History's Greatest Heist: The Looting of Russia by the Bolsheviks (Hardcover)

~ Mr. Sean McMeekin (Author) "IN THE MID-1990s, a series of sensational reports appeared on the subject of looted Nazi gold laundered in Switzerland during the Second World War..." (more)
Key Phrases: war communism, tsarist rubles, gold blockade, Lloyd George, Red Army, Soviet Russia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks were enmeshed in a civil war and desperate for funds for everything from guns and boots for soldiers to a luxury car for Lenin. In theory, they had at their disposal the riches of the deposed Tsar, including one of the world�s great reserves of gold. But the gold was the security for Russia�s national debt, and most of Europe didn�t recognize the new regime or its right to the treasury anyway; in today�s terms, it was a rogue state under heavy sanctions whose assets were effectively frozen. What followed, McMeekin writes, was a �gold-laundering boom,� involving art-thieving commissars, double-dealing smugglers, and a surprisingly nefarious cast of Swedes. The Bolsheviks put teams to work prying pearls from centuries-old icons, cracked open private safe-deposit boxes, and even stripped a necklace from Catherine the Great�s tomb. McMeekin�s outrage about the crimes occasionally overgilds a good and relevant story, but, given the economic and cultural cost to the Russian people, it is understandable.
Copyright ©2008 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker

Product Description

Historians have never resolved a central mystery of the Russian Revolution: How did the Bolsheviks, despite facing a world of enemies and leaving nothing but economic ruin in their path, manage to stay in power through five long years of civil war?  In this penetrating book, Sean McMeekin draws on previously undiscovered materials from the Soviet Ministry of Finance and other European and American archives to expose some of the darkest secrets of Russia’s early days of communism. Building on one archival revelation after another, the author reveals how the Bolsheviks financed their aggression through astonishingly extensive thievery. Their looting included everything from the cash savings of private citizens to gold, silver, diamonds, jewelry, icons, antiques, and artwork.

 

By tracking illicit Soviet financial transactions across Europe, McMeekin shows how Lenin’s regime accomplished history’s greatest heist between 1917 and 1922 and turned centuries of accumulated wealth into the sinews of class war. McMeekin also names names, introducing for the first time the compliant bankers, lawyers, and middlemen who, for a price, helped the Bolsheviks launder their loot, impoverish Russia, and impose their brutal will on millions.

See all Editorial Reviews

---

Product Details Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Yale University Press (December 16, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0300135580 ISBN-13: 978-0300135589 Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #559,516 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

---

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Sean McMeekin Page

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
IN THE MID-1990s, a series of sensational reports appeared on the subject of looted Nazi gold laundered in Switzerland during the Second World War. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
war communism, tsarist rubles, gold blockade, imperial gold reserves, looting campaign, million gold rubles, bank strike, church robberies, church valuables, paper rubles, trade accord, ooo rubles, import credits, gold movements, photo envelope, million rubles

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Lloyd George, Red Army, Soviet Russia, The Heist, Foreign Office, State Bank, Max Laserson, Olof Aschberg, October Revolution, Stanford University, Russian Revolution, Hoover Institution Archives, The People, New York, Nikolai Krestinsky, Patriarch Tikhon, Provisional Government, Great Britain, Leonid Krasin, San Remo, Orthodox Church, Standard Oil, United States, Rapallo Treaty, Red Guards

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	79% buy the item featured on this page: History's Greatest Heist: The Looting of Russia by the Bolsheviks 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) $30.40
	9% buy Inside the Stalin Archives: Discovering the New Russia 3.3 out of 5 stars (10) $17.16
	5% buy Treasure into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938 $40.50
	4% buy The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia 4.7 out of 5 stars (35) $13.60

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  russia(2) bolsheviks(1) communism(1) history(1) revolutionary(1) stalin(1) Agree with these tags? Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 5 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The looting of Russia by the Bolshevics., February 8, 2009 By  emelya4u "Emelya" (USA) - See all my reviews The results of this researcher's investigation has been long known to most in Russia, but not in the West. Too bad this is not going to enter the textbooks in those same countries and overturn the dominant mythology that the Bolsheviks, i.e. the murderers of the Russian empire, have been good for Russia. My fear is that this author's work will be dismissed in some way, and this will remain the only work in this field...but kudos for the author. 4 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent service; excellent read., February 8, 2009 By  Jimmy Porter (Dubois, Wy USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Amazon Verified Purchase The author has researched and written a book that covers the gap between the Tsarist downfall through to the downfall of Bolshevik rebels. The rape of the culture of Old Russia will make you sick when you see how the gold, jewels. paintings and religious objects are stolen by these "friends of the People," what they do with it, and how it turns out. It made me very sorrowful and revengeful for the actions of these robbers. It also points out what a lax citizenship will allow a small band of violent and active rebels, including destroying your country, your culture, your person. This was a well written book, placing some of the then current world leaders at the same greedy trough as the Russian rapists, The Bolsheviks! 1 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and engrossing..., June 23, 2009 By  jenna randolph (USA) - See all my reviews So many interesting books are now being written about Russia. The "collapse" of the Soviet Union sounds less and less like that---and more like a great peoples getting their lives back in order. I always believed the total "people's revolution" stuff---and became interested since I had to read Karl Marx in American schools (but we were told it was a capitalist country, despite what they now call "mixed economy). Still, I just wondered why--and started reading. Boy, it wasn't really a "people's revolution," but we were taught Lenin 'ended civil war," and so on. I think there will be such great things for Russia in the future, and its side of the story is slowly, slowly being told. There are many who are fascinated to hear it!		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post No discussions yet Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post history History of the Palestinian Nation? 2508 19 minutes ago history Looking for a book for an 11-year old 15 49 minutes ago textbook textbook scam 77 1 day ago textbook Textbooks for Kindle DX? 63 3 days ago communism East Germany 1 5 days ago communism Has Communism Come to America? 1 5 days ago russia Books in Russian sold by Amazon with free shipping 1 8 days ago Search Customer Discussions Search all Amazon discussions

The Russia community Latest activity 6 hours ago 2,598 customers have contributed 4,160 products, 224 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The History community Latest activity 24 minutes ago 22,189 customers have contributed 29,203 products, 812 discussions and more... › Explore the community The Communism community Latest activity 9 hours ago 1,718 customers have contributed 1,530 products, 108 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums communism (5 discussions) history (812 discussions) russia (9 discussions) textbook (19 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Olavo de Carvalho - recommendations Jan-Sept 2009: A list by Fabio G. Franco   Books I Love: A list by Christina Croft "Christina"   little known chapters of Stalinism: A list by Soraya Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > History > Europe > England
• Books > History > Historical Study > Revolutionary
• Books > History > Russia
• Books > History > World > 20th Century

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
Inter-war period, 1918-1939
Finance, Public - Soviet Union - History
Pillage - Soviet Union - History
Soviet Union - Politics and government - 1917-1936
History - General History
Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)
Russia
Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union
HISTORY / Revolutionary
History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union
History / Modern / 20th Century
Revolutionary
Modern - 20th Century
20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000
European history
European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)
World history
World history: from c 1900 -
History
History: World
Finance, Public
Pillage
Soviet Union
Regional History


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (December 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300135580
• ISBN-13: 978-0300135589
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #559,516 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The looting of Russia by the Bolshevics., February 8, 2009

By	emelya4u "Emelya" (USA) - See all my reviews

The results of this researcher's investigation has been long known to most in Russia, but not in the West.
Too bad this is not going to enter the textbooks in those same countries and overturn the dominant mythology that the Bolsheviks, i.e. the murderers of the Russian empire, have been good for Russia.
My fear is that this author's work will be dismissed in some way, and this will remain the only work in this field...but kudos for the author.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent service; excellent read., February 8, 2009

By	Jimmy Porter (Dubois, Wy USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

The author has researched and written a book that covers the gap between the Tsarist downfall through to the downfall of Bolshevik rebels. The rape of the culture of Old Russia will make you sick when you see how the gold, jewels. paintings and religious objects are stolen by these "friends of the People," what they do with it, and how it turns out. It made me very sorrowful and revengeful for the actions of these robbers. It also points out what a lax citizenship will allow a small band of violent and active rebels, including destroying your country, your culture, your person. This was a well written book, placing some of the then current world leaders at the same greedy trough as the Russian rapists, The Bolsheviks!

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and engrossing..., June 23, 2009

By	jenna randolph (USA) - See all my reviews

So many interesting books are now being written about Russia. The "collapse" of the Soviet Union sounds less and less like that---and more like a great peoples getting their lives back in order. I always believed the total "people's revolution" stuff---and became interested since I had to read Karl Marx in American schools (but we were told it was a capitalist country, despite what they now call "mixed economy). Still, I just wondered why--and started reading. Boy, it wasn't really a "people's revolution," but we were taught Lenin 'ended civil war," and so on. I think there will be such great things for Russia in the future, and its side of the story is slowly, slowly being told. There are many who are fascinated to hear it!