Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism
Author: Paul Klebnikov
List Price: $14.00
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ISBN: 0156013304
Publisher: Harvest Books (September, 2001)
Sales Rank: 270,414
Average Customer Rating: 2.76 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Godfather of the Kremlin
This is a good book about the situation that occured in the Russia after the collapse of communism. I found the book to be an entertaining read and found the book more interesting because of its discussion of the looting of Russia than about Boris Berezovsky. The one misconseption that a person might walk away with from the book is that Berezovsky is some sort of a criminal when, in fact, he is a very talented entreprenuer that was able to use his mind in order to come to the top in a very difficult situation. The way he does business is the only way in Russia. Overall, this book is a good peice and the author has obviously done a good deal of hands on research on the matter. I would reccomend the purchase of this book to anyone interested in learning about the economic reforms of the Yeltsin era and about those who profited from them.
Rating: 5 out of 5
The Rape of Russia
I remember my first visit to the Soviet Union in 1986. Gorbachev had
recently come into power and one could sense that dramatic events
would soon take place. The "Evil Empire" was showing cracks
and strains of trying to keep up with capatilists. The Russian people
for over 70 years were asked to sacrifice for the glories of
Communism. Five short years later Yeltsin was standing on a tank and
America's hero, Gorbachev saw his power come to an end. Hope sprang
eternal. Glasnost and perestroika. Then came the Yeltsin years which
were witness to the wholesale rape and pillaging of of a great
country with an educated public and vast resources. How did it
happen? Mr. Klebnikov's important book meticulously outlines how in
less than a decade tens of billions of dollars were stolen by a bunch
of unscrupulous men who could care less about the effects their acts
would have in devastating the country they lived in. By concentrating
on the most successful of these "oligarchs", to use a polite
term, the brazen rise of Boris Berezovsky is detailed courageously by
Mr. Klebnikov. He describes the murders, the methodology (steal low,
sell high), the willing and unwilling accomplices, and the total lack
of morality. What a tragedy. One thinks of the some 700,000 orphans
now in Russia mainly as a result of mothers being unable to feed their
infants. And where is the money? Sitting in European banks and
elsewhere outside of Russia. At least the robber barons of the 19th
Century rechannelled their millions back into the U. S. economy and
left us with Carnegie Hall, the University of Chicago and the Frick
Museum.. It may be some consolation if Putin is able to arrest a few
of these criminals. Or is he too, bought and paid for? Read this
book.
Rating: 1 out of 5
This is a cheap tabloid-style pamflet, not a serious study
I read this book, initially with some interest, but its style would put everyone off who is interested in exploring the real recent events in post-communist Russia. Any serious researcher would first present the facts, then analyse them and use this analysis to draw conclusions. Paul Klebnikov however chooses a diferent path: present his views on Berezovski, on businesmen and politicians, on Russian reforms, and then use facts (or information about the facts drawn from various sources) to illustrate his views. Clearly this way every event is interpreted in the way that proves author's point of view, but the reader may not be so convinced...Most reviewers try to judge this book by whether the description of facts in the book is true or false. This is an interesting question, but a pointless one, since, first, we have no way of knowing, and secondly, because out of thousands of events some are bound to be described accurately while others ought to be false.
Rather, we should judge this book by what we can draw from the text itself.
This book has to be read (if at all) in the context of the political struggle in Russia, in which it is common (as elsewhere) for one political or business group to use various publications in their fight against other groups. This book is clearly written to smear Berezovsky, other business figures as well as reformist Russian politicians. It is also easy to understand who could be the sponsor of such a book. Most characters in the book are described as looters, crooks, and liers, so it looks strange that there are some figures whose every word is presented as ultimate truth. Most of these figures are associated with the disgraced old Soviet regime, and specifically with Criminal Police or the KGB. The book says that the Criminal Police, the Militia was unable to fight crime effectively because it was poorly equipped, lacked resources and was obstructed by high officials. No word that this institution was corrupt from top to bottom even before Perestroyka (to the point that the deputy head of the interior ministry and Leonid Brezhnev's son-in law was jailed by Yuri Andropov - a rare event in Soviet history). Recent arrests of top police officers in Moscow show to everyone that this institution has become even more corrupt in recent years, so its 'sources' lacks any credibility.
Other information in the book is based on the interviews with "sources" from Soviet notorious secret police, the KGB and its successor, FSB. All people associated with this legendary organisation are described in positive terms. One of its generals, head of Boris Yeltsin's presidential guard, Korzhakov, is quoted so frequently, that the reader gets an impression that he should have been made the co-author. Given the notoriety this general demonstrated during early nineties, the reader will be well advised not to believe his accounts.
In a recent libel case heard in London, the employer of Klebnikov, the Forbes magazine, officially admitted that his allegations that Berezovsky was responsible for murders of various Russian figures (such a Vlad Listiev) were baseless. One wonders why Forbes still employs this guy. One article written by Klebnikov must have cost Forbes a fortune both in legal fees and reputation...
My view is that this book contains a lot of interesting information about recent Russian history, but its account of this history is substantially distorted and biased. For readers unfamiliar with recent events in Russian this book will be misleading. I don't recommend anyone but specialists to buy it.
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