Uncovering the Machinations of Vladimir Putin's Inner Circle: A Look Inside the Kremlin's Court

Raymond: The story in this book is really interesting. All the pieces of news from journals and tv- emissions etc. become clear. It is like seeing a puzzle of many thousand pieces done. I learned a lot of Russia and the people there. To be read by anyone who is interested in geopolitics.

United States on Nov 02, 2023

West485: This book describes the strengths and weaknesses of all the people around Putin and how some fall from grace while his old buddies from Leningrad take many positions.

United States on Mar 07, 2023

A. Reader: Everyone's to blame for how Russia got here, including the Russians themselves - their "elite" in particular, who created Putin the monster.

United Kingdom on Oct 20, 2022

GeoKeith: Interesting read, can provide some context into Putin's actions in Ukraine..

United States on Aug 08, 2022

Omkar Dhakephalkar: I got to know about this book via the YouTube channel Caspian Report (a must-watch for geopolitical content). Being a student of geopolitics myself, I thought this would be an interesting read, and was not disappointed. The writing is crisp and detailed. I do not know of any patent biases, but I may be wrong. This is the author's first book I am reading. If you are new to contemporary Russian politics and the klepto-Kremlinocracy, the named will soon start mixing with each other. It is a good idea to take notes to keep track.

India on Dec 06, 2021

Brian Lait: There are almost too many books out there on Vladimir, and I'm sure there will be many more !

This is the best book on Putin since I read Masha Gessen's book "The man without a face....."

Both authors write "from the inside". Through his numerous interviews over the years, Zygar is well placed to have in-depth knowledge of Putin and those around him. He writes in a clear, easy to read, style.

A considerable disadvantage with the Kindle is the inability to flick back and forth within the book. For example. at the beginning of this book there is an entire chapter detailing the names, and a sort of brief CV, of the main characters involved. Without being able to readily refer back to this list, I got a bit lost as to who is who within the book; and a lot of characters are mentioned.

Most interesting was the many insights revealed for the first time to me. For example, that the Rotenbergs hold Finnish nationality and that Boris Berezovsky apparently was Russian Orthodox by religion. I always assumed he was Jewish. Was I wrong, or did he 'convert' for convenience ??!! Also, that Putin was not initially in favour of the winter Olympics in Sochi; I thought he...

United Kingdom on Jan 13, 2019

Jens Nielsen: OK I will join the choir and praise this book. It is a very good read, rather entertaining and rewarding. Many details and many intrigues. I do not know if we reading this book are supposed to feel we are witnessing an unveiling of the “true character of the Putin system” and seeing the reverse side of the system. I cannot say I am that surprised by the findings of the book, you can actually see many of the same things in Western countries. And power games in big countries hardly ever look neat and decent. What went on let's say- on the Capitol Hill f.i.?
Having said so, I must confess that this book is much better than the waves of books written by Western writers about Putin with an extreme negative attitude to Putin. Zygar knows what he is dealing with. And thank God he is not making a hero out of Khodorkovsky. He has made his research as a pro journalist.
Although I have following remarks: I need some references to many of the surprising stories and statements which abound in the book. Are they all credible? Maybe some have forgotten something or possibly want to prettify their past. Secondly: It seems to be a precondition in the book that Russian politician always...

United Kingdom on Apr 15, 2017

Frank H. Fuller: State Department, ignore this book at America's peril. Donald Trump, by his own admission, lacks the attention span to read a book. So, it's up to his key foreign policy advisors to do so and come up to speed on the real Putin and his Kremlin.

The book is a primer on the rise and reign of the Russian Caesar. Ukraine, Georgia, oil, the oligarchs, the massive lies, the assassinations... We learn who Putin is by his behind-the-scene actions and maneuvers, some known to us as reported in the papers, but much that is new. Michael Zygar has a golden Rolodex and has mined the minds of dozens of in-the-know sources. Yet, apparently, he hasn't yet crossed that invisible line that might mark his end. Perhaps Putin likes having his ruthless reputation burnished. This is not a psychological profile of Putin - that would be equally fascinating but perhaps more dangerous territory for a writer to venture into, but we can hope that one exists in Washington. You can bet Putin has his people working on our President-elect's profile.

United States on Dec 22, 2016

Amazon Customer: Great read - refreshingly original

What sets this book aside from all other books on Putin's Russia is 3 things:

1. Approach --> it does not portray Russia as ruled by 1 man, but gives an actual insight in the power structures and factions that rule the Kremlin

2. Author --> The author himself is Russian - he is involved with independent Russian tv station TV Rain (and had to resign after publishing this book because if pressure from the Kremlin). He managed to get very close to many of the men in power at the Kremlin, giving a unique insight from within this very closed group of people & power, instead of reporting from a distance, as is usually the case with books like these.

3. Writing style --> every chapter starts with an anecdote about a powerful figure. These anecdotes are great storytelling, especially the ones on Chechnyan leader Ramzan Kadyrov and head of Rosneft Igor Sechin. Also, the writer clearly tries to maintain a certain neutrality in his writing, whereas most western journalists / writers (Myers, Pomerantsev) clearly write from a certain moral high ground.

It's very refreshing, original, and I definitely recommend...

United States on Dec 13, 2016

Geoff Crocker: Mikhail Zygar’s ‘All the Kremlin’s Men’ is a very readable informative account throwing light on the murky question of who works around Putin in governing Russia.

What becomes clear is that Russia remains a feudal state where leadership is by the king’s fiat, rather than by the logic and reasoned argument of modernity. Power is grasped for its own sake, rather than for any meaningful national agenda. The regime is devoid of any other purpose. Its only raison d’être is to perpetuate itself, which is why it has to rely on myths of international conspiracy against it. Status, power, and image are everything; content, function, and logic rate nothing. As Zygar cites its leaders as acknowledging, the internal result in terms of the Russian economy and social well-being is negligible because there is no such political manifesto in place. Skirmishes in Crimea, Ukraine and Syria are all you get to sustain the regime’s credibility. Underpinning this, Zygar traces the emergence of a supposed alternative to western liberal ethics presented in terms of Count Sergey Uvarov’s historic formulation of ‘orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality’ (p279).

Zygar’s account...

United Kingdom on Nov 06, 2016