Lubyanka Criminal Group
Lubyanka Criminal Group (; also translated as "The Gang from Lubyanka") is a book by Alexander Litvinenko about the alleged transformation of the Russian Security Services into a criminal and terrorist organization. Lubyanka is known as KGB headquarters. In the book, the authors claim that Russian president Vladimir Putin and other FSB officers have been involved in organized crime, including covering up drug traffic from Afghanistan. The book was withdrawn from sales in Russia by request from the FSB according to The Moscow Human Rights News Agency Prima News. In response, the authors allowed the book's publication  and distribution by anyone in Russia free of charge. Alexander Goldfarb, the executive director of International Foundation for Civil Liberties which licensed the book's copyright in Russia, stated, "By banning the books for the first time since the Soviet times, FSB threw down a challenge to the society". Former Interior Minister of Russia Anatoly Kulikov promised to bring a libel suit against the book but did not follow it through. Reception. Viktor Suvorov, author of "Icebreaker" said that the book is "Terrifying, gripping and instructive". According to Suvorov: Former Soviet prisoner of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky stated, "Litvinenko eloquently depicts  that what was long considered to be the 'shield and sword' of the communist party is in reality a huge criminal mechanism". As Andrei Antonov writes, "the way Litvinenko sees it, the FSB is clearly a criminal and even terrorist organization. And not only because of apartment explosions or alleged conspiracy against Berezovsky. Litvinenko is certain that security services were behind the murder of Galina Starovoitova, a prominent figure in Russia's democracy movement, and the death of Anatoly Sobchak, and many, many other things." Alan Cowell praised the book as an important source that described the attempted assassination of  Boris Berezovsky in Moscow and many other events.