Londongrad: From Russia with Cash; The Inside Story of the Oligarchs [Paperback]

 

 

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I remember The Times coverage of the death of Steven Curtis in a helicopter crash. This book explains what lead up to Steven being involved with the Russian Oligarchs, his belief that he was in danger and an account of the crash and his funeral.It explains just how the Oligarchs made their money and how they chose to spend it.It is an interesting insight into the Russian mentality, their willingness to kill political opponents wherever they might be living and the attitude of the British Government to requests to live in this country.
It also details the involvement of some members of both the Government and Opposition with the Oligarchs.
A good if disturbing read.Well worth reading.

Lord Acton was right. The more the lolly the more the corruption. That is just one of the several inferences of this book that is not spelt out but left to the reader to connect the dots. The dots though are generally so close together that it is scarcely necessary to connect them. It is a subtle piece of writing because superficially it is racy journalism but some of the dots are pixel size so that the subliminal message comes out as clearly as if it were engraved in stone.

The authors do not present a polemic. They simply recount facts which we may assume are true because no overpaid lawyer has got an injunction to prevent their publication. The book deals with the accumulation of staggering amounts of personal wealth by a handful of ex-Soviet wheeler-dealers (Messrs Berezovsky, Khodorkovsky, Fridman, Gusinsky, Abramovich, Deripaska and Patarkatsishvili among others) soon after the collapse of the USSR and their gross behaviour in squandering it on themselves and their friends. The crudity of their lives reflects their extraordinarily low cultural level. They have the tastes of gangsters, and not just the tastes. They justify their grasping greed by saying it was OK because it was legal. Adolf Hitler and his merry entourage were 'legal'. Morality and law are not the same thing. To acquire, by whatever means, huge amounts of the property of the Russian people then to squirrel the proceeds away in foreign havens to protect it from taxation and being returned to its rightful owners is immorality on an industrial scale.

The main focus of this book is London where the oligarchs feel safe because courts seem reluctant to extradite them even though they are charged with serious crimes in their own country. The Chief Magistrate of London appears to sincerely believe that Berezovsky is a political refugee! They have recruited highly-placed British bag-carriers. Lord Bell was a media adviser (PR man to put it more crudely) to Maggie Thatcher who knighted him for his efforts. Tony Blair gave him a peerage. He now is employed to improve the image of London-based oligarchs and to represent the interest of the rich and powerful such as the Saudi government. (What on earth had this man done to benefit his country that justified him being appointed to the upper house and to sit in government over the British people at their expense? The authors of this book don't ask the question). A fellow Peer of the Realm, Lord Goldsmith, the man who gave flexible advice on the legality of attacking Iraq, is another hanger-on in the entourage that surrounds plutomaniac Russians. He provided legal advice to Patarkatsishvili - a late client of Lord Bell.

The political spectrum is well-represented among the Russian's spongers. Another noble Lord, Mandelson, of the then ruling Labour Party and George Osborne, at the time Shadow Chancellor in the Tory opposition and Nat Rothschild, of the famous banking family were notoriously entertained by Depriska on his luxury yacht in Corfu. In case the middle-ground of British politics feel left out Lord Owen was up to his neck with Khodorkovsky. It's amazing how many of the flies buzzing around have the title Lord. Connecting the obvious dots is it any wonder that not only British but also French, Italian, Canadian, and perhaps most of all, American citizens are disillusioned with their leaders. It is unimaginable that Roy Jenkins, or Lord Carrington or in more recent times Shirley Williams, would stoop so low as to associate with these people. How many times have leading politicians of any stripe been entertained in their homes by working people in Wolverhampton or Tottenham? Do Britain's political leaders have no interest in the British poor, just the foreign rich? Lord Acton was right and so was Oliver Goldsmith (no relation) when he says that wealth accumulates but men decay.

I picked this book up out of curiosity, being neither an expert on the subject, or familiar with other works by the writers. In this context it suited my needs perfectly. The book is not an academic tome but is obviously written by skilful and experienced journalists who know how to engage a reader. Judging by the bibliography, it looks like much of the research is second hand but you cannot fault the writers' attention to detail and confidence with the subject. One criticism might be that the writers' seem a tad schizophrenic as they can't quite decide whether to adopt an ethical moral tone or enjoy the salaciousness of it all. But then I suspect most of us suffer from this dichotomy! Whilst I'm sure there are more serious and academically rigorous books on this subject, I doubt any of them are as enjoyable or as readable as this one. I'd definitely recommended the book for those who are new to the subject.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Much better books on modern day Russia
I totally agree with a couple of other reviewers here in that this is a poorly researched book,riddled with inaccuracies,eg Abramovich's purchase of the Hotel du Cap - Eden Roc in... Read more

Published 3 months ago by jonbev

1.0 out of 5 stars Eyeless in Hacksville
Intensely dull journalese which appears to want us to all go WOW!! at the examples of largesse spewed regularly from the latest Russian set of thieves and villains. Read more

Published 16 months ago by K. N. Tole

3.0 out of 5 stars Londongrad
Unsurprisingly for a book written by journalists, Londongrad has the feel of a newspaper article about it.. albeit a very long one. Read more

Published 24 months ago by Crawling the bookshelf

1.0 out of 5 stars inaccuracies
Extremely disappointing - seems to have been written in a hurry with insufficient research. There are so many inaccuracies, particularly in relation to the information in... Read more

Published on 26 Dec 2009 by V. Piccirilli

5.0 out of 5 stars You have to buy this book!!!!!!!!!!
This is a fascinating book..!

I bought it with little prior knowledge of the influx of Russian money into the capital since the turn of the century bar what had been... Read more

Published on 26 Oct 2009 by Arthurly

3.0 out of 5 stars Londongrad
A fascinating essay on the so-called Russian invasion of London. This is mostly well-researched although I would warn readers to have a good memory for names and places, as each... Read more

Published on 17 Oct 2009 by Bianca White

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