Russia in Four Criminals - by Federico Varese (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Corruption on an immense scale and the unscrupulous use of law enforcement have left indelible marks on post-Soviet Russia. Federico Varese reveals the scars of these grim decades through an unusual lens: its criminal history. Varese weaves together the tales of four criminals, each emblematic of a different decade and social group within the country. We encounter a traditional mobster, an oligarch, an incarcerated drug-dealer who obtained horrifying videos depicting torture behind bars, and the mastermind behind the world's most potent computer virus. In delving into their lives, we witness the transformation of Russia from the late Soviet period, through the tumultuous years of Boris Yeltsin's presidency, to the authoritarian era of Vladimir Putin. This new era, Varese shows, represents the pinnacle of a violent transition to democracy built on widespread theft, suppression of dissent, and the unholy alliance between crime and politics. The West chose to overlook these unfolding abuses, unwaveringly supporting first Yeltsin and then Putin. Now we have awakened to the grim reality, but the realization has come too late. Russia in Four Criminals is an innovative and compelling account of one of the most tragic developments of modern history."--

Book Synopsis

Corruption on an immense scale and the unscrupulous use of law enforcement have left indelible marks on post-Soviet Russia. Federico Varese reveals the scars of these grim decades through an unusual lens: its criminal history.

Varese weaves together the tales of four criminals, each emblematic of a different decade and social group within the country. We encounter a traditional mobster, an oligarch, an incarcerated drug-dealer who obtained horrifying videos depicting torture behind bars, and the mastermind behind the world's most potent computer virus. In delving into their lives, we witness the transformation of Russia from the late Soviet period, through the tumultuous years of Boris Yeltsin's presidency, to the authoritarian era of Vladimir Putin. This new era, Varese shows, represents the pinnacle of a violent transition to democracy built on widespread theft, suppression of dissent, and the unholy alliance between crime and politics. The West chose to overlook these unfolding abuses, unwaveringly supporting first Yeltsin and then Putin. Now we have awakened to the grim reality, but the realization has come too late.

Russia in Four Criminals is an innovative and compelling account of one of the most tragic developments of modern history.

Review Quotes

"This book is an enthralling contribution, based on deep personal acquaintance, to our understanding of the Russian criminal and political world."
Robert Service, Emeritus Professor of Russian History, University of Oxford

"A brilliant study of how illegality thrived in post-Soviet Russia and of the relationship between four criminals and a gangster-like state. Federico Varese's latest book is compelling and meticulously researched. At a time when the Kremlin has unleashed a bloody war in Ukraine, he reminds us that democracy and the rule of law lost out to tyranny and dictatorship."
Luke Harding, author of Mafia State: How One Reporter Became an Enemy of the Brutal New Russia and Invasion: Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival, shortlisted for the 2023 Orwell Prize

"Putin's bloody imperialism should not distract us from the fact that the Russian and Soviet empires only determined half of his mindset. The other half was formed by experiences of criminality Russia went through in the 1990s and 2000s. Federico Varese's book is an important reminder of how critical this second part is."
Andrei Soldatov, author of The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB, and Visiting Fellow at King's College London

"This is a book by the leading academic specialist on organised crime in Russia, who is now sharing his knowledge with a wider public. Varese takes the reader on a journey from late Soviet criminality to the present day, when gangs are active in the new information and bit economy. He does this by introducing the reader to four larger-than-life characters. Through their exploits, we learn how criminality and corruption have become embedded in all levels of society and government."
Judith Pallot, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford

"genius"
Rights in Russia

"informed, lively"
Sydney Morning Herald

"an intellectually rigorous book, compellingly argued and crisply written"
Kirkus Reviews

"Varese lays out a compelling case for a new understanding of Russia and democracy."
CrimeReads

"Varese writes with a certain panache. He brings the stories of the four titular criminals to life, writing them as an elevated form of the pulp thriller."
The Diplomatic Courier

"a deeply informed and incisive analysis of what went wrong in Russia."
Paul Monk, The Australian

"fascinating"
Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Federico Varese is Professor of Sociology at Sciences Po in Paris and Senior Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. He has written on the Russian mafia, Soviet criminal history, Russian dissidents, migration of mafia groups, Somali piracy, the drugs trade, and cybercrime. He is the author of many academic papers and three award-winning books: The Russian Mafia (2001), Mafias on the Move (2011), and Mafia Life (2018). Visit his webpage at: www.federicovarese.com