A Texas businessman travels to the furthest reaches of post-Soviet Russia in search of the country�����s new wealth — and finds new dangers as well. Based on true events.
After the demise of the Soviet Union, the newly-established Russian government privatized its industry by issuing vouchers to all of its citizens, allowing them the chance to be shareholders in the country’s burgeoning businesses. The slips are distributed among the population and auctions are arranged where they can be exchanged for actual shares. For the country’s rural populations living in abject poverty, the vouchers appear to be little more than pieces of paper, totally separated from the far-off concept of potential future fortunes.
But for Texas businessman John Mills and his Czech companion, Petr Kovac, the seemingly-valueless chits suggest a lucrative potential, worth much more than what the current owners are willing to sell them for. They travel to the furthest, coldest reaches of the country to acquire vouchers for the country’s national oil company, Gazneft, roving from town to town with suitcases full of cash. But they quickly learn that the plan has complications — for example, the fact that the auctions at which these vouchers are traded for actual shares have been planned at the most remote, inaccessible locations possible to deter outsiders from buying in. And when the Russian mafia and the oligarchs in charge of Gazneft catch wind of their successes, the stakes become suddenly more deadly.
A thrilling adventure inspired by true events, The Siberia Job charts a course through one of the most impactful periods in recent Russian history, whose reverberations continue to be felt in the present day.
Genre: Thriller
After the demise of the Soviet Union, the newly-established Russian government privatized its industry by issuing vouchers to all of its citizens, allowing them the chance to be shareholders in the country’s burgeoning businesses. The slips are distributed among the population and auctions are arranged where they can be exchanged for actual shares. For the country’s rural populations living in abject poverty, the vouchers appear to be little more than pieces of paper, totally separated from the far-off concept of potential future fortunes.
But for Texas businessman John Mills and his Czech companion, Petr Kovac, the seemingly-valueless chits suggest a lucrative potential, worth much more than what the current owners are willing to sell them for. They travel to the furthest, coldest reaches of the country to acquire vouchers for the country’s national oil company, Gazneft, roving from town to town with suitcases full of cash. But they quickly learn that the plan has complications — for example, the fact that the auctions at which these vouchers are traded for actual shares have been planned at the most remote, inaccessible locations possible to deter outsiders from buying in. And when the Russian mafia and the oligarchs in charge of Gazneft catch wind of their successes, the stakes become suddenly more deadly.
A thrilling adventure inspired by true events, The Siberia Job charts a course through one of the most impactful periods in recent Russian history, whose reverberations continue to be felt in the present day.
Genre: Thriller
Praise for this book
"An astonishing story, excitingly told, and all too close to the reality of Russia in the murderous 1990s." - Charles Cumming
"A ground-breaking novel that redefines the conventional action/adventure, chase and escape genre." - Nelson DeMille
"The Siberia Job is a breathless, globetrotting thriller that's also a mesmerizing look at Russia's transformation from Soviet socialism to modern-day kleptocracy. Vivid, ingenious, and suspenseful to the last page." - Joseph Finder
"A terrific post-Soviet thriller, distinguished by its portrayal of the wild potential of 1990s Russia and the subversion of that potential into pure corruption, the consequences of which continue to reverberate in the present day." - Martin Cruz Smith
"A ground-breaking novel that redefines the conventional action/adventure, chase and escape genre." - Nelson DeMille
"The Siberia Job is a breathless, globetrotting thriller that's also a mesmerizing look at Russia's transformation from Soviet socialism to modern-day kleptocracy. Vivid, ingenious, and suspenseful to the last page." - Joseph Finder
"A terrific post-Soviet thriller, distinguished by its portrayal of the wild potential of 1990s Russia and the subversion of that potential into pure corruption, the consequences of which continue to reverberate in the present day." - Martin Cruz Smith
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