DIVOn the hunt for long-lost gold, a historian attracts murderous attention /divDIVTwenty-five million people died during the Russian Civil War. It was a clash between Tsarist loyalists and the new Soviet order, and when the imperialist forces saw defeat in sight, their thoughts turned to their future. Under the command of Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak, they loaded the entire Tsarist treasury onto a train, packing millions of worthless banknotes alongside platinum, jewels, and over five hundred tons of gold bullion. As Kolchak retreated, the train disappeared, and the fortune vanished./divDIV /divDIVAmerica’s foremost historian of Russia, Harry Bristow, is researching a new biography of Kolchak when an ancient veteran of the Russian Civil War gives him a clue to the gold’s whereabouts. Bristow would like to find the treasure for the sake of historical research, but where gold goes, greed follows—and death is not far behind./div

“Perestroika” in the former Soviet Union at the end of 1980s and subsequent breakdown of the country with the Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS) formation has opened a vast new region for the western mining companies for exploration and development. The possibility of finding unexplored gold deposits was one of the major incentives that attracted many small and big mining companies to CIS because this region of Eurasia is famous for containing the world’s largest cumulative gold reserve. However, because of the Soviet secrecy laws regarding all gold-related information, very little has been known about already explored gold deposits and their potential. “Gold Deposits of the CIS” represents the first comprehensive study in English of the gold and gold-silver deposits and their resources of the former Soviet Union. The book includes: (1) a history of gold exploration and mining in this region from ancient times, (2) the contemporary classification of the deposits, (3) a detailed description of more than 50 major and most representative gold and gold-silver deposits – all including their location, geological setting, structure, alteration style, mineralogy and resources and reserves and (4) the reserve estimation of all former Soviet gold-producing countries and their potential for possible new discoveries. Several explored and developed into production deposits, such as Kupol, Sarylakh, Sentachan, Natal'evskoye, Kuro-Tegerek, Zod, and some others, are described in English for the first time. The book gives a significant body of new information for exploration and mining companies, scientists, faculties and students of mining schools, as well as policy makers concerned with exploration and development of gold deposits in the world. Also, it provides important material for comparative studies between the gold deposits of the former Soviet Union and the West.

At its peak before the first world war, the fortune of the Romanovs of Russia has been calculated at over 45 billion dollars. It included fabulous state jewels, exquisite Faberge eggs, the palaces in and around St. Petersburg and the Crimea, the royal yachts and trains, and millions in Tsarist bank accounts in London, New York, and elsewhere. Since the secret murders of Nicholas and Alexandra and their family in 1918, and the subsequent, and controversial, discovery of their remains, the mystery persists: What happened to all that wealth? Questions surrounding the lost fortune are inevitably tied up with the issue of just who was killed that terrible summer's night in 1918 at Ekaterinburg. William Clarke goes to the heart of the Romanov story, to the Central State Archives in Russia, which for three-quarters of a century had been filed away in secrecy, and is only now open to investigation. The result of over twenty years of research, Clarke's quest reveals the truth behind claims to the Tsarist fortune made by the likes of Anna Anderson and Michel Goleniewski, and sheds new light on this most intriguing of historical mysteries.

In 1918, the Soviet revolutionary government repudiated the Tsarist regime’s sovereign debt, triggering one of the biggest sovereign defaults ever. Yet the price of Russian bonds remained high for years. Combing French archival records, Kim Oosterlinck shows that, far from irrational, investors had legitimate reasons to hope for repayment. Soviet debt recognition, a change in government, a bailout by the French government, or French banks, or a seceding country would have guaranteed at least a partial reimbursement. As Greece and other European countries raise the possibility of sovereign default, Oosterlinck’s superbly researched study is more urgent than ever.

In Thailand, the CIA thwarts an arms deal between Iran and North Korea—but it can’t stop a terrorist plot that threatens the world. Eugene Sokolov, a Russian rescue officer sent to Asia, becomes entangled in the conspiracy. Fighting for his life when his mission turns into a trap, Sokolov must protect his only ally. Aussie model Stacie Rose holds the key to her family’s mysterious past—and a multibillion-dollar treasure. To survive, they must unravel the darkest secret of the Russian Church.

For the entire history of human civilization, gold has enraptured people around the globe. The Nazis was no less enthralled by it, and felt that gold was the solution to funding Hitler's war machine. Gold was also on the mind of FDR across the Atlantic, as he worked with Europe's other leaders to bring the United States and the rest of the world out of a severe depression. FDF was hardly the first head of state to turn to gold in difficult times. Throughout history, it has been the refuge of both nations and people in trouble, working at times when nothing else does. Desperate people can buy a loaf of bread or bribe a border guard. Gold can get desperate nations oil to keep tanks running or munitions to fight a war. If the price is right, there is always someone somewhere willing to buy or sell gold. And it was to become the Nazi's most important medium of exchange during the war. Chasing Gold is the story of how the Nazis attempted to grab Europe’s gold to finance history’s bloodiest war. It is filled with high drama and close escapes, laying bare the palate of human emotions. Walking through the tale are giants of world history, as well as ordinary people called upon to undertake heroic action in an extraordinary time.

Wall Street and the Russian Revolution will give readers critical insight into what might be called the "Secret History of the 20th century." The Russian Revolution, like the war in which it was born, represents the real beginning of the modern world. The book will look not just at the sweep of events, but probe the economic, ideological and personal motivations of the key figures involved, revealing heretofore unknown or misunderstood connections. Was Trotsky, for instance, a political genius, an unprincipled egomaniac, or something of each? Readers should come away with not only a far deeper understanding of what happened in Russia a century ago, but also what happened in America and how that still shapes the relations of the twocountries today.