Do Time Get Time

“One of the most important windows onto the New Russian psyche and one of the best books on crime and punishment ever written.”—John Kelly, Prospect Magazine

Twenty-seven-year-old Andrei always knew his shady business dealings could get him into trouble. But aside from the odd scam or tax fiddle, he’d never done anything seriously wrong; nothing that thousands of other Russian businessmen weren’t doing every day. And so he agreed to be the fall guy for his boss when things went wrong.

And they did go wrong—disastrously so—and instead of the suspended sentence he expected, Andrei was forced to do serious time in one of Russia’s most notorious prisons. Surrounded by hardened criminals with a low opinion of the nouveau-riche financial classes, cut off from his expensive lifestyle, and betrayed by those he trusted, Andrei turned inwards and discovered a new life and a new way amid the debris of the old.

Do Time Get Time is a fast-paced and psychologically astute novel. Tough, funny, and quick-witted, it’s a tale of survival and redemption set in one of Moscow’s darkest places.

Andrey Rubanov was born in 1969. After studying at Moscow State University, he worked as a driver, journalist, and bodyguard before becoming a businessman in Putin’s new Russia. In 1996 he was convicted of fraud and imprisoned. In 1999 he was exonerated on appeal and released. This is his first book.