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Comment by eukgoekoko | Hacker News Reader

> by a coterie of former KGB officers, or "siloviki"

"Siloviki" are not exactly KGB officers, "silovik" is a name for every security, military or intelligence serviceman which is accurately described in the linked article https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/20/west-p...

It's fun to see how Guardian keeps playing Chinese whispers.

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The article gets the gist across. If articles were written with caveats and exactness galore, it wouldn't be readable.

As a Russian national sharing most of anti-Putin sentiments I can tell that Guardian tends to provide an oversimplified picture of Russia. Most importantly this very article misses the fact that there were many actors in Russian political theatre at the time when Putin became prime minister. For instance, the article tells nothing about the involvement of oligarch Boris Berezovsky in the coup. But yes, I get your point, reading fairy tales is far more entertaining than reading chronicles.

It's an article about a book that surely will cover that info if you buy and read it.

What if it doesn't? Would I be able to get my money back? Just as I've said, mentioning Sergei Pugachev and not mentioning Boris Berezovsky in one article looks strange. I totally get it why Pugachev is being mentioned: he's been advertising himself ever since leaving Russia. OTOH Berezovsky's dead so books about his influence might not sell well. Fun fact: it's Pugachev's own claim he was the architect of the coup https://www.bbc.com/russian/uk/2015/07/150724_brit_press

The article is a book review. What do you think of the book that is being reviewed? Does it go into enough detail, and get its facts straight?

Given all these inaccuracies in this advertising artice I don't feel too much convinced. I'd recommend everyone reading the book by Paul Khlebnikov https://books.google.de/books?id=vb2ZAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y which gives a detailed insider view on Russian politics of that era. BTW, writing this book has costed the guy his life. As for "Putin's People" it looks like an another unwitting attempt to cash in on anti-Putin hysteria.

I'm anxious to hear your review of the book posted in the article, after you've read it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Journalists_killed_in...

> anti-Putin hysteria

Interesting wording. Russia used to scare me in the context of nuclear war, but the fact that Putin's influence is now controlling Trump and the GOP (and elsewhere), I feel rightfully frightened.

If all security, military etc are 'siloviki', then by definition, a "coterie of former KGB officers" is in fact a "coterie of siloviki".

I think you're missing my point. But anyway thank you, it's always nice to get a feedback from a mammal.

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