Book of the Week: Once Upon a Time in Russia

26 Aug 2016

This week I read Once Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mezrich, the author of Bringing Down the House. I’m an ant and this book tells you how the world really works. How Russian oligarchs and Putin obtained their wealth and power. What happened in Russia is playing itself out in China, where you have fortunes being made through the privatization of government-owned companies. When you have politics, companies, power and wealth, you will always get corruption. Even in the United States, you have politicians putting their children into power at drug companies to raise the prices and fleece the public. Even throw in a fake MBA degree from a college while you’re at it. The book is mainly about Boris Berezovsky, an oligarch, who put Yeltsin and Putin in power, but ultimately fell out of favor with Putin. It also details the background of Alexander Litvinenko, who was assassinated by polonium poisoning. Roman Abramovich, Boris’ protege and 137th richest person in the world, represents a contrasting oligarch who was willing to play by Putin’s rules. When the house tells you that you should cash in your chips and leave, you should do so. Or you’ll leave in a body bag.