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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year 2020

A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year 2020

‘The Putin book that we’ve been waiting for’ Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland

‘Books about modern Russia abound … Belton has surpassed them all. Her much-awaited book is the best and most important on modern Russia’ The Times

A chilling and revelatory expose of the KGB’s renaissance, Putin’s rise to power, and how Russian black cash is subverting the world.

In Putin’s People, former Moscow correspondent and investigative journalist Catherine Belton reveals the untold story of how Vladimir Putin and his entourage of KGB men seized power in Russia and built a new league of oligarchs.

Through exclusive interviews with key inside players, Belton tells how Putin’s people conducted their relentless seizure of private companies, took over the economy, siphoned billions, blurred the lines between organised crime and political powers, shut down opponents, and then used their riches and power to extend influence in the West.

In a story that ranges from Moscow to London, Switzerland and Trump’s America, Putin’s People is a gripping and terrifying account of how hopes for the new Russia went astray, with stark consequences for its inhabitants and, increasingly, the world.

‘A fearless, fascinating account … Reads at times like a John le Carre novel … A groundbreaking and meticulously researched anatomy of the Putin regime, Belton’s book shines a light on the pernicious threats Russian money and influence now pose to the west’ Guardian

Publisher Review

'Putin's People is meticulously researched and superbly written; terrifying in its scope and utterly convincing in its argument. It is a portrait of a group of men ruthless in their power, and careless of anyone else. This is the Putin book that we've been waiting for.' Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland 'Catherine Belton is quite simply the most detailed and best-informed journalist covering Russia. One hears so much grand punditry about the country, but if you want to know the terrifying facts, from the nexus of KGB, business and crime which was Putin's petri-dish, to the complex reality of the relationship with Trump, and if you want to see how all this combines into a whole new system, then this is the book for you.' Peter Pomerantsev 'A ground-breaking investigative history of the rise of Vladimir Putin, a revealing examination of how power and money intersect in today's Russia. Catherine Belton has pulled away the curtain on two decades of hidden financial networks and lucrative secret deals, exposing the inner workings in remarkable and disturbing detail. A real eye-opener.' David E. Hoffman, author of The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia 'Catherine Belton, for years a Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, relates it with clarity, detail, insight and bravery. Books about modern Russia abound ... Belton has surpassed them all. Her much-awaited book is the best and most important on modern Russia. It benefits from a meticulous compilation of open sources, but also from the accounts of disillusioned Kremlin insiders, former business cronies and some remarkably candid people still high up in the system. The result is hair-raising.' The Times