Blowing up Russia: Terror from within
Encyclopedia
Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within is a book written by Alexander Litvinenko
and Yuri Felshtinsky. The authors alleged that the Russian apartment bombings
and other September 1999 terrorist acts were committed by the Federal Security Service. Litvinenko and Felshtinsky wrote that the bombings were a false flag
operation intended to justify the Second Chechen War
and bring Vladimir Putin
to power.
The original Russian language book was published in 2002.
in 2001 and did not think that FSB has anything to do with the terrorism acts http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/transcript/1814192.html. He was deeply disturbed after discovering that the bombings were in fact committed by the FSB. He consulted with Viktor Suvorov
, a writer and former GRU
officer. When asked: "Would you personally blow out the building with innocent people after receiving the order?", Suvorov replied: "Of course I would. That is our job. We always follow the order". Then Felshtinsky contacted Litvinenko who he knew from 1998 and who became a coauthor of the book.
and FSB units seized 4,376 copies of the book intended for Alexander Podrabinek's Prima
news agency. FSB lieutenant Alexander Soima said that the book was confiscated as a material evidence in the criminal case No 218 initiated in June 2003 for disclosing state secrets. Podrabinek was summoned by the FSB on January 28, 2004. He refused to answer the questions. In response to FSB's banning their books, the authors granted the right to print and distribute the books in Russia to "anybody who wishes to do so" free of charge. The confiscated books were kept by the FSB until 2009 and then destroyed http://www.grani.ru/Politics/Russia/FSB/m.153684.html because the criminal case against Litvinenko has been officially closed "due to death of the accused".
Lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin
said that he warned Litvinenko in 2003 about a menace from FSB confirmed by 2 sources. Trepashkin quoted the words of FSB officer Victor Shebalin saying that everyone who was involved in publication of the book Blowing up Russia would be destroyed and that FSB had deployed its 3 agents to Boston
to assassinate Yuri Felshtinsky.
said the book "would haunt Putin the way the image of the killed Tsarevich
haunted Boris Godunov
."
Oleg Gordievsky
, Soviet defector: "For clues as to who wanted Alexander Litvinenko dead, you need look no farther than his book Blowing Up Russia"
The Times: "For clues as to who wanted Alexander Litvinenko dead, you need look no farther than his book Blowing Up Russia"
Sunday Times: "A vivid condemnation of the Putin regime"
, Anne Penketh said that the book is "a densely written text" and "(f)or those seeking a reason for the killing of Litvinenko
, this book contains the possible motive, although it does not mention the role of Berezovsky — sworn enemy of Putin — in bringing it out in the first place."
Historian Robert Service
for The Guardian
: "In 2002 their [Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky] jointly written book failed to appeal to established publishers in the west. It has taken Litvinenko's murder for the book to appear in this updated edition ... as vivid a condemnation of the Putin regime as has yet been written."
for The Observer
wrote, the book focuses on the failed Ryazan bombings "in excruciating, rambling detail", but it fails to describe convincingly the involvement of Russian state security services in organizing the Russian apartment bombings
and "lack of transparency makes it difficult to read it as more than conspiracy theory
.
Andrew Taylor
in reviewing the book for The Spectator
wrote the book "is essentially a detailed polemic against Putin and the Kremlin's hardliners in their pursuit of power. Most of it was written before Litvinenko's death and for a Russian readership; it was designed primarily as ammunition for Berezovsky's propaganda war".
Eibhir Mulqueen in The Sunday Business Post
wrote, "(t)he dearth of acknowledged sources aside, the presentation of this thesis manages at once to be as monotonous as an official police report, while being polemical in tone."
(a.k.a Blowing up Russia) was made on the basis of the book by French producers Jean-Charles Deniau and Charles Gazelle. Yuri Felshtinsky and Alexander Litvinenko worked as consultants for the film. The film was shown on TV in Estonia
, Latvia
, and Lithuania
, but not in Russia.
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
and Yuri Felshtinsky. The authors alleged that the Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
and other September 1999 terrorist acts were committed by the Federal Security Service. Litvinenko and Felshtinsky wrote that the bombings were a false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
operation intended to justify the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
and bring Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
to power.
The original Russian language book was published in 2002.
History of writing the book
According to an interview with Yuri Felshtinsky, he started collecting materials about the Russian apartment bombingsRussian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
in 2001 and did not think that FSB has anything to do with the terrorism acts http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/transcript/1814192.html. He was deeply disturbed after discovering that the bombings were in fact committed by the FSB. He consulted with Viktor Suvorov
Viktor Suvorov
Viktor Suvorov is the pen name for Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun , a former Soviet and now British writer of Russian and Ukrainian descent who writes primarily in Russian, as well as a former Soviet military intelligence spy who defected to the UK...
, a writer and former GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
officer. When asked: "Would you personally blow out the building with innocent people after receiving the order?", Suvorov replied: "Of course I would. That is our job. We always follow the order". Then Felshtinsky contacted Litvinenko who he knew from 1998 and who became a coauthor of the book.
Campaign by Russian government against the book and its authors
On December 29, 2003, Russian Interior MinistryRussian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
and FSB units seized 4,376 copies of the book intended for Alexander Podrabinek's Prima
Prima (news agency)
Prima is a news agency in Moscow, Russia which distributes human rights-related news in both English and Russian. It had been in form of newspaper in Moscow since 1987 but was founded as an agency in February 2000....
news agency. FSB lieutenant Alexander Soima said that the book was confiscated as a material evidence in the criminal case No 218 initiated in June 2003 for disclosing state secrets. Podrabinek was summoned by the FSB on January 28, 2004. He refused to answer the questions. In response to FSB's banning their books, the authors granted the right to print and distribute the books in Russia to "anybody who wishes to do so" free of charge. The confiscated books were kept by the FSB until 2009 and then destroyed http://www.grani.ru/Politics/Russia/FSB/m.153684.html because the criminal case against Litvinenko has been officially closed "due to death of the accused".
Lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin
Mikhail Trepashkin
Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin, is a Moscow attorney and former FSB colonel who was invited by MP Sergei Kovalev to assist in an independent inquiry of the Russian apartment bombings in September 1999 – the atrocities that followed Dagestan war and were one of the triggers for the Second Chechen...
said that he warned Litvinenko in 2003 about a menace from FSB confirmed by 2 sources. Trepashkin quoted the words of FSB officer Victor Shebalin saying that everyone who was involved in publication of the book Blowing up Russia would be destroyed and that FSB had deployed its 3 agents to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to assassinate Yuri Felshtinsky.
Support
Alexander Goldfarb, the executive director of the Berezovsky-funded International Foundation for Civil LibertiesInternational Foundation for Civil Liberties
The International Foundation for Civil Liberties is a non-profit organization established by the Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky in November 2000. The Guardian 21 December 2000 Critics see it as an anti-Russian propaganda organization....
said the book "would haunt Putin the way the image of the killed Tsarevich
Tsarevich Dimitri
Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, also known as Tsarevich Demetrius, Tsarevich Dimitri, Dmitry of Uglich, and Dmitry of Moscow, was a Russian tsarevich, son of Ivan the Terrible and Maria Nagaya.-Life:...
haunted Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...
."
Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky , CMG , is a former Colonel of the KGB and KGB Resident-designate and bureau chief in London, who was a secret agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1974 to 1985.-Early career:Oleg Gordievsky attended the Moscow State Institute of International...
, Soviet defector: "For clues as to who wanted Alexander Litvinenko dead, you need look no farther than his book Blowing Up Russia"
The Times: "For clues as to who wanted Alexander Litvinenko dead, you need look no farther than his book Blowing Up Russia"
Sunday Times: "A vivid condemnation of the Putin regime"
Neutral
In a review for The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Anne Penketh said that the book is "a densely written text" and "(f)or those seeking a reason for the killing of Litvinenko
Alexander Litvinenko poisoning
Alexander Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB and KGB, who escaped prosecution in Russia and received political asylum in the United Kingdom...
, this book contains the possible motive, although it does not mention the role of Berezovsky — sworn enemy of Putin — in bringing it out in the first place."
Historian Robert Service
Robert Service (historian)
Robert John Service is a British historian, academic, and author who has written extensively on the history of Soviet Russia, particularly the era from the October Revolution to Stalin's death...
for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
: "In 2002 their [Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky] jointly written book failed to appeal to established publishers in the west. It has taken Litvinenko's murder for the book to appear in this updated edition ... as vivid a condemnation of the Putin regime as has yet been written."
Negative
Viv GroskopViv Groskop
Viv Groskop is a British journalist and writer. She has written for publications including The Guardian, Evening Standard, The Observer, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Red magazine...
for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
wrote, the book focuses on the failed Ryazan bombings "in excruciating, rambling detail", but it fails to describe convincingly the involvement of Russian state security services in organizing the Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
and "lack of transparency makes it difficult to read it as more than conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
.
Andrew Taylor
Andrew Taylor
- Sport :* Andrew Taylor , English football player* Andy Taylor , English football player* Andy Taylor , English football player...
in reviewing the book for The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
wrote the book "is essentially a detailed polemic against Putin and the Kremlin's hardliners in their pursuit of power. Most of it was written before Litvinenko's death and for a Russian readership; it was designed primarily as ammunition for Berezovsky's propaganda war".
Eibhir Mulqueen in The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday newspaper published by Post Publications Limited. Post Publications is owned by Thomas Crosbie Holdings. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Ireland, the average weekly circulation was 57,783 for the period January to June 2009. The...
wrote, "(t)he dearth of acknowledged sources aside, the presentation of this thesis manages at once to be as monotonous as an official police report, while being polemical in tone."
Film
In 2001 the documentary film Assassination of RussiaAssassination of Russia
Assassination of Russia is a 2002 documentary film that describes the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings as a terrorism act committed by Russian state security services....
(a.k.a Blowing up Russia) was made on the basis of the book by French producers Jean-Charles Deniau and Charles Gazelle. Yuri Felshtinsky and Alexander Litvinenko worked as consultants for the film. The film was shown on TV in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, but not in Russia.
Media
- Blowing Up Russia: The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror Live interview by historian Yuri Felshtinsky about the book, Aleksander Litvinenko and situation in Russia at C-SPANC-SPANC-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...