276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Killer in the Kremlin: The instant bestseller - a gripping and explosive account of Vladimir Putin's tyranny

£8.495£16.99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Sweeney, a much travelled, prolific and award winning journalist, lays out, in entertaining and informative detail, just what’s going on in the Kremlin, and it isn’t pretty.

This brings us to another Russian whose career was brought to a premature end. Boris Nemtsov was shot dead late at night while walking near the Kremlin. His death made a striking impression on Sweeney: “Nemtsov was an extraordinary man, the sweetest, funniest and most human Russian I’ve ever met. His brutal snuffing out caused me to sink into a profound depression.” The personal tone of this book was both a strength and a weakness. It was one of the most approachable books I've read on Russia. It covers a lot of dark topics, but felt somewhat light and gossip-y. I enjoyed hearing about the author's recent experiences in Ukraine and about his interviews with people living there now. It was a vivid look at the current events that inspired me to start this reading project. On the other hand, the author's tone sometimes felt too light for the topic. His jokes and cultural references were hit or miss for me. I minded them less as the book went on, because it became clear that this is a topic that author cares about very much. In the first three chapters I have found great passion in Sweeny's disgust towards Vladimir Putin. I can't complain in the approach he taken; I would have been the same if I was writing a similar volume of work.From Sweeney’s perspective, frustrations with BBC management – and the broadcaster’s coverage of the Kremlin – ate away at him. “When I was at the BBC, we didn’t tell the story of Putin’s dark acts as truly as we should have done. There were too many compromises,” he says. Vladimir Putin meeting with his Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the Kremlin in Moscow this month (Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik) But is there a risk that his sense of humour distracts from weightier matters, especially on social media? I confess to Sweeney that I initially missed his work in Bucha, amid his stream of photos and videos of his “spag bol” or fish suppers, Ukrainian booze and videos of him dancing on a table in his favourite Kyiv bar. An explosive account of Putin's presidency and his long-term ambitions, including first-hand reporting from the invasion of Ukraine.

While unreservedly condemning his brutal murder I should admit that Nemtsov did not make a similar impression on me. When I spoke to him of the bravery of Yuri Shchekochikhin, Nemtsov scoffed and put down his death, not to poisoning, but to his “fondness for Armenian brandy”. It was a comment that lowered him in my estimation. But ultimately, this book has clearly and most certainly demonstrated to the reader the Kremlin's villainy. No doubt about that. Do proceed with a salt shaker in hand - Sweeney spares no room in giving his blunt opinions and expressing his hatred of Putin.Is Sweeney also too optimistic on Ukraine’s chances in the war? He states in his book: “I believe that sooner rather than later the Russian Army will be defeated and Vladimir Putin will be humiliated.”

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment