Yuri Felshtinsky
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Yuri Georgievich Felshtinsky (russian: Юрий Георгиевич Фельштинский, born 7 September 1956 in Moscow) is a
Russian American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
. Felshtinsky has authored a number of books on
Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start-date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' people, Rus' state in the north in 862, ruled by Varangians. Staraya Ladoga and Veli ...
, including ''The Bolsheviks and the Left SRs'' (Paris, 1985), ''Towards a History of Our Isolation'' (London, 1988; Moscow, 1991), ''The Failure of the World Revolution'' (London, 1991; Moscow, 1992), ''
Blowing up Russia ''Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within'' (russian: ФСБ взрывает Россию, FSB blows Russia up) is a book written by Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky. The authors describe the Russian apartment bombings as a false flag ...
'' (with
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 ...
), and ''The Age of Assassins'' (with
Vladimir Pribylovsky Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky (russian: Влади́мир Валериа́нович Прибыло́вский, 6 March 195613 January 2016) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist, historian, journalist, human rights activist, and a ...
).


Education

Felshtinsky's parents died when he was 17 years of age. He began studying history in 1974 at
Moscow State Pedagogical University Moscow State Pedagogical University or Moscow State University of Education is an educational and scientific institution in Moscow, Russia, with eighteen faculties and seven branches operational in other Russian cities. The institution had underg ...
. A couple of years later, he decided to emigrate from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
to Israel, travelling first to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. But instead of going from Vienna to Israel, he went further to the United States, where he arrived in April 1978 and there subsequently continued his studies. He graduated from
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...
and earned his PhD in
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
from
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
. In 1993, he returned to Moscow and defended his
Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
thesis at the Institute of Russian History of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
, becoming the first non-Russian citizen to earn a doctorate from a Russian university.


Career

Felshtinsky has published a number of books on the history of the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
movement. In one of those books, ''Leaders the Mobsters'', he described the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
party as a
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
-like organization where "almost no one died by a natural cause". According to Felshinsky, the list of assassinations includes poisoning of
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
,
Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky ( pl, Feliks Dzierżyński ; russian: Фе́ликс Эдму́ндович Дзержи́нский; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed "Iron Felix", was a Bolshevik revolutionary and official, born into Poland, Polish n ...
, and
Maksim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and sociali ...
by
Genrikh Yagoda Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda ( rus, Ге́нрих Григо́рьевич Яго́да, Genrikh Grigor'yevich Yagoda, born Yenokh Gershevich Iyeguda; 7 November 1891 – 15 March 1938) was a Soviet secret police official who served as director ...
on orders from
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, murders of
Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...
,
Vyacheslav Menzhinsky Vyacheslav Rudolfovich Menzhinsky (russian: Вячесла́в Рудо́льфович Менжи́нский, pl, Wiesław Mężyński; 19 August 1874 – 10 May 1934) was a Polish-Russian Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet statesman and Communist ...
, and
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
, and the poisoning of Stalin by associates of
Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ;  – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...
. In 1998, Felshtinsky traveled back to Moscow in order to study the politics of contemporary Russia. At that time, he became acquainted with
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 ...
, a lieutenant colonel of the
Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...
(FSB). In 2000, Felshtinsky and Litvinenko began working on ''
Blowing Up Russia ''Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within'' (russian: ФСБ взрывает Россию, FSB blows Russia up) is a book written by Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky. The authors describe the Russian apartment bombings as a false flag ...
'', a book that describes the gradual appropriation of power in Russia by the security apparatus and details the FSB's involvement in a series of terrorist acts that took place between 1994 and 1999. In August 2001, several chapters from ''Blowing Up Russia'' were published in a special edition of the newspaper ''Novaya Gazeta''. In 2002, the book became the basis for a documentary film, ''Blowing Up Russia'' (also known as ''
Assassination of Russia ''Assassination of Russia'' (russian: Покушение на Россию) is a 2002 documentary film that describes the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings as a terrorism act committed by Russian state security services. Alex Goldfarb an ...
''). Both the book and the documentary were officially banned in Russia for "divulging state secrets". Until 2006, Felshtinsky continued working with Litvinenko on gathering additional materials documenting the FSB's involvement in the apartment house bombings of September 1999. According to the authors, the bombings were committed by the
Russian Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...
(FSB), as a
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
operation intended to justify the
Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...
. In November 2006, Litvinenko died in London of acute radiation syndrome, three weeks after being poisoned with
polonium-210 Polonium-210 (210Po, Po-210, historically radium F) is an isotope of polonium. It undergoes alpha decay to stable 206Pb with a half-life of 138.376 days (about months), the longest half-life of all naturally occurring polonium isotopes. First i ...
. (See
Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...
). In 2007, investigator
Mikhail Trepashkin Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin (russian: Михаил Иванович Трепашкин; born 7 April 1957) is a Russian attorney and former Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel who was invited by MP Sergei Kovalev to assist in an independent ...
said that, according to his FSB sources, "everyone who was involved in the publication of the book ''
Blowing Up Russia ''Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within'' (russian: ФСБ взрывает Россию, FSB blows Russia up) is a book written by Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky. The authors describe the Russian apartment bombings as a false flag ...
'' will be killed," and that three FSB agents had made a trip to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to prepare the assassination of Felshtinsky. After the death of exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who sponsored the book, Felshtinsky suggested that Berezovsky was killed.Questions remain over death of Berezovsky
. ''
The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...
''. 24 March 2013.


List of selected publications

*''The legal foundations of the immigration and emigration policy of the USSR, 1917 - 1927'' (
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, 1982

*''The
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
and the
Left SRS The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revo ...
'' (
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, 1985) *''
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
's Notebooks, 1933–1935. Writings on
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
,
Dialectics Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...
, and
Evolutionism Evolutionism is a term used (often derogatorily) to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning has changed over time as the study of evolution has progressed. In the 19th century, it was used to describe the belief that organisms deliberate ...
.'' (
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 1986

*''Towards a History of Our Isolation'' (
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 1988; Moscow, 1991) *''Conversations with
Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Буха́рин) ( – 15 March 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician, Marxist philosopher and economist and prolific author on revolutionary theory. ...
'' (Moscow, 1993) *''
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
,
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
,
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
and the
Left Opposition The Left Opposition was a faction within the Russian Communist Party (b) from 1923 to 1927 headed ''de facto'' by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet fou ...
in the USSR, 1918 - 1928'' (Paris, 1990) *''The Failure of
World Revolution World revolution is the Marxist concept of overthrowing capitalism in all countries through the conscious revolutionary action of the organized working class. For theorists, these revolutions will not necessarily occur simultaneously, but whe ...
'' (London, 1991; Moscow, 1992) *''Big Bosses'' (Moscow, 1999

* * * * *with
Vladimir Pribylovsky Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky (russian: Влади́мир Валериа́нович Прибыло́вский, 6 March 195613 January 2016) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist, historian, journalist, human rights activist, and a ...
, ''The Corporation. Russia and the KGB in the Age of President Putin'', , Encounter Books; 25 February 2009
description

description
*
Boris Gulko Boris Franzevich Gulko ( rus, Борис Францевич Гулько, p=bɐˈrʲis ɡʊlʲˈko; born February 9, 1947) is a Soviet-American Grandmaster in chess. Gulko is noted to be the only person to win both the Soviet Chess Championship a ...
, Yuri Felshtinsky, Vladimir Popov, Viktor Kortschnoi, ''The KGB Plays Chess: The Soviet Secret Police and the Fight for the World Chess Crown.'' Russell Enterprises, Inc. 2011, . *Yuri Felshtinsky and M. Stanchev. ''World War III. Battle for Ukraine'', Our Format (Ukraine), 2015. (Фельштинский Ю., Станчев М. Третья мировая. Битва за Украину. — К.: Наш формат, 2015), ISBN 978-966-97425-9-9. *Yuri Felshtinsky, Vladimir Popov, ''From Red Terror to Mafia State: Russia's State Security in the Struggle for World Domination'' Encounter Books, 2022, *Yuri Felshtinsky and M. Stanchev, ''Blowing up Ukraine: The Return of Russian Terror and the Threat of World War III'', Gibson Square Books Ltd, 2022,


Interviews

* *


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Felshtinsky 20th-century Russian historians 1956 births Writers from Moscow Living people 21st-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of Russia Russian political scientists Russian political writers Stalinism-era scholars and writers Writers about Russia Writers about the Soviet Union Rutgers University alumni Brandeis University alumni Soviet emigrants to the United States 21st-century American male writers