''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
, 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 F ...

, 2002-09-30 Lubyanka is known as KGB 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 prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

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 borde ...

. The book was withdrawn from sales in Russia by request from the FSB according to The Moscow Human Rights News Agency

. 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). I ...

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 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. 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 ...

, December 3, 2006

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

Reception

See also

References

Bibliography