Punishing Putin - by Stephanie Baker

About the Book

"Undeterred by eight years of timid US sanctions, Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the hours that followed across the world, Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. What followed was an undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the world into a devastating recession. The end goal was simple: to sap the strength of Putin's war machine and damage the Russian economy-once the eleventh largest on the planet. Here, Russian expert and veteran journalist Stephanie Baker explains in fascinating detail how this furious shadow-war unfolded: its causes, how it is being executed, and its ability to affect Russia and the course of history. From seizing superyachts to manipulating the global price of oil to trying to block the sale of military technology to Russia, we learn how the White House coordinated with top officials in London and Brussels to freeze a staggering $300 billion in foreign currency reserves accumulated in the West by Russia's central bank. Mobilizing an army of white collar-crime investigators and experts on international law, Baker explores how the West has cracked down on illicit Russian money by targeting oligarchs, one superyacht at a time, and their enablers around the world. Filled with propulsive, fly-on-the-wall details, Punishing Putin takes us into the frantic backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of carefully calculated "economic statecraft" and shows how these new strategies are already radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today, and for generations to come"--

Book Synopsis

An in-depth, authoritative, and timely look at the unprecedented economic war the US and its European allies are waging against Russia after Putin's invasion of Ukraine--written by a veteran journalist with unparalleled access to Western and Russian sources.

Undeterred by eight years of timid US sanctions, Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the hours that followed across the world, Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. What followed was an undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the world into a devastating recession. The end goal was simple: to sap the strength of Putin's war machine and damage the Russian economy--once the eleventh largest on the planet. Here, Russian expert and veteran journalist Stephanie Baker explains in fascinating detail how this furious shadow-war unfolded: its causes, how it is being executed, and its ability to affect Russia and the course of history.

From seizing superyachts to manipulating the global price of oil to trying to block the sale of military technology to Russia, we learn how the White House coordinated with top officials in London and Brussels to freeze a staggering $300 billion in foreign currency reserves accumulated in the West by Russia's central bank. Mobilizing an army of white collar-crime investigators and experts on international law, Baker explores how the West has cracked down on illicit Russian money by targeting oligarchs, one superyacht at a time, and their enablers around the world.

Filled with propulsive, fly-on-the-wall details, Punishing Putin takes us into the frantic backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of carefully calculated "economic statecraft" and shows how these new strategies are already radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today, and for generations to come.

Review Quotes

"Masterful . . . a flat-out rollicking read, the kind of book you press on friends and family with proselytizing zeal. Baker draws on decades of experience and shoe-leather reporting to craft the best account of the Western sanctions campaign yet. . . . More than a good tale, it is a clinical analysis of the very tricky balancing acts that lie behind deploying what has become Washington's go-to weapon." --Foreign Policy

"The riveting inside story of the unprecedented economic war to take down Putin and save Ukraine. Anyone wishing to understand the complexity and difficulty of battling Putin on the global economic stage will find Stephanie Baker's exposé an essential read." --Bill Browder, New York Times bestselling author of Red Notice and Freezing Order

"An authoritative and gripping investigation that reads like a detective novel. I found myself reading it in the elevator." --Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan

"Punishing Putin is a captivating account of the West's economic war against Russia, from oligarchs' superyachts to the world's oil market. Stephanie Baker explores the struggle to bankrupt Putin's war machine--and how the Kremlin has responded with smuggling efforts and closer ties with Beijing. Essential reading for understanding Russia's war and how it is remaking the world economy." --Chris Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Chip War

"The essential, must-read insider account of the West's cat-and-mouse economic warfare against Russia and how it is changing the face of global trade. Magisterial and gripping." --Catherine Belton, author of Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West

"Deeply reported and deftly written, Punishing Putin brings you inside a critical front in the new cold war, the one that will decide how long Russia can sustain its confrontation with the West. No one writing about sanctions today has a stronger grasp of this terrain than Stephanie Baker or a better knack for untangling its complexity." --Simon Shuster, New York Times bestselling author of The Showman: Inside the Invasion that Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky

"A captivating economic detective story that describes in great detail how the West tried to confront Putin and explains why the sanctions didn't work: the war didn't stop, and the Russian army continues to advance. A very important book for anyone pondering what will happen next." --Mikhail Zygar, author of War and Punishment: Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

"Stephanie Baker has produced a definitive account of the war behind the war--the desperate struggle to restrain Russia's violence through economic sanctions. Few reporters understand post-Soviet Russia the way Baker does, and it shows. But this is a story that resounds beyond Eastern Europe. She argues persuasively that economic warfare is a crucial part of the modern arsenal, and that the lessons of Ukraine will shape future conflicts. Those who assume that sanctions were a one-off failure should look more closely at this detailed, engrossing account, narrated by the key players themselves." --Peter S. Canellos, author of The Great Dissenter

About the Author

Stephanie Baker is an award-winning investigative reporter at Bloomberg News. She began her reporting career in Moscow during the 1990s, a volatile period that set Russia on its path today. She received her master's degree at the London School of Economics and her work has been recognized by the Gerald Loeb Awards, the Overseas Press Club, the UK Society of Editors, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, and the UK's Foreign Press Association.