Federico Varese Book order

The book explores post-Soviet Russia's transformation through the lives of four criminals, each representing different social strata and decades. From a traditional mobster to a computer virus mastermind, these narratives illuminate the country's shift from the late Soviet era through Boris Yeltsin's presidency to Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule. Federico Varese examines how corruption and law enforcement abuses shaped this violent transition to democracy, highlighting the West's complicity in overlooking these issues until it was too late.

Federico Varese, who has made organised crime a life's work, is the capo di tutti capi of mafia studies. His desire to pierce ever more deeply through the layers of violence, comradeship, greed, corruption and pathos of men, at once parasitical on societies and contemptuous of them, plunges him into their worlds to discover that, different as the mafias are, at root they are the same. Financial Times

Federico Varese combines the skills of an investigative journalist and a meticulous academic, pursuing the intricacies of the globalized criminal underworld. His fearless approach to fact-finding is matched by a profound analysis of contemporary history's influence on crime. This dual perspective offers readers both an engaging narrative and a valuable reference work, making it an insightful exploration of crime in a modern context.

What is the Russian Mafia? Drawing on reports from undercover police operations, documents from the Gulag archives, and in-depth interviews conducted over several years with vicitms of the mafia, criminals, and officials, this unique book provides compelling answers to the question, and challenges many widely-held views.