
Putin’s People
How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West
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Narrated by:
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Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
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By:
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Catherine Belton
About this listen
‘An outstanding exposé of Putin and his criminal pals’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Her much-awaited book is the best and most important on modern Russia’ THE TIMES
A chilling and revelatory expose of the KGB’s renaissance, 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 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.
‘A fearless, fascinating account … Reads at times like a John le Carré novel … A groundbreaking and meticulously researched anatomy of the Putin regime, Belton’s book shines a light on the pernicious threats Russian money and influence now pose to the west’ Guardian
©2020 Catherine Belton (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedI tend to divide history books into ‘worthy’ and ‘rollicking’, and I have a strong preference for the rollicking style - colourful characters and a fast narrative. As a reader I’m like, ‘don’t bother to cite your sources, love, I’m only going to forget them the moment I put the book down’. (I didn’t even bother to review 1776 because it really was worthy, blow by blow military history as it happened). This book falls into the ‘worthy’ category but it is suddenly SO RELEVANT that it doesn’t need to rollick. It is hard to follow with all the Russian names - I had to listen to the whole book twice, played at 0.8 speed. It was worth it. This is a must-read right now.
Very scary…but extremely topical
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An amazing achievement - to get this extensive research . Shocking facts , an eye opener . A must read! Hi
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weak start - strong finish
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Scary but necessary reading
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Extremely interesting
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If you ever believed the KGB were a thing of the past or were ever in doubt about Putin’s dictatorship and history, his dubiously easy rise to presidency, his aggression, illegal bloodshed, mass murder, secret plots, corruption, fraud, bribery, money laundering, the rise of oligarchy, unimaginable vulgar greed and wealth, organised crime, grand theft of lands and finance that don’t belong to them for the sole benefit of their self-serving selves, inventing crimes against its own country’s business owners in order to steal billions of roubles or dollars as well as committing those individuals to prison camps, then please read this brilliant in depth and insightful book by Catherine Belton.
If only Putin were capable of utilising his intelligence for the greater good of Russian society and globally, instead of gaslighting them purely for himself, Ukraine and the rest of our world would be a safer place. But he is not capable of this human trait, as just like any other ruthless autocratic sociopathic narcissist, he possesses zero empathy for others.
The West cannot escape some responsibility for Putin being able to fund his war. If the greedy, gullible and blinkered high society of the United Kingdom - including the Tory party who unashamedly accepted enormous sums of dirty cash, with London being the biggest laundromat in the world (as well as those in other western nations) had prevented Putin’s infiltration of ill-gotten wealth laundered through the West - perhaps the horrors of what we are witnessing today, could have been avoided.
Informative, jaw dropping account of how Putin came to power and remained
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The speed is a bit quick so I listened on 0.8x.
Great book
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Interesting but narrator not great
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Incredible
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detailed descriptions
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