Warning: There will be tears...but Rytsar demands no less. Rytsar Durov is a sadist--and he's upset. Bones may be broken. The Russian Dom is a force unto himself, and he intends to take care of the threat once and for all. No one touches radost moya. NO ONE! Nothing fazes this sexy Russian Dom, but how will he cope when he finds out the tragedy that's befallen his comrade--the only man he calls Brother?
Ever since Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia, his critics have turned up dead on a regular basis. According to Amy Knight, this is no coincidence. In Orders to Kill, the KGB scholar ties dozens of victims together to expose a campaign of political murder during Putin’s reign that even includes terrorist attacks such as the Boston Marathon bombing. Russia is no stranger to political murder, from the tsars to the Soviets to the Putin regime, during which many journalists, activists and political opponents have been killed. Kremlin defenders like to say, “There is no proof,” however convenient these deaths have been for Putin, and, unsurprisingly, because he controls all investigations, Putin is never seen holding a smoking gun. Orders to Kill is a story long hidden in plain sight with huge ramifications.
This book offers a compelling and comprehensive account of what happened to the KGB when the Soviet Union collapsed and the world's most powerful and dangerous secret police organization was uncloaked. As Amy Knight shows, the KGB was renamed and reorganized several times after it was officially disbanded in December 1991--but it was not reformed. Knight's rich and lively narrative begins with the aborted August 1991 coup, led by KGB hard-liners, and takes us through the summer of 1995, when the Russian parliamentary elections were looming on the horizon. The failed coup attempt was a setback for the KGB because it led to demands from Russian democrats for a complete overhaul of the security services. As a result, the KGB's leaders were fired, its staff reduced, and its functions dispersed among several agencies. Even the elite foreign intelligence service was subjected to budget cuts. But President Yeltsin was reluctant to press on with reforms of the security services, because he needed their support in his struggle against mounting political opposition. Indeed, by the spring of 1995, the security services had regained much of what they had lost in the wake of the August coup. Some observers were even saying that they had acquired more power and influence than the old KGB. This story told by one of the foremost experts on the Soviet/Russian security services and enriched by face-to-face interviews with security professionals in Moscow, is crucial to understanding Russian politics in transition. It will fascinate scholars, policymakers, and general readers interested in the fate of the KGB.
This book is a concise and comprehensive narrative history of Russia from 980 to 1584. It covers the history of the realm of the Riurikid dynasty from the reign of Vladimir 1 the Saint, through to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, who sealed the end of his dynasty's rule. Presenting developments in social and economic areas, as well as in political history, foreign relations, religion and culture, Medieval Russia, 980-1584 breaks away from the traditional view of Old Russia as a static, immutable culture, and emphasises the 'dynamic' and changing qualities of Russian society. Janet Martin develops clear lines of argument that lead to conclusions concerning how and why the states and society of the lands of the Rus' assumed the forms and characteristics that they did. Broadly accessible with informative and provocative interpretations, this book provides an up-to-date analysis of medieval Russia.
In 1565, the young Spaniard Juan de Guaras receives an exquisite brooch in the shape of a Maltese cross from his parents to commemorate his becoming a Knight in the Order of St. John. But within four months de Guaras dies in the defense of Fort St. Elmo against the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of Malta; and the brooch meant for his beloved, Maria, and their son-is lost to history. By chance, 450 years after the siege, watercolors commissioned by the Order in the 17th century for their ledger are on display for the first time in the Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta. Kiyoko Bartolo, a professor from the University of Tokyo who specializes in jewelry of the European Renaissance, recognizes the drawing of de Guaras' brooch. Famous throughout history not only for its magnificent gems, but as a key to the wealth that de Guaras had obtained as a corsair raiding the richly laden merchant ships of the sultan, Suleiman, the Magnificent. Kiyoko learns that it was last recorded in 1923 when the Communist Party inventoried the jewelry belonging to the Russian royal family that was held in the Hermitage. Twenty years later, during the German Siege of Leningrad in World War Two, it mysteriously disappears. Kiyoko, determined to locate the Maltese brooch, enlists European colleagues she's befriended during Renaissance seminars to assist her in her search. However, the closer they come to finding the brooch, the more resistance and violence they meet from unknown parties who want the brooch, and its secrets, for themselves....
From the author who bravely faced down a seven-headed, fire-breathing, riddle-speaking dragon... and got eaten for his pains. The realm of Russian fairy tales is perilous. You might think you know who’s friend, who’s foe. But you’d be wrong. Wolves might be friends. Old grandmothers might be cannibals. And the idiot might be the wisest man in the room. So say you find yourself at the waystone, a boundary between the real world and the world of story. Every road you take from the waystone leads to danger and the potential of great rewards. But you could end up being eaten, chopped into little pieces, or even turned into a goat. This book is a short guide for your survival. At the end, you’ll find the fountain of youth, riches unimaginable, the man or woman of your dreams…and maybe something even more lasting. But getting there is the real pleasure. Buy this book today to enter the weird and wonderful world of Russian fairy tales.
"The Russian Garland, Being Russian Folk Tales" by Various. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
