Last Book and Publications
Shchekochikhin's last published book was Slaves of the KGB: 20th Century. The Religion of Betrayal, telling the real stories of some of the many people forcibly recruited by the Russian KGB (the domestic operations of which later became the FSB) to work as undercover informers or agents. These people virtually became their KGB controllers' slaves, betraying their relatives, close friends and colleagues. When he died, he had not finished working on a book about the 20th Century wars in Chechnya.
In an interview he gave just before his death, he said
Many years ago we... gave summed up the mafia in the following phrase: The lion has jumped. This year, in January, we gave the mafia the following characterization: The lion has jumped and is already wearing epaulets. By comparison what is going on today in our security services, in our prosecutor's office, all bandits are simply boy scouts. Today, it is precisely the people who are needed to fight crime and corruption that have raised the flag of corruption and crime. This has not bypassed the secret police; what has never happened before happens constantly now - the protection that they provide, the enormous amounts of money they receive, and the control over ports and banks that they exercise.
Read more about this topic: Yuri Shchekochikhin
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