Russia Social Science

Der belarussische Dirigent Vitali Alekseenok, der mittlerweile in Deutschland lebt, schreibt auf berührende wie erhellende Weise über den Freiheitskampf in seiner alten Heimat. Nicht zuletzt aus Frust über die politischen Verhältnisse hatte er diese vor mehreren Jahren verlassen. Als Musiker hat er ein neues Zuhause in Deutschland gefunden, doch Belarus hat ihn nie wirklich losgelassen. Als er im Sommer nach Minsk zur Wahl fährt, erlebt er eine Protestbewegung, die vor wenigen Jahren noch undenkbar gewesen wäre: Was ist mit den Menschen in seiner Heimat geschehen?

In Deutschland wurde Alexej Nawalny erst dadurch bekannt, dass er nur knapp einen Giftanschlag überlebte, für den er den russischen Geheimdienst verantwortlich macht. Nach seiner Behandlung in Deutschland wurde er bei seiner Rückkehr umgehend festgenommen, veröffentlichte aber gleichzeitig ein Video über Putin, das millionenfach geklickt wurde, Hunderttausende gingen auf die Straße.

Prostitution, Raub, Drogen, Terror, Menschenhandel, Umweltverbrechen – nahezu allen kriminellen Taten ist eines gemeinsam: Sie lohnen sich nur, wenn Kriminelle die Herkunft ihrer schmutzigen Erträge verschleiern können – durch Geldwäsche. Geld ist eine Waffe: Kriminelle bestechen Politiker, beeinflussen Parlamentswahlen durch Fake News und destabilisieren mit Cyberattacken die Demokratie. Klar ist: Nimmt man Kriminellen das dreckige Geld, trifft man sie am härtesten. Doch Deutschland tut in dieser Hinsicht praktisch nichts.

Nicolai Lilin ricostruisce la vita sorprendente e la folgorante ascesa politica di Vladimir Putin, da una misera casa popolare nel quartiere criminale di Leningrado alla poltrona presidenziale del Cremlino. Con il suo tipico stile potente che ti cattura e non ti lascia andare fino alla fine, Lilin indaga non solo la storia ma anche l'animo di Putin. Come in un romanzo ne racconta le origini, ne descrive le trasformazioni, ne ricorda i talenti che lo hanno portato a diventare il personaggio che conosciamo.

George Kennan for Our Time examines the work and thought of the most distinguished American diplomat of the 20th century and extracts lessons for today. In his writings and lectures, Kennan outlined the proper conduct of foreign policy and issued warnings to an American society on the edge of the abyss. Lee Congdon identifies the principles Kennan applied to US relations with Russia and Eastern Europe, and to the Far and Near East.

In The Kremlin's Noose Amy Knight tells the riveting story of Vladimir Putin and the oligarch Boris Berezovsky. When Putin began dismantling Boris Yeltsin's democratic reforms, Berezovsky came into conflict with the new Russian leader by reproaching him publicly. Their relationship quickly disintegrated into a bitter feud played out against the backdrop of billion-dollar financial deals, Kremlin in-fighting, and international politics.

The failure of Gorbachev's Asian initiatives has had dramatic consequences, by the late 1980s, the Soviet Union was in full retreat from Asia, and since the Soviet collapse, Russia has been left on the sidelines of the "Pacific century." In this exceptionally wide-ranging and deeply researched audiobook, Sergey Radchenko offers an illuminating account of the end of the Cold War in the East, tracing the death of Soviet ambitions in Asia.

Donna Solecka Urbikas grew up in the Midwest during the golden years of the American century. But her Polish-born mother and half sister had endured dehumanizing conditions during World War II, as slave laborers in Siberia. War and exile created a profound bond between mother and older daughter, one that Donna would struggle to find with either of them.

Already infamous for the arbitrary, paranoid persecution of its own citizens throughout much of the 20th century, the Soviet Union - as is revealed in John Koeher’s revelatory, eye-opening exposé - also waged a vicious espionage campaign against the Catholic Church and its followers. From the persecution of local priests to an assassination order against Pope John Paul II, the KGB viewed Catholicism as a threat to stability in Eastern Europe and treated the church as an enemy of the State. Lifetime journalist and former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer John Koehler has written the definitive book on this startling history.

Joshua Rubenstein's riveting account takes us back to the second half of 1952, when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin's murderous regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected US president Dwight Eisenhower with armed force and was also broadening a vicious campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin's sudden collapse and death in March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in the 20th century.

True Believer reveals the life of Noel Field, an American who betrayed his country and crushed his family. Field, once a well-meaning and privileged American, spied for Stalin during the 1930s and '40s. Then, a pawn in Stalin's sinister master strategy, Field was kidnapped and tortured by the KGB and forced to testify against his own Communist comrades.

"Having known and observed Jeremy for almost half a century, I have no doubt that his influence has been as great as that of all but the most senior figures in government. In his second book, Jeremy continues the recounting of his life's work, which he began in his early volume, Every Man Should Try. Jeremy has devoted his life to conflict resolution and to ending the nuclear arms race." - From the preface by Morton H. Halperin, Director of the Policy Planning Staff, Department of State (1998-2001)

Die bekannte ZDF-Korrespondentin Katrin Eigendorf berichtet seit vielen Jahren regelmäßig aus der Ukraine. So auch während der dramatischen Tage und Wochen nach dem 24. Februar 2022, als Wladimir Putin mit seinem grausamen Angriff auf die Ukraine den Krieg zurück nach Europa getragen hat. Angesichts der Bilder aus Mariupol, Charkiw und Kyiw ist auch Deutschland aufgewacht, nachdem es über viele Jahre Wladimir Putin verharmlost hat. Katrin Eigendorf erzählt hier vom Krieg, den Putin mit aller Härte führt, vor allem gegen die Bevölkerung.

Based on a review of research literature from sociology, organizational psychology, and behavioral economics, this audiobook develops a theory of consent generation and distinguishes three groups of consent-producing mechanisms: socialization, incentive mechanisms, and participation and interest representation.

L’interferenza nelle elezioni americane, il sostegno alle forze populiste in Italia e in tutta Europa, la guerra in Ucraina. Negli ultimi anni, la Russia di Vladimir Putin ha condotto una poderosa campagna per espandere la sua influenza e indebolire le istituzioni occidentali. Come è potuto accadere? E, soprattutto, chi si nasconde dietro questo piano ambizioso? Catherine Belton, giornalista investigativa già corrispondente da Mosca, racconta la storia segreta dell’ascesa al potere di Vladimir Putin e del ristretto gruppo di ex agenti del KGB che lo circonda.

The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) serves as the United States Army’s global scouts. We leverage direct observations of the operational environment, emerging threat capabilities, and friendly gaps to advise the operational force. One of the threats we see on the horizon is that posed by Private Military Companies (PMCs). PMCs are proliferating worldwide and play an increasingly important role in conflict. Specifically, PMCs based in the Russian Federation have been active in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. They are of increasing concern to commanders worldwide.

Das ist neu in Russland: Hunderttausende gehen gegen die gefälschten Wahlen auf die Straße. Ihr Protest richtet sich gegen den Mann, der hinter der Fassade der Demokratie das alleinige Sagen hat: Wladimir Putin. Masha Gessen entlarvt den unscheinbaren Mann ohne Gesicht als das, was er wirklich ist: ein skrupelloser Machthaber, umgeben von Korruption und Terror.

Khrushchev's 1959 trip across America was one of the strangest exercises in international diplomacy ever conducted. He told jokes, threw tantrums, sparked a riot in a San Francisco supermarket, wowed coeds in an Iowa home-economics class, and ogled Shirley MacLaine. He befriended and offended a cast of characters including Nelson Rockefeller and Marilyn Monroe. The trip took place in the 50s, with the shadow of the hydrogen bomb hanging over his visit like the Sword of Damocles.

In 1949, a newly minted branch of the CIA (the precursor of today’s National Clandestine Service), flush with money and burning with determination to roll back the Iron Curtain, embarked on the first paramilitary operation in the history of the agency. They hatched an elaborate plan, coordinated with the British Secret Intelligence Service, to foment popular rebellion and detach Albania, the weakest of the Soviet satellites in Europe, from Moscow’s orbit. The operation resulted in dismal failure and was shut down by 1954.

Russian meddling: These are two words that just about everyone has come to know very well in the last few years. Only a fool - or someone with an agenda of a sinister kind - would deny that such meddling occurred. But how many know that, for decades, the Russians secretly used the UFO phenomenon as a means to try and destabilize the West?