''Lubyanka Criminal Group'' (russian: Лубянская преступная группировка; also translated as ''The Gang from Lubyanka'') is a book by
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised i ...
about the alleged transformation of the
Russian Security Services into a criminal and terrorist organization.
[The FSB as a criminal grouping](_blank)
, Andrei Antonov, Prima News
Prima (also: The Moscow Human Rights News Agency) was a news agency in Moscow, Russia which distributed 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 Feb ...
, 2002-09-30
Lubyanka is known as
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
headquarters. In the book, the authors claim that Russian president
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and other
FSB officers have been involved in organized crime, including covering up
drug traffic
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, except under license, ...
from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
The book was withdrawn from sales in Russia by request from the
FSB according to The Moscow Human Rights News Agency
Prima News
Prima (also: The Moscow Human Rights News Agency) was a news agency in Moscow, Russia which distributed 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 Feb ...
. In response, the authors allowed the book's publication and distribution by anyone in Russia free of charge.
Alexander Goldfarb, the executive director of
International Foundation for Civil Liberties which licensed the book's copyright in Russia, stated, "By banning the books for the first time since the Soviet times, FSB threw down a challenge to the society".
Former Interior Minister of Russia
Anatoly Kulikov
Anatoly Sergeyevich Kulikov (russian: Анатолий Серге́евич Кулико́в, born September 4, 1946 in Aigursky, Stavropol Krai, Russian SFSR) is a Russian General of the Army, former Interior Minister of Russia (1995–1998).
...
promised to bring a libel suit against the book but did not follow it through.
Reception
Viktor Suvorov
Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun (russian: link=no, Владимир Богданович Резун; born 20 April 1947), known by his pseudonym of Viktor Suvorov () is a former Soviet GRU officer who is the author of non-fiction books about World ...
, author of ''
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
'' said that the book is "Terrifying, gripping and instructive".
According to Suvorov:
Former Soviet
prisoner of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky
Vladimir Konstantinovich Bukovsky (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Константи́нович Буко́вский; 30 December 1942 – 27 October 2019) was a Russian-born British human rights activist and writer. From the late 1950 ...
stated, "Litvinenko eloquently depicts that what was long considered to be the 'shield and sword' of the communist party is in reality a huge criminal mechanism".
As Andrei Antonov writes, "the way Litvinenko sees it, the FSB is clearly a criminal and even terrorist organization. And not only because of
apartment explosions or alleged conspiracy against
Berezovsky Berezovsky or Berezowski ( ) is a surname of Slavic-language origin.
Family nest of Berezovsky (gentry) is Bereziv village (nowadays 4 villages) in Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine.
People
* Antoni Berezowski (1847–1916), Polish revolutionary
...
. Litvinenko is certain that security services were behind the murder of
Galina Starovoitova
Galina Vasilyevna Starovoitova (russian: Гали́на Васи́льевна Старово́йтова; 17 May 1946, in Chelyabinsk – 20 November 1998, in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet dissident, Russian politician and ethnographer known ...
, a prominent figure in Russia's democracy movement, and the death of
Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
, and many, many other things."
Alan Cowell praised the book as an important source that described the attempted assassination of
Boris Berezovsky in Moscow and many other events.
Russian Ex-Spy Lived in a World of Deceptions
by Alan Cowell, New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, December 3, 2006
See also
*Mafia state
In politics, a mafia state is a state system where the government is tied with organized crime to the degree when government officials, the police, and/or military became a part of the criminal enterprise. According to US diplomats, the expressio ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Alexander Litvinenko
Books about the Federal Security Service
Politics of Russia
Works about organized crime in Russia
Alexander Litvinenko
Censorship in Russia
Books about Vladimir Putin