Welcome to Putingrad

4.6/5 ( ratings)

At age 26 Franz Sedelmayer went to St. Petersburg Russia where he built a successful police supply and training company. One of his biggest supporters was St. Petersburg's young deputy mayor, Vladimir Putin. Putin and Franz bonded and Putin became one of Franz's biggest supporters. But when Franz's company was expropriated by President Boris Yeltsin, Putin did nothing to help his friend. Franz sued for damages. He won, but Russia--and its new President, Vladimir Putin--refused to pay. But Franz persevered, and he won: he foreclosed on Russian properties in Europe. Incredibly, Franz is the only individual ever to collect money from Vladimir Putin's Russia.

"Brilliant. An amazing and fast-moving insider account."
--Luke Harding, The Guardian

"Franz J. Sedelmayer is the very definition of pugnacious. You can't help but root for him as he wages a decades-long battle to obtain payment for assets stolen by the Russian government. Franz's immutable sense of right and wrong is repeatedly pitted against Russian corruption, kleptocracy,and blatant disregard for law and fairness--but he wins."
--Karen Taylor, Writer and Editor, Former Editor-in-Chief, France Magazine

"Many people have been wronged by the Kremlin. Few dared to fight back. Franz Sedelmayer did -- and won!"
--Marina Litvinenko

"To file a hundred-plus legal cases in international courts against the Russian Federation and consistently win is almost unbelievable. What tenacity!! The expose of Putin was brilliant. He is a bad dude without a moral compass and a determined enemy of what WE stand for."
--Admiral Robert J. Kelly, USN Former CINCPACFLT

"An enthralling read."
--Sergey Ripinsky, Independent Consultant on International Economic Law

"Welcome to Putingrad should be required reading for all the uneducated TV talking heads and, probably, most of Congress-who really don't seem to know much about Russia."
--Donald Darst, Litigation attorney, CA,USA

"A masterpiece of practical experience with a deep insight into the Russian system, and a call for caution in foreign investments outside the Western-style rule-of-law systems. Throughout the book, you feel Mr.Sedelmayer's deep disappointment about the missed chances and the current state of affairs in Russia."
-- Dr.Achim-Rüdiger Börner, Attorney and Publizist, Specializing in International Investment Law

"Phenomenal! A unique glimpse into Vladimir Putin's Russia and a compelling story replete with Real politik, international intrigue, victory and ultimately, vindication."
--Lieutenant Colonel Gary Bloesl, USMC

"The marvel of the book is that it takes this dismal evolutionary process down to the level of Franz's personal story, so that the reader gets what it means to real people who have to deal with it. And that ain't easy to do.
--Kay Diehl, Author

"A fascinating depiction of the Russian psyche."
--Vice Admiral Jerry Unruh, USN Former COMTHIRDFLT

"I was with Franz in St Petersburg. This is a book for those interested in discovering how phenomenal corruption has seriously stalled what should have been Russia's flowering as a real economy and democracy!"
--Jack L Gosnell, Ph.D., U.S. Consul General, St Petersburg, 1991-94

"Welcome to Putingrad is great. I wish everyone in this country would read it because they'd learn what Russia and Putin are all about and what a cold-blooded killer Putin really is.