From the title alone I was expecting great things. From the publishing date June 24, 2008 I was expecting those great things to be NEW. But it turned out to be old news. All of it, except the Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov murder, was old news to me. I read "Death of a Dissident" quiet a while ago. Looked into Anna Politkovskaya, Berezovsky et all. on the internet as a result.

Putin's labyrinth didn't compelled me to investigate further; which to me is a sign of a good book. I didn't underline a single word nor dog-ear a single page. Now my Dad, who doesn't use computers and has never read a book on Russia, enjoyed it.

Journalists killed in Russia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia

For someone with little or no exposure to recent sources on Putin's Russia, this is an excellent starting point for understanding unfolding events inside the Russian Federation. The photographs of the "players" are a nice "addition" normally missing from most recent current events books--a definite plus.

On the downside, although it provides a good general overview of current developments in Russia, it at times appears to rely too much on secondary sources, such the 2007 book "Blowing Up Russia".

Nevertheless, it is an "easy read" and worth the effort.

"PUTIN'S LABYRINTH", by Steve LE Vine is an informative and short, but vivid portrayal of today's Russia and it's indisputable leader, Mr. Vladimir Putin. However, this book could just as easily have been entitled: "Stalin's Labyrinth," "Ivan's Labyrinth," or for that matter, "The Czar's Labyrinth." The point being that..."Mr. Putin" seems to be doing exactly what most of Russia's leaders have done throughout the past centuries. The difference perhaps, Mr. Putin seems to be more of a "Realpolitikist" than most (except perhaps, for... Stalin).

The author insinuates that murder and mayhem may be in the "Russian DNA" itself due to their prior history of invasion, tyranny, and dictatorships. I believe there is some truth (symbolically, psychologically, and litterally), in this statement.

In addition, the author seems to focus more on the "Labyrinth" portion than on Vladimir himself. Mr. Putin is of course, former KGB (FSB), and his entire formative years were spent in the Soviet Intelligence community where he, constantly learned to search and weed out any dissenters, be it against himself, or...the "Apparatchik." Alexander Litviinenko (former KGB agent) and Anna Politkovskaya (Russian journalist), are sad and unfortunate reminders of this truth.

The author quotes an old KGB defector who points to a very important difference in Putin's Russia compared to the prior Soviet Union. Oleg Gordievsky told the author: "The KGB without the Communist Party is a gang of gangsters." That is not to say that, the KGB was not always "a gang", but without the "Central Point" the participants need answer to no one, or no thing.

The author seems to rightly insinuate that Vladimir Putin has taken on a "symbiotic relationship" between the State (himself), and that of numerous criminal elements that work well together in maintaining the present status quo. The State controls the political arena, oil shipments, natural resources, and...the military. The criminal elements...the social needs and demands.

In reading this book, I could not help but see many growing parallels to the on-going events in the country of Mexico, but without a prresent day "Putin" or..."Central Point."

This is agood book, and goes into a great detail regarding many of the tragic events surrounding those people who tried to stand up for change. Realistically however, it appears "that type of change" is many years away.

The Oprichniki is still very much alive and well in Russia. The perpetrators no longer need carry around dog's heads and brooms upon their horse sadles to symbolize total devotion to "sweeping away sedition." They now ride in Mercedes and make no mistake, their rabid devotion to gaining money, economic wealth, and acknowledgement as a world power is no less important!

What ever he may be...Putin is witty, intelligent, frightning, dangerous, impatient, and above all...Russian.

Steve LeVine's compelling and engagingly horrified study of the 'dark heart of the new Russia' stands head and shoulders above the spate of books triggered by the Litvinenko murder because it is not about one killing so much as 'a chronicle of violence in modern-day Russia, a place that seems unwilling or unable to escape its horrific past.' (p. xxii) It is difficult in general terms to resist LeVine's claim that 'Putin's rule protects those who are inside the system or at least accept it. Outsiders cannot expect the same protection. That applies to business, politics, or journalism. Violence can be permissible against those deemed to be outsiders.' (p. 120) Journalistic books on Russia are often readable, even entertaining, but too frequently of little lasting importance. While undeniably a page-turner, this book also advances a thesis about Putin's Russia that does deserve serious consideration. It is certainly uncomfortable in that it can too easily make it seem as if the Russians are being cast simply as passive casualties of their history at best, willing collaborators with a cynical and thuggish regime at worst. It is also too early to see how well it applies to the Medvedev presidency, although events in Georgia may suggest that he is not so far removed from his patron and predecessor. Accept LeVine's stark thesis or not, it is certainly worth exploring and debating.

Dr Mark Galeotti
Keele University

This is Russology "light". Everything that is substantive content could have been written in 25 pages or less. In fact, read the summary inside the jacket and you've got the whole book. LeVine has researched the deaths of two Russians - Alexander Litvinenko and Anna Politkovskaya. He indeed presents convincing evidence that both were murdered - something any reader could get from newspapers. However, when LeVine tries to assign blame, he can only repeat in every chapter that Vladimir Putin, if he did not order the murders, either knew about them or condoned them after the fact. All LeVine's research and interviews can prove nothing more. And, once again, even a rag like USA Today could tell you that.

This is a timely book, coming so soon after the Russian intervention in Georgia, and covers an interesting and important subject. The author states his thesis at the outset: that because of its history, Russia is a country and Russians a people more tolerant of brutal behavior by the government than others and that the current Putin regime is ruthless in crushing dissent and enforcing its one-party rule of the country.
Unfortunately what follows is remarkably thin. We go over several well-known cases -- the 2002 takeover of a Moscow theater by Chechen fighters and its brutal "liberation" by the army, the murders of Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov and of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the poisoning of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko.
The problem is that most of the information presented could have been picked up from reading the newspapers. A book has to get beyond that -- to add insights or history or context or unknown facts -- to justify itself. There are a couple of interviews, not always relevant and remarkably unrevealing -- but little sign of real investigative journalism or deep research.
I'm sorry to be negative about this book. I think we need to know more about present-day Russia -- how the government enforces its will, how the oil and gas industry works, how much wealth is trickling down, how the infrastructure is holding up. We need to know more about the way the Russian people live and whether the current oil-based economic expansion is sustainable. We need to know more about the Russian mafia and its ties to the regime and about the FSB (successor to the KGB). We need to know about the state of the armed forces.
Unfortunately, you'll read nothing about that in this book.

I found this to be a solid and compelling piece of investigative journalism on the state of affairs in contemporary Russia. Levine sets out to depict the shadowy and violent zeitgeist of the "New Russia" that has unfolded with the ascension and consolidation of power by Vladimir Putin. After the Soviet collapse, and the haphazard, gangster infested transition years of Boris Yeltsin, many Russians longed for another strongman that could replace the corruption and anarchy with the stable and powerful Russia of old. In many ways, Putin has succeeded in doing just this. The problem, says Levine, is that while the reckless and bloody gangsterism of the 90's has been mostly cleaned up, Putin has effectively turned Russia into a quasi-fascist (my word) state. Political murders have replaced criminal murders, and anyone seen as opposing the state is branded as fair game for retribution. Russian nationalism is on the rise and the country's rising stability and prosperity is enough for most Russians to look the other way.

Central to Putin's mindset and thus the general direction of the country is his connection to Russia's intelligence services. This once undistinguished KGB agent, who managed to become director of the FSB (the successor to the KGB) before being anointed President by Yeltsin, has apparently made his former livelihood the backbone of the new Russian state. His ex-FSB cronies occupy many of the top governmental positions and the secretive "us against them" mentality seems to be the mood of the day. To highlight the tragic consequences of Russia's current trajectory, Levine uses the stories of several high profile victims of the current political climate. Most notable are the murders of renowned journalist Anna Politkovskaya and defector Alexander Litvinenko, just to name two. The book reads like a spy novel at times; poisonings, shootings, allegations of inside jobs, and an array of other bizarre occurrences litter the pages in every chapter. The subject matter is not only compelling, but at times extremely sad as well.

Overall, I thought this was a very informative and intriguing read. It was a bit slow in the middle, but by the end I was completely fascinated. Levine is a solid journalist who has clearly done his homework. I found it to be quite objective as well. While Levine is clearly critical of Putin and the new Russian state, he does his best to separate fact from fiction whenever possible. Highly recommended.

Putin's Labyrinth is the kind of book that only a journalist -- a particularly good journalist -- could write. It takes the news and pulls and prods at it, showing you how it turns on the actions of people, some ordinary, some extraordinary. I'd been mildly curious about what is happening inside Russia these days, and seeing how the book purported to tie together so many recent headlines of the last few years, I was intrigued enough to pick it up. I put it down about 48 hours later, finished and satisfied that I will never look at events in Russia the same way again.

This is a tremendous read for anybody with a general interest in Putin's Russia, and stories of spies, deception, and assassination. LeVine is a truly gifted writer, and his style makes this book read like a thriller. The two most notorious recent assassinations, of Andrew Litvinenko and Anna Politkovskaya, are covered fairly in-depth. Russia is such an intriguing country, at least to me it is. My only complaint is that LeVine seems to have made a conscious effort to keep this book short (166 pages!). I'm not sure why, maybe his publishers thought a short one would be more likely to sell. He could have gone into much greater detail about Putin himself, and his governing style and connection to the KGB and FSB. But I can't complain. A great quick read, and a real page turner.