From Red Terror to Mafia State

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was obviously a defeat for the Communist Party, but more surprisingly it was a victory for the ruthless State Security Committee, the KGB. Today its successor, the FSB (Federal Security Service), is firmly in control of Russia through the person of Vladimir Putin, a former KGB operative and FSB director. From Red Terror to Mafia State details how the state security organization seized power over Russia, and explains how the FSB doesn't just silence domestic dissenters but also threatens the outside world.

The story begins in 1917 with the establishment of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK), commonly known as the Cheka, under the direction of Felix Dzerzhinsky. Several versions of State Security followed before the KGB was formed in 1954. For many decades, the Security organization competed for dominance with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, until the party was finally defeated and lost power in 1991. Through a chain of unconstitutional maneuverings, the state power landed in the hands of the FSB in 2000 when Putin was elevated to the presidency of Russia, a position he holds in perpetuity.

The authors of this illuminating narrative are exceptionally well qualified to reveal how it all happened. Yuri Felshtinsky, a historian, has written prolifically on the Soviet Union, Russia, and the state security apparatus. Vladimir Popov was himself a KGB operative for two decades. Together with Boris Gulko and Viktor Kortschnoi, they co-authored The KGB Plays Chess: The Secret Police and the Fight for the World Chess Crown (2010). In their new book, Felshtinsky and Popov underscore the dangers posed to the world by FSB rule over a nuclear superpower and suggest ways to eliminate this new and unexpected threat.