The Skripal Files

Author : Mark Urban
Publisher : Henry Holt and Company
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2018-10-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781250207722

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The Skripal Files by Mark Urban Pdf

The explosive story of the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and what it reveals about the growing clandestine conflict between the West and Russia Salisbury, England: March 4, 2018. Slumped on a bench, paralyzed and barely able to breathe, were a former Russian intelligence officer named Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. Sergei had been living a quiet life in England since 2010, when he was expelled from Russia as part of a spy swap; he had been serving a lengthy prison sentence for working secretly for the British intelligence agency MI6. On this Sunday afternoon, he and his daughter had just finished lunch at a local restaurant when they started to feel faint. Within minutes they were close to death. The Skripals had been poisoned, not with a familiar toxin but with Novichok, a deadly nerve agent developed in southern Russia. Was this a message from the Kremlin that traitors would not escape violent death, even on British soil? As Sergei and Yulia fought for their lives, and the British government and their allies sought answers, relations between the West and Russia descended to a new low. The Skripal Files is a remarkable and definitive account of Sergei Skripal’s story, which lays bare the new spy war between Russia and the West. Mark Urban, the diplomatic and defense editor for the BBC, met with Skripal in the months before his poisoning, learning about his career in Russian military intelligence, how he became a British agent, his imprisonment in Russia, and the events that led to his release. Skripal’s first-hand accounts and experiences reveal the high stakes of a new spy game that harks back to the chilliest days of the Cold War.

Author : Mark Urban
Publisher : Pan Macmillan
Page : 319 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2018-10-04
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781529006902

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The Skripal Files by Mark Urban Pdf

The Skripal Files tells the full story behind the Salisbury Poisonings, one of the most shocking incidents to occur in Britain in recent memory. Broadcaster and historian Mark Urban interviewed Sergei Skripal in the months before the poisoning and explains why Skripal was targeted for assassination. 'A scrupulous piece of reporting, necessary, timely and very sobering' – John Le Carré Chosen as one of the best political books of 2018 by the Sunday Times. 4 March 2018, Salisbury, England. Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were enjoying a rare and peaceful Sunday spent together, completely unaware that they had been poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok. Hours later both were found slumped on a park bench close to death. Following their attempted murders on British soil, Russia was publicly accused by the West of carrying out the attack, marking a new low for international relations between the two since the end of the Cold War. The Skripal Files is the definitive account of the Salisbury Poisonings and how Skripal’s story fits into the wider context of the new spy war between Russia and the West. The book explores Sergei's past as a spy in the Russian military intelligence, explains how he was turned to work as an agent by MI6, and his imprisonment in Siberia. His eventual release as part of a spy-swap brought him to Salisbury where, on that fateful day, he and his daughter found themselves fighting for their lives.

Author : Mark Urban
Publisher : Pan
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2019-09-19
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1529006929

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The Skripal Files by Mark Urban Pdf

'A scrupulous piece of reporting, necessary, timely and very sobering' John Le CarréA Sunday Times Best Book of 2018 Agent. Prisoner. Target.Who is Sergei Skripal? 4 March 2018, Salisbury, England.A man and his daughter are found slumped on a bench, poisoned by the deadly nerve agent Novichok. He was a Russian national that became a MI6 spy. Russia are publicly accused of carrying out the attack by the British government, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Russia and the West. Then two innocent people find a discarded perfume bottle used in the attack and one of them, Dawn Sturgess, tragically dies. It is now a murder investigation. How exactly did we get here? Based on interviews with Sergei before his poisoning, Mark Urban explains the most shocking espionage incident in a decade. Describing precisely how an otherwise loyal Russian intelligence officer was turned into an agent by MI6, how Skripal was betrayed so that he found himself in a Siberian prison, and why, years later, was he was targeted for assassination.

Author : Mark Urban
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2013-02-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780571266692

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UK Eyes Alpha by Mark Urban Pdf

An account of British intelligence since Gorbachev came to power in 1985. The author presents a list of what he claims are failures by every British intelligence organization, and raises questions about the value of the traditional structures and organizations that are a legacy of the Cold War.

Author : David Leigh,Luke Harding
Publisher : Guardian Books
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2011-02
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780852652404

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WikiLeaks by David Leigh,Luke Harding Pdf

It was the biggest leak in history. WikiLeaks infuriated the world's greatest superpower, embarrassed the British royal family and helped cause a revolution in Africa. The man behind it was Julian Assange, one of the strangest figures ever to become a worldwide celebrity. Was he an internet messiah or a cyber-terrorist? Information freedom fighter or sex criminal? The debate would echo around the globe as US politicians called for his assassination. Award-winning Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding have been at the centre of a unique publishing drama that involved the release of some 250,000 secret diplomatic cables and classified files from the Afghan and Iraq wars. At one point the platinum-haired hacker was hiding from the CIA in David Leigh's London house. Now, together with the paper's investigative reporting team, Leigh and Harding reveal the startling inside story of the man and the leak.

Author : Luke Harding
Publisher : Guardian Faber Publishing
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2016-02-11
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783350957

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A Very Expensive Poison by Luke Harding Pdf

1 November 2006. Alexander Litvinenko is brazenly poisoned in central London. Twenty two days later he dies, killed from the inside. The poison? Polonium; a rare, lethal and highly radioactive substance. His crime? He had made some powerful enemies in Russia. Based on the best part of a decade's reporting, as well as extensive interviews with those closest to the events (including the murder suspects), and access to trial evidence, Luke Harding's A Very Expensive Poison is the definitive inside story of the life and death of Alexander Litvinenko. Harding traces the journey of the nuclear poison across London, from hotel room to nightclub, assassin to victim; it is a deadly trail that seemingly leads back to the Russian state itself. This is a shocking real-life revenge tragedy with corruption and subterfuge at every turn, and walk-on parts from Russian mafia, the KGB, MI6 agents, dedicated British coppers, Russian dissidents. At the heart of this all is an individual and his family torn apart by a ruthless crime.

Author : Luke Harding
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2021-07-01
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781783352531

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Mafia State by Luke Harding Pdf

Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Luke Harding's haunting, brilliant account of the insidious methods used against him by a resurgent Kremlin which led to him becoming the first western reporter to be deported from Russia since the days of the Cold War. FEATURING A NEW FOREWORD FROM THE AUTHOR 'A courageous and explosive exposé.' ORLANDO FIGES 'Luke Harding is one of the best reporters in the world.' ROBERT SAVIANO 'An essential read.' NEW STATESMAN In 2007, Luke Harding arrived in Moscow to take up a new job as a correspondent for the British newspaper the Guardian. Within months, mysterious agents from Russia's Federal Security Service - the successor to the KGB - had broken into his flat. He found himself tailed by men in cheap leather jackets, bugged, and even summoned to Lefortovo, the KGB's notorious prison. The break-in was the beginning of an extraordinary psychological war against the journalist and his family. Vladimir Putin's spies used tactics developed by the KGB and perfected in the 1970s by the Stasi, East Germany's sinister secret police. This clandestine campaign burst into the open in 2011 when the Kremlin expelled Harding from Moscow. Luke Harding's Mafia State gives a unique, personal and compelling portrait of today's Russia, two decades after the end of communism, that reads like a spy thriller.

Author : Nigel West
Publisher : Frontline Books
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2021-06-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781526792167

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Spy Swap by Nigel West Pdf

On Monday, 4 March 2019, Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia collapsed in the centre of Salisbury in Wiltshire. Both were suffering the effects of A-234, a third-generation Russian-manufactured military grade Novichok nerve agent. As three suspects, all GRU officers, were quickly identified, it was also established that the door handle to the Skripals’ suburban home had been contaminated with the toxin. Whilst the Skripals had lived in the cathedral city for the past seven years, what Sergei’s neighbours did not know was that he had once been a colonel in the Russian Federation’s military intelligence service. Back in July 1996, he had been posted under diplomatic cover to Madrid where he was subsequently cultivated by Pablo Miller, an MI6 officer operating as a businessman under the alias Antonio Alvares de Idalgo. Sergei’s recruitment by Miller was one of many successes achieved by Western agencies following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc. These counter-intelligence triumphs had their origins in a joint FBI/CIA project codenamed COURTSHIP which was based on the rather risky tactic of making an approach to almost any identified KGB or GRU officer, in almost any environment – a technique known as a ‘cold pitch’. It soon yielded results; within five years COURTSHIP had netted about twenty assets. Codenamed FORTHWITH, Sergei was betrayed in December 2001. Arrested in 2004, he was convicted of high treason in Russia, but was subsequently included in a prisoner swap in July 2010 and brought to the UK. The journey to the attempt on his life had begun. The Vienna spy swap was the culmination of a CIA plan to free a specific individual, Gennadi Vasilenko, who had been the Agency’s key mole inside the KGB since March 1979. To acquire the necessary leverage, the FBI swooped on a large network in the United States, bringing to an end a surveillance operation, codenamed GHOST STORIES, that lasted ten years. Anxious to avoid further embarrassment over the arrests, Vladimir Putin personally authorised an exchange, unaware of Vasilenko’s true status. It was only after the transaction had been completed, and two further Russian spies were exfiltrated from Moscow, that the Kremlin learned of Vasilenko’s value, and the scale of the deception. For the very first time, a Russian government had been persuaded to release four traitors and send them to the West. The humiliation was complete. As Spy Swap reveals, Putin’s retribution would manifest itself in a quiet Wiltshire market town.

Author : Graham Yuill
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2021-01-28
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798701113020

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Putin's Assassin by Graham Yuill Pdf

When double spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found dying after a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March 2018, Graham Yuill a former SAS trained bodyguard immediately suspected Russian involvement and a cover-up by the police. As he follows media reports on the Skripal attack, he finds the same level of cover up and contradiction that obstructed the inquest into the murder of Lord Mountbatten. He kept my mouth shut for thirty years after the IRA bombing. Not this time. With his sceptical girlfriend Lizzie, a nursing sister, he sets off for Salisbury to begin his own investigation. With archived material compiled from across the world, combined with evidence obtained through the Freedom of Information Act the story of Colonel Skripal unfolds layer by layer like a mystery thriller to provide a more credible account of what really happened that spring day when Salisbury was visited by Putin's assassin. If the powers of the state covered up system failures that killed the Queen's second cousin, what did that tell us about the slow confused drip of information about the attempted murder of former KGB officer Colonel Skripal and his daughter Yulia on 4 March 2018 in the streets of Salisbury? Time to find out.

Author : Mark Urban
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2008-09-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9780571246915

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Rifles by Mark Urban Pdf

As part of the Light Division created to act as the advance guard of Wellington's army, the 95th Rifles are the first into battle and the last out. Fighting and thieving their way across Europe, they are clearly no ordinary troops. The 95th are in fact the first British soldiers to take aim at their targets, to take cover when being shot at, to move tactically by fire and manoeuvre. And by the end of the six-year campaign they have not only proved themselves the toughest fighters in the army, they have also - at huge personal cost - created the modern notion of the infantryman.In an exhilarating work of narrative military history, Mark Urban traces the story of the 95th Rifles, the toughest and deadliest sharpshooters of Wellington's Army.'If you like Sharpe, then this book is a must, your Christmas present solved.' Bernard Cornwell, Daily Mail'Urban writes history the way it should be written, alive and exciting.' Andy McNab

Author : Mark Galeotti
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2022-02-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300265132

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The Weaponisation of Everything by Mark Galeotti Pdf

An engaging guide to the various ways in which war is now waged—and how to adapt to this new reality “This brisk everyman’s guide—straight-talking and free of jargon—is a useful tasting menu to a fast moving, constantly evolving set of problems. . . . A lively reminder that war adapts to technology, that civilians are part of modern conflict whether they like it or not.”—Roger Boyes, The Times “Galeotti’s field guide is an admirably clear overview (in his words, ‘quick and opinionated’) of a form of conflict which is vague and hard to grasp. Variously described as hybrid, sub-threshold or grey-zone warfare, this is the no man’s land between peaceful relations and formal combat.”—Helen Warrell, Financial Times Hybrid War, Grey Zone Warfare, Unrestricted War: today, traditional conflict—fought with guns, bombs, and drones—has become too expensive to wage, too unpopular at home, and too difficult to manage. In an age when America threatens Europe with sanctions, and when China spends billions buying influence abroad, the world is heading for a new era of permanent low-level conflict, often unnoticed, undeclared, and unending. Transnational crime expert Mark Galeotti provides a comprehensive and groundbreaking survey of the new way of war. Ranging across the globe, Galeotti shows how today’s conflicts are fought with everything from disinformation and espionage to crime and subversion, leading to instability within countries and a legitimacy crisis across the globe. But rather than suggest that we hope for a return to a bygone era of “stable” warfare, Galeotti details ways of surviving, adapting, and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by this new reality.

Author : Gordon Corera
Publisher : William Collins
Page : 448 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2021-02-04
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0008318972

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Russians Among Us by Gordon Corera Pdf

Author : Luke Harding
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 110 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2020-02-12
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781350152779

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A Very Expensive Poison by Luke Harding Pdf

A shocking assassination in the heart of London. In a bizarre mix of high-stakes global politics and radioactive villainy, a man pays with his life. At this time of global crises and a looming new Cold War, A Very Expensive Poison sends us careering through the shadowy world of international espionage from Moscow to Mayfair. Lucy Prebble (Enron, The Effect) brings a shocking story to the stage, adapted from the book by Luke Harding, with an astute mix of real events, vaudeville and thriller. This edition was published to coincide with the World Premiere at the Old Vic Theatre, London, in 2019.

Author : Timothy Frye
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2022-09-27
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780691246284

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Weak Strongman by Timothy Frye Pdf

"Media and public discussion tends to understand Russian politics as a direct reflection of Vladimir Putin's seeming omnipotence or Russia's unique history and culture. Yet Russia is remarkably similar to other autocracies -- and recognizing this illuminates the inherent limits to Putin's power. Weak Strongman challenges the conventional wisdom about Putin's Russia, highlighting the difficult trade-offs that confront the Kremlin on issues ranging from election fraud and repression to propaganda and foreign policy. Drawing on three decades of his own on-the-ground experience and research as well as insights from a new generation of social scientists that have received little attention outside academia, Timothy Frye reveals how much we overlook about today's Russia when we focus solely on Putin or Russian exceptionalism. Frye brings a new understanding to a host of crucial questions: How popular is Putin? Is Russian propaganda effective? Why are relations with the West so fraught? Can Russian cyber warriors really swing foreign elections? In answering these and other questions, Frye offers a highly accessible reassessment of Russian politics that highlights the challenges of governing Russia and the nature of modern autocracy. Rich in personal anecdotes and cutting-edge social science, Weak Strongman offers the best evidence available about how Russia actually works"--

Author : Luke Harding
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2020-06-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780062966056

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Shadow State by Luke Harding Pdf

A thrilling account of how Russia is waging a hidden war against America and the West, using espionage, corruption, fake news, and KGB-style murder March 2018. Two Russian assassins arrive in a provincial English city to kill a former officer from Russia’s GRU intelligence agency. His crime? Passing secrets to British spies. The poison? A lethal nerve agent, novichok. The attempted execution was a reminder – as if one were needed - of Russia’s contempt for international norms. The Soviet Union and its doctrine are long gone, but the playbook used by the Kremlin’s spies during that long confrontation with the West is back. And the underlying goal remains the same: to undermine democracy and exploit divisions within American and European society and politics. Moscow’s support for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election has grown into the biggest political scandal of modern times. Its American players are well-known. In Shadow State, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Luke Harding reveals the Russians behind the story: the spies, hackers and internet trolls. Harding charts how the Kremlin has updated Communist-era methods of influence and propaganda for the age of Facebook and Twitter, and considers the compelling question of our age: what exactly does Vladimir Putin have on President Trump? Similar to those of the Cold War, Putin’s ambitions are truly global. His emissaries include oligarchs, bankers, lawyers, mercenaries, and agents of influence. They roam from Salisbury to Helsinki, Ukraine to Central Africa, London to Washington, D.C. Shadow State is the singular account of how the Kremlin seeks to reshape the world, to divide the US from its European friends, and to remake America in its own dark and kleptocratic image. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand how our politics came to be so chaotic and divided. Nothing less than the future of Western democracy is at stake.