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  <title><![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This book is just a string of interviews that the author happened to land and declined to analyze. It is nestled within bits of information harvested from better books and accented by occasional editorializing about which dissidents have attractive wives. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46590733]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Mon Feb 16 10:32:28 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[For all the complaints I have about our government, this book made me glad I don't live Russia. One of the reasons why - <br/><br/>&quot;In July, Vladimir Putin signed a law...it granted the Kermlin's intelligence agencies the right-if Putin gave his approval-to assassinate Russia's enemies outsid...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45579142">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>39021406</id>
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    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Nov 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Mon Dec 01 08:26:14 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Overall, this book was a good overview of several events in Russia's recent past that show a troubling trend that is not a surprise to many people. I felt that the book was a little thin, that the author was trying to get it out as quickly as possible and didn't follow some of the threads through to...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39021406">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39021406]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Sep 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Thu Sep 04 08:46:59 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Quote-leftThis is a timely book, coming so soon after the Russian intervention is Georgia, and covers an interesting and important subject. The author states his thesis at the outset: that because of its history, Russia is a country and Russians a people more tolerant of brutal behavior by the gover...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31770842">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Everyone in the US and NATO]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 27 21:16:56 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Aug 27 21:30:13 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It is no coincidence that Putin has chosen this time during the Olympics and the US political parties' national conventions to attack and take possession of parts of Georgia that Russia and Georgia have been fighting over for hundreds of years.Vladimir Putin is Russia's new autocrat, Russia's second...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31396234">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31396234]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31396234]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>36556259</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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  <published>2008</published>
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    <rating>2</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Oct 30 09:57:47 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 27 16:50:18 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[OK book. Easy to read and moves at quite a fast pace and is short at around 165 pages. Holds the promise of a look at Vladimir Putin's presidency and certainly does cover that but overall it seems to imply that he presides over a Russia unconcerned with crime on the streets, especially murder and on...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36556259">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36556259]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>30745041</id>
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    <id>1369501</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lisa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Wichita, KS]]></location>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 20 20:39:38 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Sep 07 13:53:48 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An interesting look at aspects of modern Russia, mostly through a series of loosely linked articles on topics such as the Nord-Ost theater incident, the murder of Politkovskaya and the poisoning of Litvinenko. The articles are interesting -- well written and well researched -- but are generally one-...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30745041">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30745041]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30745041]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>74522196</id>
    <user>
    <id>2381199</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dana]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
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  <isbn>1400066859</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 14 11:41:16 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Oct 21 07:48:20 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A good and very disturbing look at the lawlessness that pervades Putin's Russia. I have read some other books on some of the famous killings done in this book, but this read makes it all the more clear that today's Russia is a vicious, dangerous place to live if you question the powers that be.<br/>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74522196]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74522196]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>43593310</id>
    <user>
    <id>811190</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Stormy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/811190-stormy]]></link>
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  <isbn>1400066859</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jan 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 19 11:20:48 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 19 11:22:43 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I had no knowledge of Russia, Putin, or the goings-on.  Learned a great deal.  I've led a naive life!  His other books, especially about oil and Russia would be interesting.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43593310]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43593310]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42038585</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Ron]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Wheaton, IL]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 05 18:50:27 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Apr 16 13:07:59 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is a dark description of how difficult it is to speak out against your government if you are a Russian.  Note, there is no &quot;Daily Show&quot; in Russia.  This book will tell you why.  Seriously though, this book gets into lots of the fascinating details of the Alexander Litvinenko pois...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42038585">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42038585]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42038585]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>49304025</id>
    <user>
    <id>1477454</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brent]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Colorado Springs, CO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1477454-brent]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">3322363</id>
  <isbn>1400066859</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066858</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 14 21:00:47 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 06 11:02:27 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really liked this book.  The biggest story in this book is about Alexander Litvenenko, the defected former KGB agent that was poisoned by the radioactive isotope Polonium-210.  He was allegedly poisoned by other KGB agents.  The book followed several other political assassinations and terror attac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49304025">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49304025]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49304025]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>65375141</id>
    <user>
    <id>2565018</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Krystyn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New London, NH]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2565018-krystyn]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">6455225</id>
  <isbn>0812978412</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812978414</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6455225-putin-s-labyrinth</link>
  <average_rating>5.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In <strong>Putin’s Labyrinth</strong>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a gripping account of modern Russia. President Dmitri Medvedev and the country’s real power, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, are posing a resolute challenge to the West. In a penetrating narrative that recounts the lives and deaths of six Russians, LeVine portrays the growth of a “culture of death”—from targeted assassinations of the state’s enemies to the Kremlin’s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered. Interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families and friends of these victims reveal how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence and the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people. The result is a fresh way of assessing the forces that are driving this major new confrontation with the West.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 29 02:58:37 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 19 10:58:48 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Levine may be a bit over the top with his assessments, but on the whole this is a very compelling  (and terrifying) account of how Putin came to power and has maintained power -- told through a series of high profile assassinations and murders that you've heard about but never thought much of until ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65375141">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65375141]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65375141]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37956196</id>
    <user>
    <id>1537755</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Evanston, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1537755-katie]]></link>
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  <isbn>1400066859</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 17 10:49:36 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 17 10:54:30 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>Once</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is an interesting analysis of Putin's Russia and the deaths of journalists and critics under Putin's reign. I'm concerned that it may overdramatize the situation or give credence to conspiracy theories, but it may be an accurate portrayal. It's written by a BusinessWeek reporter, and he's caref...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37956196">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37956196]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37956196]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>23983224</id>
    <user>
    <id>275191</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Barron]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/275191-barron]]></link>
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  <isbn>1400066859</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jun 08 08:19:27 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 02 15:08:21 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's weird that every important dissident in modern Russia was close freinds with the others. (Except Garry Kasparov.) Anna, Litvinenko, you name it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23983224]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23983224]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>36181382</id>
    <user>
    <id>1653294</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Emily]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Burlington, WI]]></location>
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  <isbn>1400066859</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Oct 25 11:03:09 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Oct 25 11:04:08 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Russia is receding into the past.. and it's scary.  Good piece of journalism...a little sensational but overall a well done piece.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36181382]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36181382]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>30891162</id>
    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Drew]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322363.Putin_s_Labyrinth_Spies_Murder_and_the_Dark_Heart_of_the_New_Russia</link>
  <average_rating>3.20</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Excellent book for anyone who wants to know more about whats going on behind the scenes during Russia's rebirth on to the world statge]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia]]>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Illuminating, written like a reporter writing a book. ]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[A compelling new read about 21st Century Russia.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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    <![CDATA[The new Russia is marching in an alarming direction. Emboldened by escalating oil wealth and newfound prominence as a world power, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, has veered back toward the authoritarian roots planted in Imperial/Czarist times and firmly established during the Soviet era. Though Russia has a new president, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin remains in control, rendering the democratic reforms of the post-Soviet order irrelevant. Now, in <em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth</em>, acclaimed journalist Steve LeVine, who lived in<strong> </strong>and reported from the former Soviet Union for more than a decade, provides a penetrating account of modern Russia under the repressive rule of an all-powerful autocrat. LeVine portrays the growth of a &#8220;culture of death&#8221;&#8211;from targeted assassinations of the state&#8217;s enemies to the Kremlin&#8217;s indifference when innocent hostages are slaughtered.<br/><br/>Drawing on new interviews with eyewitnesses<strong> </strong>and the families of victims, LeVine documents the bloodshed that has stained Putin&#8217;s two terms as president. Among the incidents chronicled in these pages: The 2002 terrorist takeover of a crowded Moscow theater&#8211;which led to the government gassing the building, and the deaths of more than a hundred terrified hostages&#8211;seen here from new angles, through the riveting words of those who survived; and the murder of courageous investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, shot in the elevator of her apartment building on Putin&#8217;s birthday, purportedly as a malicious &#8220;gift&#8221; for the president from supporters. Finally, a shocking story that made international headlines&#8211;the 2006 death of defector Alexander Litvinenko in London&#8211;is dramatized as never before. LeVine traces the steps of this KGB-spy-turned-dissident on his way to being poisoned with polonium<strong>-</strong>210, a radioactive isotope. And in doing so, LeVine is granted a rare series of interviews with a KGB defector who was nearly killed in strangely similar circumstances fifty years earlier. Through LeVine&#8217;s exhaustive research, we come to know the victims as real people, not just names in brief news accounts of how they died.<br/><br/><em>Putin&#8217;s Labyrinth </em>is more than an immensely readable exposé. It is highly personal, with the flavor of a memoir. It is a thoughtful book that examines the perplexing question of how Russians manage to negotiate their way around the ever-present danger of violence. It calculates the emotional toll that this lethal maze is exacting on ordinary people, even as they enjoy a dramatically heightened standard of living. Most ominously, it assesses the reopening of hostilities with the West, and the forces that are driving this major new confrontation.]]>
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