
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
"This riveting, immaculately researched book is arguably the best single volume written about Putin, the people around him and perhaps even about contemporary Russia itself in the past three decades." (Peter Frankopan, Financial Times)
Interference in American 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?
In Putin’s People, the investigative journalist and former Moscow correspondent Catherine Belton reveals the untold story of how Vladimir Putin and the small group of KGB men surrounding him rose to power and looted their country. Delving deep into the workings of Putin’s Kremlin, Belton accesses key inside players to reveal how Putin replaced the freewheeling tycoons of the Yeltsin era with a new generation of loyal oligarchs, who in turn subverted Russia’s economy and legal system and extended the Kremlin's reach into the United States and Europe. The result is a chilling and revelatory exposé of the KGB’s revanche - a story that begins in the murk of the Soviet collapse, when networks of operatives were able to siphon billions of dollars out of state enterprises and move their spoils into the West. Putin and his allies subsequently completed the agenda, reasserting Russian power while taking control of the economy for themselves, suppressing independent voices, and launching covert influence operations abroad.
Ranging from Moscow and London to Switzerland and Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach - and assembling a colorful cast of characters to match - Putin’s People is the definitive account of how hopes for the new Russia went astray, with stark consequences for its inhabitants and, increasingly, the world.
Financial Times Books of the Year - 2020
The Telegraph (UK) Best Books of the Year - 2020
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
©2020 Catherine Belton (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
From the KGB to the Kremlin: a multidimensional portrait of the man at war with the West. Where do Vladimir Putin's ideas come from? How does he look at the outside world? What does he want, and how far is he willing to go? The great lesson of the outbreak of World War I in 1914 was the danger of misreading the statements, actions, and intentions of the adversary. Today, Vladimir Putin has become the greatest challenge to European security and the global world order in decades.
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Not a good narration.
- By IBH on 07-22-20
By: Fiona Hill, and others
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Blowout
- Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
- By: Rachel Maddow
- Narrated by: Rachel Maddow
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2010, the words “earthquake swarm” entered the lexicon in Oklahoma. That same year, a trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia—including his iconic crystal-encrusted white glove—was sold at auction for over $1 million to a guy who was, officially, just the lowly forestry minister of the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea. And in 2014, Ukrainian revolutionaries raided the palace of their ousted president and found a zoo of peacocks, gilded toilets, and a floating restaurant modeled after a Spanish galleon.
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chilling...
- By Kindle Customer on 10-12-19
By: Rachel Maddow
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American Psychosis
- A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy
- By: David Corn
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
- Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A fast-paced, rollicking, behind-the-scenes account of how the GOP since the 1950s has encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to gain power, American Psychosis offers listeners a brisk, can-you-believe-it journey through the netherworld of far-right irrationality and the Republican Party’s interactions with the darkest forces in America.
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Important history poorly read
- By A. Hawley on 09-16-22
By: David Corn
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The Story of Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia’s agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country’s actions.
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Almost perfect…
- By Samantha Dispenzieri on 02-21-23
By: Orlando Figes
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Putin's Kleptocracy
- Who Owns Russia?
- By: Karen Dawisha
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The raging question in the world today is who is the real Vladimir Putin and what are his intentions. Karen Dawisha’s brilliant Putin’s Kleptocracy provides an answer, describing how Putin got to power, the cabal he brought with him, the billions they have looted, and his plan to restore the Greater Russia.
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Who owns Russia
- By Amazon Customer on 11-09-14
By: Karen Dawisha
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The Last Empire
- The Final Days of the Soviet Union
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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On Christmas, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to declare an American victory in the Cold War: Earlier that day Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as the first and last Soviet president. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse immediately after Bush's speech and has persisted for decades. As Serhii Plokhy reveals, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the US.
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Full of Holes; Horrid Narrator
- By Donald on 03-02-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
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House of Trump, House of Putin
- The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia
- By: Craig Unger
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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It is a chilling story that begins in the 1970s, when Trump made his first splash in the booming, money-drenched world of New York real estate, and ends with Trump’s inauguration as president of the US. That moment was the culmination of Vladimir Putin’s long mission to undermine Western democracy, a mission that he and his hand-selected group of oligarchs and Mafia kingpins had ensnared Trump in, starting more than 20 years ago with the massive bailout of a string of Trump hotel and casino failures. This book confirms the most incredible American paranoias about Russian malevolence.
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Understanding Trump through his shady roots
- By Caty kindle 4 on 08-20-18
By: Craig Unger
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Russia
- Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Rob Heaps
- Length: 21 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Between 1917 and 1921 a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. The doomed White alliance of moderate socialists and reactionary monarchists stood little chance against Trotsky’s Red Army and the single-minded Communist dictatorship under Lenin.
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Not Enough Context
- By Amazon Customer on 02-14-23
By: Antony Beevor
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Overreach
- The Inside Story of Putin’s War Against Ukraine
- By: Owen Matthews
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War—and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime—and Russia itself—at risk of destruction. Why? Drawing on over 25 years’ experience working in Moscow, journalist Owen Matthews provides the answer. He takes us inside the COVID bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of nationalist fantasy and bad information.
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Comprehensive Account of the War Through September 2022
- By Jason777 on 12-30-22
By: Owen Matthews
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A Short History of Russia
- How the World's Largest Country Invented Itself, from the Pagans to Putin
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon’s French to Hitler’s Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. In A Short History of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate, and exasperating country.
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Wonderful short history
- By Tad Davis on 01-19-21
By: Mark Galeotti
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The Future Is History
- How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia
- By: Masha Gessen
- Narrated by: Masha Gessen
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning journalist Masha Gessen's understanding of the events and forces that have wracked Russia in recent times is unparalleled. In The Future Is History, Gessen follows the lives of four people born at what promised to be the dawn of democracy. Each of them came of age with unprecedented expectations, some as the children and grandchildren of the very architects of the new Russia, each with newfound aspirations of their own - as entrepreneurs, activists, thinkers, and writers, sexual and social beings.
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The author is an international treasure
- By ThreeGems on 10-16-17
By: Masha Gessen
What listeners say about Putin's People
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- Gabe
- 08-06-20
Connects dots.
Answers more questions about current politics than any other I have read. Details why assuming that current presidents are playing by any rules is dangerous. USA and Russia currently both mobs practicing KGB politics.
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- Billjonn
- 03-19-22
Well researched, well written, startling story
Comprehensive and a fast pace. Very credible and stunning narrative. Ok delivery is a bit ‘breathless’ at times.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-02-22
Critical given recent events.
One cannot comment on Russia without understanding the Siloviki. Catherine Belton peers into the twilight world of Putin’s cronies and their influence around the world. This book is a great service, she deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.
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- boss
- 04-26-21
Very good
Always wondered about details? These are the details of criminal activities followed by intelligence matters. Must read.
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- Christopher Leinbach
- 03-18-24
Must read to understand current Ukraine crisis
Started a little slow and confusing, but near the end as it ties closer to current events is eye opening
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- K
- 07-15-20
very good
this book is near perfect. last chapter is the weakest. it tries to incriminate trump, but doesnt do it successfully. yes, i agree russians were happy when he won, and in fact may have gelp him win, but ever since he became a president nothing got easier for russia. he may have benefited but has not returned favor..
other than luberal bias toward trump, this book is near perfect. mafia rules over russia
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- Jade Simmons
- 04-19-22
Brilliant, clear, highly informative
Belton’s book is so powerfully informative that you think you’re being let in on top secret info. But if this info is so available, you have to wonder how Western nations have stood back and watched Putin run a very familiar playbook over and over again. What this book does so wonderfully is prove that when we elect leaders, we really are electing the modes of operation, the mindsets, the personal intentions, and the belief systems of their inner circle.
This is great insight into Putin, but also into understanding the very convincing positioning of perception that Russia (and, of course, all powerful nations) have engaged in when it comes into portraying themselves to their own people.
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- Kyle Borne
- 05-29-24
solid overview of why russia is the way it is.
pretty thorough accounting of the post cold war world in Russia and how everything is tied to putin and his cronies. didn't care for the final chapter that laid out a bunch of outdated and debunked Trump myths.
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- Matthew A. Hayes
- 07-08-24
Important to understand thecurrent geopolitical situation vis-a-vis Russia.
Well researched. Important to understand the fact that the KGB never went away. Very helpful in understanding who Putin is and why we should be concerned about rise of right wing political groups in Europe and more importantly the US.
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- Robert William Michael O'Callahan
- 03-17-22
understand putin
this book will explain clearly putin's current state
why he is doing what he is doing, and why he can't put on the breaks
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