Once Upon a Time in Russia, Ben Mezrich
Once Upon a Time in Russia, Ben Mezrich
6 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Once Upon a Time in Russia
The Rise of the Oligarchs and the Greatest Wealth in History

Author: Ben Mezrich

Narrator: Jeremy Bobb

Unabridged: 6 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/02/2015


Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling author of Bringing Down the House and The Accidental Billionaires tells his most incredible story yet: A true drama of obscene wealth, crime, rivalry, and betrayal from deep inside the world of billionaire Russian oligarchs that Booklist called “one more example of just how talented a storyteller [Mezrich] is.”

Meet two larger-than-life Russians: former mathematician Boris Berezovsky, who moved into more lucrative ventures as well as politics, becoming known as the Godfather of the Kremlin; and Roman Abramovich, a dashing young entrepreneur who built one of Russia’s largest oil companies from the ground up.

After a chance meeting on a yacht in the Caribbean, the men became locked in a complex partnership, surfing the waves of privatization after the fall of the Soviet regime and amassing mega fortunes while also taking the reins of power in Russia. With Berezovsky serving as the younger entrepreneur’s krysha—literally, his roof, his protector—they battled their way through the “Wild East” of Russia until their relationship soured when Berezovsky attacked President Vladimir Putin in the media. Dead bodies trailed Berezovsky as he escaped to London, where an associate died painfully of Polonium poisoning, creating an international furor. As Abramovich prospered, Berezovsky was found dead in a luxurious London town house, declared a suicide.

With unprecedented, exclusive first-person sourcing, Mezrich takes us inside a world of unimaginable wealth, power, and corruption to uncover this exciting story, a true-life thriller epic for our time—“Wolf Hall on the Moskva” (Bookpage).

About Ben Mezrich

Ben Mezrich graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. He has sold over ten million copies of his twenty-four published books, including the New York Times Bestsellers The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted into the Academy Award–winning film The Social Network, and Bringing Down the House, which was the basis for the hit movie 21. His current bestseller The Antisocial Network is being adapted into the feature film Dumb Money. Ben has written and produced for the hit TV show Billions on Showtime, and he travels the world speaking to audiences of all ages about writing books and the adventures he has experienced from each of his stories. He lives in Boston with his wife, two kids, and two pugs. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sam on June 24, 2015

The fall of the USSR led to a rush to capitalise on the new state system as it rapidly became privatised. One such man, Boris Berezovsky, a former mathematician, became a billionaire buying state television on top of his car empire. He used the media to get Boris Yeltsin re-elected, giving him polit......more

Goodreads review by Esil on July 15, 2015

3 ½ stars. Once Upon a Time in Russian is scary and fascinating – and at times a bit tedious. The author has compiled information about a number of oligarchs in post-soviet Russia, and their role and tactics in shaping Russian politics from the mid 1990s to 2000 during the Yelstin presidency. By the......more

Goodreads review by Ron on April 01, 2015

A stranger than fiction tale of the oligarchs that took control of an unbelievable amount of Russia's GDP as it transitioned to capitalism. Mezrich does a poor job of telling the story, primarily concerned with Boris Berezovsky, somehow managing to deflate this incredible tale.......more

Goodreads review by Caren on July 04, 2015

This book is a real page-turner, written with the breathless feel of a political thriller. It could also be viewed as a cautionary tale about completely unfettered capitalism. The Russian oligarchs, who rose in the 1990s after communism in the old Soviet Union fell apart, are profiled in their ruthl......more

Goodreads review by Anthony on June 23, 2022

Money, Murder and Modern Russia. Once Upon a Time in Russia is a fun, face paced tale of the rise and fall of Oligarch and mathematician Boris Berezovsky in the post Soviet world of modern Russia. It tells the story of how following the collapse of the USSR these new men made unimaginable amounts of......more