{"product_id":"death-of-a-dissident-paperback","title":"Death of a Dissident - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGoldfarb\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander \"Sasha\" Litvinenko in November 2006 -- poisoned by the rare radioactive element polonium -- caused an international sensation.\u003c\/b\u003e Within a few short weeks, the fit forty-three-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a \"tiny nuclear bomb.\" Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime. Traces of polonium radiation were found in Germany and on certain airplanes, suggesting a travel route from Russia for the carriers of the fatal poison. But what really happened? What did Litvinenko know? And why was he killed? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The full story of Sasha Litvinenko's life and death is one that the Kremlin does not want told. His closest friend, Alex Goldfarb, and his widow, Marina, are the only two people who can tell it all, from firsthand knowledge, with dramatic scenes from Moscow to London to Washington. \u003ci\u003eDeath of a Dissident\u003c\/i\u003e reads like a political thriller, yet its story is more fantastic and frightening than any novel. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Ever since 1998, when Litvinenko denounced the FSB for ordering him to assassinate tycoon Boris Berezovsky, he had devoted his life to exposing the FSB's darkest secrets. After a dramatic escape to London with Goldfarb's assistance, he spent six years, often working with Goldfarb, investigating a widening series of scandals. Oligarchs and journalists have been assassinated. Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko was poisoned on the campaign trail. The war in Chechnya became unspeakably harsh on both sides. Sasha Litvinenko investigated all of it, and he denounced his former employers in no uncertain terms for their dirty deeds. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eDeath of a Dissident\u003c\/i\u003e opens a window into the dark heart of the Putin Kremlin. With its strong-arm tactics, tight control over the media, and penetration of all levels of government, the old KGB is back with a vengeance. Sasha Litvinenko dedicated his life to exposing this truth. It took his diabolical murder for the world to listen.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlex Goldfarb, Ph.D., \u003c\/b\u003e was a dissident scientist who left Russia in the 1970s, joining the faculty of Columbia University. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, he went to work for George Soros directing charitable initiatives in Russia. He befriended Alexander Litvinenko in the 1990s. Goldfarb later helped Litvinenko work on his memoirs and supported his efforts to expose the abuses of the newly ascendant FSB. Goldfarb is currently the executive director of the International Foundation for Civil Liberties, set up by Boris Berezovsky as an umbrella group for human-rights activists. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarina Litvinenko\u003c\/b\u003e first met Alexander at her thirty-first birthday party, in 1993, when he was a young officer in the FSB. They married and she gave birth to a son thereafter. In 2000, the three of them sought asylum in the United Kingdom, and she continues to live in London with her twelve-year-old son.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 392\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.8 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 04, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47436199264434,"sku":"9781416552024","price":27.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/e4f02e716c2accac328d36ee5c1cbc4f.webp?v=1778640950","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/death-of-a-dissident-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}