As several customer review's allready have pointed out - 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.

Interesting that a man who denounces the Russian FSB as a nest of intriguers and liars asks us - as a career KGB/FSB officer - to accept his words in this book at face value. After all, if FSB officers are such masters of deceit, why should anyone believe him now?

I don't doubt that much of the book may well be true, especially the blowing up of Russian apartment blocks in 1999 to kick off the second Chechen War. It's not just Russian intelligence agencies capable of such black operations, as the "P2 conspiracy" in Italy back in the 70s attests. The problem lies with the clandestine nature of Litvinenko's sources, which come across like mere shop gossip. Reader/listener beware.

There are inconsistencies galore. Yeltsin is painted a great democrat, even though he sent tanks to blow holes in the Russian Parliament building. The adoration of General Pinochet is attributed to Putin, though anyone who knew Russia in the 90s well remembers the love for Pinochet's Chile evinced by Yeltsin's staff. It was also Yeltsin who created the authoritarian Russian presidency after his destruction of Parliament in October, 1993 - not Putin.

The fact is, that Yeltsin created the FSB, as he did the oligarchs. Putin did not get where he is by being part of the anti-Yeltsin opposition. After Yeltsin it seems there was a power struggle for Russia between the FSB and the oligarchs, and the former won. But they could not have done so without Yeltsin's patronage. Yeltsin needed immunity from prosecution by the Russian Duma when he stepped down; a strong FSB guaranteeed this protection. Perhaps also he was afraid of the oligarchs whom he created in 1996, and wanted a counterforce to keep them in check.

At any rate, this book comes off like some internet conspiracy theory. While the core of its argument of FSB black operations may well be true, keep in mind that it was commissioned by Boris Berezovsky - no angel himself, and possibly responsible for assassinations in his own right.

Interesting that a man who denounces the Russian FSB as a nest of intriguers and liars asks us - as a career KGB/FSB officer - to accept his words in this book at face value. After all, if FSB officers are such masters of deceit, why should anyone believe him now?

I don't doubt that much of the book may well be true, especially the blowing up of Russian apartment blocks in 1999 to kick off the second Chechen War. It's not just Russian intelligence agencies capable of such black operations, as the "P2 conspiracy" in Italy back in the 70s attests. The problem lies with the clandestine nature of Litvinenko's sources, which come across like mere shop gossip. Reader/listener beware.

There are inconsistencies galore. Yeltsin is painted a great democrat, even though he sent tanks to blow holes in the Russian Parliament building. The adoration of General Pinochet is attributed to Putin, though anyone who knew Russia in the 90s well remembers the love for Pinochet's Chile evinced by Yeltsin's staff. It was also Yeltsin who created the authoritarian Russian presidency after his destruction of Parliament in October, 1993 - not Putin.

The fact is, that Yeltsin created the FSB, as he did the oligarchs. Putin did not get where he is by being part of the anti-Yeltsin opposition. After Yeltsin it seems there was a power struggle for Russia between the FSB and the oligarchs, and the former won. But they could not have done so without Yeltsin's patronage. Yeltsin needed immunity from prosecution by the Russian Duma when he stepped down; a strong FSB guaranteeed this protection. Perhaps also he was afraid of the oligarchs whom he created in 1996, and wanted a counterforce to keep them in check.

At any rate, this book comes off like some internet conspiracy theory. While the core of its argument of FSB black operations may well be true, keep in mind that it was commissioned by Boris Berezovsky - no angel himself, and possibly responsible for assassinations in his own right.

It's easy to see why Litvinenko was poisoned with Polonium when you read this book. It's laden with so many evil plots it leaves the reader with doubts about the authenticity of some of the material. Although most of it is believable, there is the problem of a lack of sufficient references. This, unfortunately, is due to the need to keep many of them secret in order to protect their lives.



The book is not well organized, and constantly jumps from one time period to another. There is an acronym page that I had to constantly refer to while I was reading. Felshtinsky admits the book is a hard read, and he is right. There are hundreds of Russian names which are hard to keep up with.



It could have been better. The subject matter is fascinating when you can figure it out..

It's easy to see why Litvinenko was poisoned with Polonium when you read this book. It's laden with so many evil plots it leaves the reader with doubts about the authenticity of some of the material. Although most of it is believable, there is the problem of a lack of sufficient references. This, unfortunately, is due to the need to keep many of them secret in order to protect their lives.

The book is not well organized, and constantly jumps from one time period to another. There is an acronym page that I had to constantly refer to while I was reading. Felshtinsky admits the book is a hard read, and he is right. There are hundreds of Russian names which are hard to keep up with.

It could have been better. The subject matter is fascinating when you can figure it out..

This book is not about the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. But it is the book that got him murdered. If you imagine Russia as a nation on the mend from its communist sickness, think again. The former KGB and FSB operative (Litvienko) and his academic friend (Felshtinsky) published their book in Russia and it enraged Don Vito Putin. Putin, you'll recall, was the man about whom George W. Bush said: "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy . . . I was able to get a sense of his soul." As Litvenko lay dying he wrote the following to Putin:

"You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed.

"You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilized value."

So much for President Bush's soul sense.

This is a book that should absolutely be read, but only with proper contextual background. Though there are true findings in this book, an overwhelming majority of the facts are completely unsupported (a fact which Litvinenko acknowledged--the book contains not a single footnote of reference). One should also be aware of the context in which it was written: Russian billionaire buisnessman Boris Berezovsky paid Alexander Litvinenko to write this book in order to discredit the Kremlin after the FSB ordered Litvinenko to kill Berezovsky (a mission which Litvinenko ultimately decided not to carry out). It's worth reading without a doubt, but factual assertions and accusations should be taken with a grain (or cup) of salt.