Synopses & Reviews
The security services have played a centraland#151;and often mysteriousand#151;role at key turning points in Russia during the tumultuous years following the Soviet collapse: from the Moscow apartment house bombings and theater siege, to the war in Chechnya and the Beslan school massacre. In this riveting investigation, two intrepid journalists penetrate the secret world of the FSB and illustrate how the security services have evolved into a ruthless, violently powerful force that is inextricably woven into modern Russiaand#8217;s fundamental makeup, and has become more shadowy than its predecessor, the Soviet KGB.
Review
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2010
andldquo;A relentless investigation that demonstrates how, with Putinandrsquo;s rise, the KSB has taken its place andlsquo;at the head table of power and prestige in Russia.andrsquo; andrdquo;
Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2010
andldquo;Few people are better placed than Mr. Soldatov and Ms. Borogan to write with authority on this subject. They run the website Agentura.Ru, a magpie's nest of news and analysis that presents a well-informed view of the inner workings of this secret state. Given the fates that have befallen other investigative journalists in Russia in recent years, some might fear for the authors' safety. But the publication of the andquot;The New Nobilityandquot; in English is welcome; it should be essential reading for those who hold naandiuml;ve hopes about Russia's development or who pooh-pooh the fears of its neighbors.andrdquo;and#160;
Foreign Policy, September 17, 2010
andldquo;The authors bring hard-digging, fact-based journalism to an aspect of Russia that has been hard to document and understandandhellip; Sober and probing.andrdquo;
Basil and Spice, September 14, 2010
andldquo;A non-fiction book that reads like a spy thrillerandhellip; The New Nobility is an important book, well written and meticulously researched by two journalists with the right sources, both inside and outside the FSB.andrdquo;
Sunday Times (UK), September 19, 2010
andldquo;This compelling book is a distillation of [Soldavov and Boroganandrsquo;s] work on the website. Drawing on considerable research it describes how the KGB, for decades at the violent vanguard of the communist dictatorship, switched effortlessly after the fall of the Soviet Union, preserving the stability of the new ultra-capitalist Kremlin; same people, many of the same methods, different name and economic system.andrdquo;
The Guardian, September 25, 2010
andldquo;Because every page in this book gainsays his claim in the most forceful fashion imaginable that democracy is now decisive in defining Russia's political directionandhellip;. It is the product of two profoundly courageous Russian journalists who are meticulous about their reportingandhellip;. It is because they are Russian and superbly professional journalists that this book offers dozens of insights that no outsider could provide.andrdquo;The Guardian, October 3, 2010
andldquo;If all of this still feels too frivolous, turn to The New Nobility, an inside look at the KGB by a pair of fearless Russian journalists, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan. Charting the organisation's heyday, decline and creeping return to power, it promises to raise the hairs on your neck as effectively as Ackroyd's ghost stories.andrdquo;
Financial Times, October 18, 2010
andldquo;A detailed dissection of the FSB, the heir to the KGB, which still casts a long shadow over Moscow. For more than a decade the two authors have run the website Agentura.ru, a gold mine of information on the inner workings of the security services, particularly the FSB. In a country where many journalists have been attacked or killed for speaking truth to power, their reporting has been brave.andrdquo;
Mother Jones, November 2010
andldquo;The New Nobility is an unnerving look at the real power behind the new Russia.andrdquo;
Russian Life
andldquo;For those looking for yet more evidence that the security services are pulling the strings in modern Russia, look no further than this extraordinary new book from the fearless journalists at agentura.ru. Soldatov (who has written for Russian Life) and Borogan have compiled a history of FSB activities and operations over the past decade that paint a very vivid picture of a security service that has become Russiaandrsquo;s new ruling classandhellip; With amazing accounts of some of the most significant security crises and counter-terrorist activities of the past decade, Soldatov and Borogan offer insights into FSB operations that have not been offered anywhere to dateandhellip; A must read.andrdquo;and#160;Irish Times, October 30, 2010andldquo;Impressively detailed and unsettlingandhellip; Soldatov and Borogan have done an excellent job in shining a light in some of Russiaandrsquo;s darkest corners.andrdquo;and#160;Moscow Times, November 12, 2010
andldquo;Fortunately there are inquisitive and intrepid journalists like Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan to bring nuance, analysis and old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting to the subject of the revival of Russiaandrsquo;s security servicesandhellip;. The authors pull no punches in their criticism of endemic corruption and incompetence in the countryandrsquo;s security forces. But they do so with a refreshing lack of hysteria, drawing conclusions from facts they were able to document and refusing to indulge in conspiracy theory.andrdquo;
Literary Review, December 2010
andldquo;This important monograph, written by a brave and talented team, is a history of the KGB (now called the FSB) over the last fifteen years.andrdquo;
New Statesman, December 6, 2010
andldquo;Drawing on extensive investigations, the two journalists have written a gripping account of how veterans of the KGB seized control of the Russian stateandhellip; This book paints a chilling picture of a country dominated by a power-hungry clique. Anyone who wants to understand Putinandrsquo;s brave new Russia should read it.andrdquo;Financial World (UK), December 2010andldquo;A thorough and very brave examination of an organization that has a tight political, commercial and economic grip on Russiaandrdquo;and#160;New York Review of Books, January 3, 2011
andldquo;As it has in earlier contests over leadership, the countryandrsquo;s all-powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) is bound to have a crucial part in deciding who will be the next president. (This agency made the original arrests in the Khodorkovsky case, discussed below, which has great significance for the presidential succession.) This is why The New Nobility, which explains how the FSB has evolved over the past decade into an organization with enormous political and economic influence, is such an important and timely bookandhellip;. Using anonymous sources from within the security services and the Kremlin, along with on-the-spot reporting, Soldatov and Borogan have uncovered new and significant information on the FSB and its relations with the Russian leadership.andrdquo;
Sunday Telegraph (UK) October 2, 2011andldquo;An authoritative and brave investigation into nefarious dealings by the Russian security service the FSB, which replaced the KGB an on which Vladimir Putin relies.andrdquo;
Synopsis
A penetrating investigation into how the KGB rose from the ashes of the Soviet Union and reinvented itself at the heart of the Russian state during Vladimir Putinand#8217;s rule
Synopsis
Two courageous journalists chart how the KGB rose from the Soviet ashes and recreated itself as the FSB at the prompting and with the assistance of Vladimir Putin In The New Nobility, two courageous Russian investigative journalists open up the closed and murky world of the Russian Federal Security Service. While Vladimir Putin has been president and prime minister of Russia, the Kremlin has deployed the security services to intimidate the political opposition, reassert the power of the state, and carry out assassinations overseas. At the same time, its agents and spies were put beyond public accountability and blessed with the prestige, benefits, and legitimacy lost since the Soviet collapse.
The security services have played a central- and often mysterious-role at key turning points in Russia during these tumultuous years: from the Moscow apartment house bombings and theater siege, to the war in Chechnya and the Beslan massacre. The security services are not all-powerful; they have made clumsy and sometimes catastrophic blunders. But what is clear is that after the chaotic 1990s, when they were sidelined, they have made a remarkable return to power, abetted by their most famous alumnus, Putin.
Synopsis
In The New Nobility, two courageous Russian investigative journalists open up the closed and murky world of the Russian Federal Security Service. While Vladimir Putin has been president and prime minister of Russia, the Kremlin has deployed the security services to intimidate the political opposition, reassert the power of the state, and carry out assassinations overseas. At the same time, its agents and spies were put beyond public accountability and blessed with the prestige, benefits, and legitimacy lost since the Soviet collapse.
The security services have played a central -- and often mysterious -- role at key turning points in Russia during these tumultuous years: from the Moscow apartment house bombings and theater siege, to the war in Chechnya and the Beslan massacre. The security services are not all-powerful; they have made clumsy and sometimes catastrophic blunders. But what is clear is that after the chaotic 1990s, when they were sidelined, they have made a remarkable return to power, abetted by their most famous alumnus, Putin.
About the Author
Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan are cofounders of the Agentura.Ru website. Soldatov worked for Novaya Gazeta from 2006 to 2008. Agentura.Ru and its reporting have been featured in the New York Times, the Moscow Times, the Washington Post, Online Journalism Review, Le Monde, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN, Federation of American Scientists, and the BBC. The New York Times called it and#147;A Web Site That Came in From the Cold to Unveil Russian Secrets.and#8221;