The Guardian
A definitive study of Berezovsky's life and flamboyant times. Knight – a Soviet and Russian affairs specialist – has written an invaluable primer on Moscow's transformation from semi-democracy under Yeltsin into today's "closed fortress".
Starred Review Kirkus Reviews
An in-depth examination of the rise and fall of a Russian oligarch, Knight's thorough research and broad comprehension of Russian politics since the Soviet era allows her to deftly draw linkages between the events that led to Berezovsky's downfall as she also notes aspects of Berezovsky's personality that contributed to his demise. A chilling, compellingly written exploration of Russian politics.
Foreign Affairs
Knight tells the riveting story of the Russian tycoon and political operator Boris Berezovsky and his role in the rise of Vladimir Putin to the presidency in 2000. Readers are sure to enjoy her narrative, which covers the tumultuous political developments in Russia in the 1990s and the first decade of the next century, replete with terrorist attacks, hostage takings, wars, and vicious political intrigue, including an especially murky period preceding Putin's anointment as Yeltsin's successor.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-05-18
An in-depth examination of the rise and fall of a Russian oligarch.
Russian scholar Knight, author ofOrders To Kill: The Putin Regime and Political Murder (2017), here delves into the role of ill-fated oligarch Boris Berezovsky in aiding the rise of Vladimir Putin to power. The son of a Jewish civil engineer, Berezovsky’s relatively comfortable upbringing allowed him to pursue a career in scientific research, a background the author contrasts with Putin’s hardscrabble childhood. While Berezovsky parlayed his scientific knowledge into business partnerships with Russian automobile manufacturers, Putin saw his path to advancement in working for the KGB. Knight traces the two men’s separate careers to the point of their first encounter in October 1991 and their subsequent influence with Boris Yeltsin. (Using his wealth to gain control of television networks and print media, Berezovsky was instrumental in helping Yeltsin deflect accusations of corruption and stay in office, thereby ensuring the rise of Putin, Yeltsin’s handpicked successor.) Knight’s thorough research and broad comprehension of Russian politics since the Soviet era allows her to deftly draw linkages between the events that led to Berezovsky’s downfall as she also notes aspects of Berezovsky’s personality that contributed to his demise: “…Putin seems to have wisely grasped that such cautious behavior was the only way to survive—and get ahead—in the highly dysfunctional and unpredictable Kremlin. Such wisdom eluded the mercurial Berezovsky.” The author details how Berezovsky’s support of Kremlin whistleblower Alexander Litvinenko and his public chiding of Putin in the media were countered by a steady effort to destroy Berezovsky’s already shady reputation abroad. The result, as Knight astutely points out, was that Berezovsky’s warnings about Russian authoritarianism went largely unheeded: “His ambition took precedence over concerns about Russia’s democratic development, and his hubris blinded him to the dangers of Putin’s rise to power until it was too late. But he was far from alone in failing to recognize Putin for who he was.”
A chilling, compellingly written exploration of Russian politics.
