Customer Reviews
Splendid Reading - By: J. Michna, 02 Jul 2006 
Hoffman has captured with force some of the key playersin the transistion from failing communism state to aspiring capitalist society. The finest book of its kind to date. Well worth a second, third or even fourth read.
Brilliant synopsis of what happend and why it all went wrong - By: Siriam, 11 Dec 2003 Hoffman as the Moscow based chief for a US newpaper & Russian speaker was ideally placed as the events covered by this book occurred. Starting from the Fall of communism & the rise of a new business power elite the like of which Russia had never seen since 1917 through Yeltsin's faltering reign due to his health, to the change to Putin is over the 500 odd pages covered with a masterful handling of an incredible range of material & evidence. Hoffman gives a great feel of what set apart both the central characters from their different origins to their rises (andin most cases falls) from power with spectacular fortunes & egos being accumulated along the way. One of the real surprises & pleasuresin the story is how he does not just focus on the new business magnates but other key economists & officials such as the Mayor of Moscowin showing how a very Russian model sought to break from its past & work to avoid a resurgence of communism as a free economy was forged.
The real strength of the book is a conveying of how it actually feltin Russia at that time (the abuses & the corruption); the simple but major errors made (such as the refusal to see the rouble was heading for a dramatic devaluation) & the government's (both centrally & via different agencies & state banks) naivetein letting a small elite continually profit at the expense of the majority.
While the book is rapidly being taken over by recent events under Putin with the recent imprisonmentin 2003 of Khodorovsky who was one of the few survivors by the end of this book, hopefully the writer will attempt a sequelin bringing this masterpiece fully up to date.
Entertaining, informative, provocative.....a great read. - By: , 14 May 2002 Having lived & workedin Russia for many years I experienced first-hand many of the changes of the 90's. However, this book provided many insights, often quite provocative into what was really happeningin the 90's & many of the key playersin Russia at that time. Particularly insightful are the backgrounds on the oligarchs as it helps us better understand their thinking, their drive & their ambition. Would Russian democracy have collapsedin 1996 without them? Perhaps it would have, though this is something we shall never know. Was Putin putin place by Berezovsky & then thrown to the wind as their interests diverged? Quite possible given the nature of Russian politics & the behaviour of oligarchs. What the book does demonstrate is the inextricable link between business & politicsin Russia, something made very visible by colourful characters such as Berezovsky but which appears less so now with dour(relatively) characters such as Abramovich & Potanin.
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read & I look forward to a sequelin three to five years when the events of 2000 onwards can be evaluated with hindsight.
