I am halfway through this incredible book and it deeply disturbs me that American Paul Klebnikov died because of this book and other articles he wrote while working in Russia for Forbes Magazine. Of late, all one reads is how someone incredibly powerful managed to get off the hook in one way or another. I am just weary of all the lies in the press and the deceitful 'spin' that the US media gives to people they find useful. No, we don't kill our reporters, but we ruin them in other ways. I hope I live long enough to see this change, but I fear it won't happen in my lifetime. I have learned from personal experiences in my life that 99 percent of what I have read and believed to be true was a lie. It starts with Santa Claus and moves on from there. This book has made me want to read more about Russia, the people, and the various governments. How sad I spent half of my life living in fear of the Russians, and they us. I tried to find 'Conversations With A Barbarian', also by Mr. Klebnikov, but it is no longer available. I feel so awful for his family and friends.

I followed the extraordinary events happening in Russia during the 1990s, reading articles, newspaper stories, a couple of books. But I had no idea what really happened until I read this book. Most of the journalists followed the politics. Paul Klebnikov followed the money. And the money was incredible. In a few years, Boris Berezovsky, who never created a productive corporation, never innovated some product, who never added any value to the wealth of his country, accumulated several billion dollars. This came from the hides of the people of Russia many of whom, the old, the unemployed, children, actually starved during the 1990s. This was the looting of Russia to the benefit of a few thousand people. How it was made possible is in this extraordinary book. Since the book is so well researched, documented and footnoted, I have the feeling that some of the one-star reviews have a hidden agenda to discredit the book. After all Berezovsky is now sitting in England on his 15 million-dollar estate and has been told not to meddle in Russian politics or he'll be kicked out. Russia would love to get him back to go over what he did to Aeroflot, what he knows about several murders of people who opposed his takeovers, and a lot more. Not that the book is perfect. For some reason Klebnikov does not mention the role of foreign economists in Russia's economic disaster of the 1990s. The Russians tried to get the best economic advice they could on their transition from communism to capitalism and turned to such people as Jeffrey Sachs, then of Harvard University, who pushed "shock therapy." It produced plenty of shock but no therapy. Tragically, Gorbachov, earlier, did not have the guts to go with a transition plan developed by Grigory Yavlinski, which was much superior. What the wunderkind economists recommended was to kick away the crutches from the patient before he could walk. It's a sad story, and as many people know Klebnikov was murdered in Moscow two years ago and no one has been convicted of the crime. This is a brave book by a brave journalist and a must read for anyone who wants to understand what happened.
Why is Russia so brutal to its people? If you want to know, I suggest you read the classic "Journey for Our Time" by the Marquis de Custine. Just as de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" really nailed the American character, de Custine nailed the Russians. What is frightening is that he was writing about his trip to Russia in 1839! My family comes from Ukraine and it is such books as "Godfather" and "Journey" that make me thank God that Ukrainians are not Russians.

This is one of the most interesting books I've ever read. I don't know where to start the review, because it's unlike anything else I've ever read, if only from the point of view of the exploits of Berezovsky, his friends, and other "capitalists" who proceeded to rob Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The story of this man and of the atmosphere at the time in general is so amazing that one has to keep reminding oneself that this is not a work of fiction. Indeed, this book was written carefully and every single claim is cited; In fact, I think it would be impossible to paint a better picture of what went on in those years in Russia, because the author has done such a great job in finding and assembling the various sources.

It should be noted that the author was shot dead in 2004 and that some suspect, albeit without much evidence, that the assassination was linked to none other than the protagonist. Of course, we may never know the truth, just as we may never know the absolute truth of the events discussed in the book. Nevertheless, any student of capitalism, Russia, philosophy - at least as it relates to power - or just about anyone else who is interested in the state of Russian business affairs should read this book!

Paul Klebnikov was a brave Russian-American journalist who took on the Oligarchs (Godfather of the Kremlin), the Mafia (in Russian Forbe's), and the Chechnyan terrorists (Interviews with the Barbarians), and died because of it. He was gunned down by a Checnyan hitman, probaly paid for by one of the Oligarch gangsters he exposed. Godfather of the Kremlin is not an easy book to read, but I gave it five stars because of the bravery it took for Paul to write it. The main villain is Boris Berozovsky, but Yeltsin was also to blame for thieving and privatization that made him, his daughter, and a handful of Oligarchs extreemly rich. Whiole destroying the life-savings of the average Russian citizens and the economy. If you think Enron is a huge crook, it has nothing on Berezovsky and the Oligarchs. They were ruthless, and deserved to be put in jail or exiled. It was only too bad a journalist as brave, excellent and trustable as Paul Klebnikov had to lose his life by exposing their crimes!

Mr. Klebnikov's recount of Russia's most dramatic political events of the last decade, from privatization to failed financial reforms, is fascinating. The book goes into detail explaining who was behind these events that wiped out the middle class, and put the masterminds on Forbes World's Richest list, and how they did it. The author did a terrific job documenting the sources, leaving little to interpretation. He also made it very clear when something couldn't be independently verified.

Note that for someone not familiar with the history of the Soviet collapse and post-Perestroika changes, this book may be a bit hard to read - it helps to know the characters to truly enjoy all the inside jokes and off-the-cuff remarks.