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Putin’s People
- How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West
- Narrated by: Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
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Publisher's Summary
The Sunday Times best seller.
A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year 2020.
A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year 2020.
The hacking of the 2016 US 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?
This rigorous and revelatory audiobook explains how this happened, Putin's rise to power and how Russian black cash is subverting the world.
In Putin's People, former Moscow correspondent and investigative journalist Catherine Belton tells the untold story of the rise of Vladimir Putin and the small group of KGB men surrounding him. Delving deep into the workings of Putin's Kremlin, Belton accesses key inside players to reveal how Putin replaced the free-wheeling tycoons of the Yeltsin era with a new generation of loyal oligarchs who in turn subverted their country's economy and legal system and expanded its influence in the West.
The result is a chilling and revelatory expose of the KGB's renaissance - a story that began long ago in the murk of the Soviet collapse when networks of operatives were able to siphon billions of dollars out of Russia and into the West. After Putin's takeover of the economy, some of these networks acquired new flows of cash to realise their goals. Based on many years of research, Belton charts the relentless seizure of private companies and the installation of those closest to Putin into the richest, highest seats of power.
Ranging from Moscow to London, Switzerland and Trump's America and introducing a colourful cast of characters, 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.
Critic Reviews
"Putin's People is meticulously researched and superbly written; terrifying in its scope and utterly convincing in its argument. It is a portrait of a group of men ruthless in their power, and careless of anyone else. This is the Putin book that we've been waiting for." (Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland)
"Catherine Belton is quite simply the most detailed and best-informed journalist covering Russia. One hears so much grand punditry about the country, but if you want to know the terrifying facts, from the nexus of KGB, business and crime which was Putin's petri-dish, to the complex reality of the relationship with Trump, and if you want to see how all this combines into a whole new system, then this is the book for you." (Peter Pomerantsev)
"A ground-breaking investigative history of the rise of Vladimir Putin, a revealing examination of how power and money intersect in today’s Russia. Catherine Belton has pulled away the curtain on two decades of hidden financial networks and lucrative secret deals, exposing the inner workings of Putin & Co. in remarkable and disturbing detail. A real eye-opener." (David E. Hoffman, author of The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia)
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What listeners say about Putin’s People
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- Peter levy
- 01-04-2021
Very comprehensive account of Putin
Very informative but difficult to remember who is who. The names are intertwined with Putin who is the ultimate modern dictator.
Manipulative powerful, smart,brazen and a formidable opponent to anyone who crosses him.
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- Timothy Llewellyn
- 14-08-2020
Wordy and a bit overly detailed, but interesting.
This book goes through a lot of names that can weigh down the listening, and is a bit like listening to a history textbook with heaps of similar sounding Russian names, but if you can make it through the first bit, it does have some quite interesting information about the ride of putin, and later on his relation to Trump!
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- Anonymous User
- 18-09-2020
excellent
Well written, well narrated and informative book. At the start it's hard to get into because of all the unfamiliar Russian politicians/ businessman the book refers to but as the book progresses it all falls into place.
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- Anonymous User
- 12-11-2022
Putins people. A must read for believers in democracy
Brilliant incisive and timely. The narration for so quick I had to slow it down to digest the information. Listened to it twice
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- Anonymous User
- 20-06-2020
Exceptionally detailed
Exceptionally thorough full of intrigue and detail. Only problem is keeping control of the Russian names.
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- Phreddie
- 13-12-2020
Makes one wonder ?
Very well put together ,both the author and narrator , first class reading .
Its no wonder that millions of people starve, whilst a few (leaders),rip the money from them .
When you see the current Russian leader in the media, he looks sort of harmless .
But he is no better than Stalin, Hitler or any other tyrant /dictator ,he's been evil and dishonest from the time he was a young KGB operative .
The World is a beautiful place ,certainly not enhanced by some world leaders and their Golden Castles etc.
After reading this and other books like this one ,I see no hope for the population of the World as it is .
Our World will survive ,but its the people who govern it ,,,,who need to change .
We don't need any more dictators ,killers, murderers and thieves running countries .
This book is well worth reading
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- Anonymous User
- 16-08-2022
Enjoyable Listen (but)
This was a good listen but I had to buy the hard copy book as it was very hard to follow the names of Russian references. Listen in conjunction with the hard copy was a real success and this has a fascinating and scary amount of information.
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- Anonymous User
- 04-07-2023
A most pertinent tale of Russian geopolitics today
A well researched & informative account of how we got to where we are in the world today. a gripping read, well delivered and brimming with information we all need to understand. Excellent
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