I just finished reading Red Notice by Bill Browder.
His true story about high financial dealings in Russia is a real page
turner. His explanation about the fall
of communism to capitalism to the rise of oligarchs is a rich history
lesson. At the end of the book, Mr.
Browder writes about Russia today: “A
place where lies reign supreme. A place
where two and two is still five, white is still black, and up is still
down. A place where convictions are
certain, and guilt a given…. This is
Russia today.”
The end of his book made me immediately think about
the documentary film Forgive Me, Sergei
and the scenes that were filmed in Russia—the parts where every Russian
interviewed claimed that Sergei Kourdakov was a fraud. I was unconvinced. Especially when Sergei’s “brother” talked
about him.
Sergei Kourdakov told everyone publicly that his
brother was dead. In a quieter moment with
me, he reflected that he hadn’t seen his older brother or heard from him since
he was a little boy and that he was sure his brother had been killed. Yet, in the documentary the person claiming
to be Sergei’s brother never mentioned that fact.
There are some excellent parts in the documentary
film. And there are parts that should be
considered carefully. I wouldn’t write-off
Sergei Kourdakov’s book “The Persecutor”
based solely on the movie.
