There is a long-forgotten reason why Communism succeeded in 1923 Russia. Rather than Lenin's oratory, it was the formation of its secret service the Cheka ('The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission') under Felix Dzerzhinsky - a ruthless killer and Vladimir Putin's first predecessor - which assassinated anyone who opposed Lenin. This is the first authoritative history of the struggle of the Russian secret service with the Communist party to gain control over the state, its success in 1999, and what drives its operatives from 1917 to this day - Putin included. Behind Putin stands a hundred year old organisation with overriding values of its own, ready to replace him with someone else from their ranks should that be necessary (like Russian dolls).

Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine came from nowhere...? Felshtinsky and Stanchev's gripping history of Putin's attempts to take Ukraine reveals his first deadly attack came as early as 1999. As early as 2015 the authors predicted that the Russian invasion was a matter the Russian army's 6-year planning cycle and would happen in 2021 (not knowing the pandemic would happen). They argue how Putin must be resisted in order to avoid a potential nuclear conflict that could drag the world into a global war. An authoritative must-read to understand the causes of the crisis and what to do when.