The security services have played a central-and often mysterious-role at key turning points in Russia during the tumultuous years following the Soviet collapse: from the Moscow apartment house bombings and theater siege, to the war in Chechnya and the Beslan school massacre. In this riveting investigation, two intrepid journalists penetrate the secret world of the FSB and illustrate how the security services have evolved into a ruthless, violently powerful force that is inextricably woven into modern Russia's fundamental makeup, and has become more shadowy than its predecessor, the Soviet KGB.

Foreword / Nick Fielding -- pt. 1: FSB regains power -- Introduction -- Dawn of a new era : the birth of the FSB -- Friends in high places : cultivating the security services -- Interests of the state demand it : spymania -- Threat within : infiltrating counter movements -- Targeting extremism : the rise of watchdog surveillance -- Living off the fat of the land : the new elite -- Love of the game : the FSB and national sport -- Renaissance of Yuri Andropov -- Propaganda machine : image-making and the FSB -- Secret underground -- Lefortovo prison -- pt. 2: Response To terrorism -- Nord-Ost siege -- Beslan crisis -- Russian response -- Extrajudicial killings -- pt. 3: Activity abroad -- Assassinations -- FSB intelligence -- Hackers -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index -- About the authors.