The recommended book may be an interesting read, but keep in mind it is like reading a biography of Ronald Reagan written by the head of the DNC. Or a book about Obama written by FReepers. It is a biased report. (And yes, I would find the FReeper book quite factual myself.)
I don’t agree with you. It is true that Edward Lucas does not like Russia and the Kremlin mafia ruling it. I would say he does not like them because he knows them. He is one of the most knowledgeable western experts on the topic after all.