You need to read this book if you are concerned about government surveillance anywhere, or if you are a student of Russian history. The authors give us a concise history of surveillance both in and out of the former Soviet Union and today's Russia. The treatment of government response to new technology is enlightening and cause for concern.
There is nothing nice I can say about the Cheka's newest abbreviation - FSB. It is just a new name for a bunch of thugs wrapped in government titles. Putin is a former intel officer who has maneuvered his way into a dictatorship. I feel sorry for the citizens of Russia who deserve better.
This book is a keeper.
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Reviews with images
Fascinating and in-depth history of the Russian Internet since its foundation
It took me about 24 hours to read the whole book - and when I closed the last page, I felt like, well - I want to read more!It is an in-depth history of the Russian Internet, and the way it has developed since its very first days.Putting aside the even more history about the phone communications interception and monitoring (which, by the way, is also amazing - just search the names of the people, who 'worked' there - Lev Kopelev and Alexander Solzhenitsyn; and you may be surprised to find out what they did there), the part about the Internet development is quite precise*.The authors have done a number of interviews, and have used public (and obviously some not-so-public) sources of information, and have managed to put them in an order that makes it an intriguing reading, at moments catching the reader's breath.The reader (in particular the reader from the USA) might be also fascinated by the description of Mr. Snowden's adventures in Russia - there are some facts, which were not widely known until this book was published.The American reader will also find more details about the authors of the Russian Internet policy - and these details are much more precise and factual, than similar accounts, shared for example by Richard Clarke in his book Cyber War.Here's a quote from the book, which is among my favorites (p. 304):"[Kolesnikov] insisted that what the authorities had done to the Internet was entirely immaterial: 'Look, did it affect your morning coffee?'"Today, a year after this conversation took place, the Russian Internet continues to change, and develop, and in some cases, it may have affected the morning coffee of some people.I highly recommend this book - you will have fun reading it._______* - I happened to have worked and traveled a lot of times to Russia since 1990s, and especially in the first decade of the XXI century, so I can confirm personally many of the stories that are described in the book as factually well written.** - On the picture - my copy of the book, with preferred food and drink for such a reading.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2016
Top reviews from other countries
Brian Lait
Fascinating information about Russia (Putin) and the internet
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2022renate schamle
How the Internet and Web survives in Russia's Political Environment
Reviewed in Canada on December 14, 2017
Explorer77
Alright, leaves some thing out for sake of the narrative
Reviewed in Germany on September 17, 2017Thomas Brandtner
Unique insight into the Russian telecom and internet reality
Reviewed in France on January 7, 2016Amazon Customer
Good read with lots of detail
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2018