I highly recommend Putin's People @CatherineBelton

Russia is only part of the Trump story, but this history of Putin is filled with lessons, including how Westerners underestimated how political, KGB, mafia & business interests would merge under Putin as democratic rights eroded https://twitter.com/WendySiegelman/status/1278011909762146306

I started Putin's People in June, got sidetracked, and finished it this week (taking copious notes)

While I was familiar with many of the names and events, it was like doing a puzzle and watching various pieces suddenly fit into the bigger picture https://www.amazon.com/Untitled-Camilla-Bartlett/dp/0374238715

A new name in the book surprised me because of his role in Trump's orbit - Shalva Tchigirinsky aka Chigirinsky met Trump at the Taj Mahal in 1990, reportedly had Solnetsevskaya ties, mentored Aras Agalarov, knew Steve Wynn and was involved in one of the Trump Moscow discussions

Another item that surprised me was significance of Yevgeny (Evgeny) Dvoskin, childhood best friend of Felix Sater, but barely covered by the media - Dvoskin was key architect of moving billions out of Russia & described as 'the king of Russian black cash' https://twitter.com/WendySiegelman/status/1121941290176872448?s=20

Putin's People detailed how his govt used tax & legal levers to discredit, dismantle and sell off Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Yukos and jail Russia's wealthiest man - tax & legal tactics used years later that led to the murder of Sergei Magnitsky covered by @Billbrowder in Red Notice

A few other themes in Putin's People that struck me - how Yeltsin era oligarchs (Abramovich, Deripaska etc) had to pledge fealty & $ to Putin's KGB govt - and how the long-term strategy of moving billions in black cash to the west helped set the stage for Brexit & Trump

Fascinating parts of Putin's People detailed Putin's early (mostly opaque) career - with the KGB in Dresden and ex-Stasi officer Matthias Warnig (who later led many key business ventures) and Putin's time in St. Petersburg and dealings with the local mafia https://twitter.com/WendySiegelman/status/961010204971237376?s=20