Mafia State: How One Reporter Became an Enemy of the Brutal New Russia

In February 2011, in scenes that evoked the chilliest moments of the Cold War, journalist Luke Harding was expelled from Moscow. His offence? To have reported on aspects of contemporary Russia that the authorities would have preferred to remain hidden from view. Moscow Ghosts is a clear-eyed and unflinching chronicle of Luke's often terrifying experiences in Russia in the months leading up to his expulsion. It describes his encounters with Russia's sinister FSB security service, the leather-jacketed agents who tailed him, and his summons to Lefortovo, formerly the KGB's notorious Moscow prison. It also details the secret psychological war the FSB waged against the journalist and his family. This is a frank and deeply disturbing portrait of contemporary Russia, written by someone who knows what it is like to be on the wrong side of those in power.