The New Nobility cover art

The New Nobility

The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB

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The New Nobility

By: Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogin
Narrated by: Christian Rummel
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About this listen

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.

©2010 Irina Borogan, Andrei Soldatov (P)2010 Audible, Inc. Freedom & Security Political Science Politics & Government Russia World Espionage Soviet Union War Imperialism Socialism Security State

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Critic reviews

"A relentless investigation that demonstrates how, with Putin’s rise, the KSB has taken its place ‘at the head table of power and prestige in Russia.’" ( Kirkus)
"Few people are better placed than Mr. Soldatov and Ms. Borogan to write with authority on this subject.... The publication of the The New Nobility in English is welcome; it should be essential reading for those who hold naïve hopes about Russia's development or who pooh-pooh the fears of its neighbors. " (Edward Lucas, The Wall Street Journal)
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An interesting, worrying, but also naive appraisal of the FSB. Enjoyed listening to this though.

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