jan. 16, 2020 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

ISBN:: 978-0-374-23871-1
OCLC Number:: 1158968286

(3 reviews)

In Putin’s People, former Moscow correspondent and investigative journalist Catherine Belton reveals the untold story of how Vladimir Putin and his entourage of KGB men seized power in Russia and built a new league of oligarchs.

Through exclusive interviews with key inside players, Belton tells how Putin’s people conducted their relentless seizure of private companies, took over the economy, siphoned billions, blurred the lines between organised crime and political powers, shut down opponents, and then used their riches and power to extend influence in the West.

In a story that ranges from Moscow to London, Switzerland and Trump’s America, Putin’s People is a gripping and terrifying account of how hopes for the new Russia went astray, with stark consequences for its inhabitants and, increasingly, the world.

2 editions

philipp reviewed Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Camilla Bartlett

Review of "Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

An outstanding piece of investigation that explains a lot about the current state of things.

Belton uses just the right amount of repetition/re-introduction to keep track of names and organisations. This is helpful as the Kremlin's schemes and machinations can get complicated.
This made it easier to read than Dawisha's "Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?" (which focuses more on the business side of Putin's people).

Only one thing bugged me in the last chapter, where a protagonist "downloaded" a video to Youtube. You upload a video to Youtube. And that's pretty much the only thing I can criticise. So I strongly recommend this read and I'm deeply grateful to Catherine Belton for this corageous book.

wzhkevin

rated it

Oct. 17, 2023

Andy

rated it

Oct. 6, 2021