The oligarchs, a product of the turbulent era of the 90s, became the first capitalists in a country where for 70 years the pursuit of economic success was considered a matter of jurisdiction.
The oligarchs, a product of the turbulent era of the 90s, became the first capitalists in a country where for 70 years the pursuit of economic success was considered a matter of jurisdiction. American journalist David Hoffman, chief of the Moscow bureau of The Washington Post from 1995 to 2001, explores this specific Russian phenomenon with the utmost care. Portraits of powerful people of his time — Vladimir Gusinsky, Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Alexander Smolensky, Anatoly Chubais and Yuri Luzhkov — are built into the historical context in his book and are accompanied by interviews with the characters, their comrades-in-arms and opponents. Without idealizing the domestic oligarchs, Hoffman paints them as living, complex people who were better than others in capturing the imperative of their time.
Hummingbird, 624 C.