Today's guest is Alexei Sokolovl from
inside the pages of THE DEATH OF THE KREMLIN CZAR by Jorg H. Trauboth. It is a pleasure to have him with us at The Literary Nook!
What is your name?
My name's Alexei Sokolovl.
How old are you and what do you do for a living?
Thank you very much for the invitation. I am 53 years old and
financially secure. I prefer to let the media speculate about my
wealth. But it is true that I am one of the richest people in Russia.
Incidentally, it's not true that I acquired my wealth illegally. Like
others, I bought shares cheaply during the privatization of Russian
state-owned companies and thus created the basis for my current real
estate empire. Today, I know that money alone does not make you happy.
Especially when you need the support of the Russian president to
maintain your wealth. As a rich oligarch, you are his prisoner. But more
on that later.
Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?
I come from a respected Russian family from St. Petersburg and am
traditionally a nationalist Russian. I love my fatherland. However,
since I lived in the USA for several years. I am also a politically
western-minded person. I am in favor of basic democratic values that
safeguard the freedom and dignity of citizens. That is not the case in
Russia. On the contrary, we have become a dictatorship with a new Czar
at the top.
I have been living miserably in this environment for too long. That
is why I have decided to change Russia. Now you want to know how? Okay.
We are a group of oligarchs who will overthrow the Russian president in a
few days. Just like Caesar was overthrown by his senators. Everything
is prepared. Even the new government. It will put an end to the terrible
war against Ukraine, and we will reach out to the USA for a new
partnership.
What would I love the most about you?
I have no idea. Maybe you would admire me because I will risk
everything I have achieved to lead Russia into a new, better world. So I
am a resistance fighter who is ready to sacrifice his life. Perhaps you
would call me crazy. Even if my plan fails, at least I tried. That
alone counts. So I am an idealist. And privately? I'm in love with a
woman who means everything to me. I want to share my future with her.
Unfortunately, Yulia Smirnoff is the partner of the Russian president
and the mother of his two sons. Therefore, you could say that I'm also
an idiot, a Romeo who lost his mind for love. I hope the Czar is dead
before he finds out.
What makes you laugh out loud?
To be honest, I have lost that spontaneous quality. I live in a world
of constant surveillance and betrayal. Everything I do is controlled. I
am rich but unfree. There is not much to laugh about.
No, there was one event. After an emergency helicopter landing in the
mountains of northern Italy, Yulia secretly came to my room at night.
I was lying in a 200-year-old wooden bed.
She stood naked in the moonlit room, jumped on me with a mighty leap,
the picture of the Virgin Mary fell from the wall and missed us both by
a hair's breadth. At the same time the church bells rang out in the
village. I burst out laughing. I had no way of knowing that this was
perhaps also a warning from St. Mary.
What is your most treasured possession?
My dignity, my authenticity
Are you a loner or do you prefer to be surrounded by friends?
I have become a lone wolf. I'm cautious even with my friends. You
never know who might turn the knife on you. Many people try to get in
touch with me. My only friend is Yulia.
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is that my plan will fail, even though the coup is perfectly prepared.
If you could change one physical thing about yourself, what would that be?
My deceased wife said in her last weeks: “Alexei, you tend to play
with risk and overstep boundaries. Make sure you don't overstep the
mark.” It's hard for me to take that to heart, because I'm actually also
a player who has to take risks. Right now, it's all or nothing.
However, I do make a point of eating properly. That's why I maintain
my ideal weight and go to the gym every day. Low carbohydrates and lots
of exercise work wonders.
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?
I would pray to God that someone else would complete my plan and ask
Him to forgive me for all my sins. But to be honest, I don't even want
to know. If death comes, please make it quick and as unexpected as
possible. My creator Jörg H. Trauboth has come up with something that I
don't agree with at all. Shame on him! So read the story and you'll know
what happens to me.
About the Book
Russian
President and new Czar Ivan Pavlenko suddenly shows his true colors
during the war in Ukraine. He wants the old Soviet Union back. The world
is on the brink. The influential oligarch Alexei Sokolov wants to
prevent Ivan’s megalomaniacal plans and is planning a fundamental new
beginning for Russia. To achieve this, the Russian president must die.
How will the US President react to the CIA’s proposal to support the
oligarch, who has a romantic relationship with the Russian President’s
partner, Yulia?
The
poison attack is perfectly prepared, but the Boeing with the oligarch
Alexei Sokolow, his lover and over 100 passengers on board is hijacked
by a Ukrainian terrorist and is supposed to crash over Berlin after
knocking out the crew by shooting. Former elite soldier Marc Anderson is
on board with his family and takes over with Alexei. The two flight
amateurs try to get control. Will the landing and the assassination
succeed or will the Kremlin Czar strike back brutally after realizing
the role of Yulia?
The Death of the Kremlin Czar is available at Amazon (U.S. edition) and Amazon (German edition).
About the Author
Jörg
H. Trauboth, born in 1943 near Berlin, logged over two thousand flight
hours as a Weapon Systems Officer Instructor in the Luftwaffe, flying
PHANTOM F-4F / RF-4E and TORNADO fighter jets, and over 3000 hours in
light aircraft. At the age of fifty, he left the service with the rank
of Colonel in the General Staff. He received training as a Special Risk
Consultant from the English Control Risk Group and served as Managing
Director Germany, dealing with extortion and kidnapping cases in South
America and Eastern Europe. Shortly thereafter, he founded his own
consulting firm, quickly establishing an outstanding international
reputation. Trauboth protected his clients with a 24-hour task force
during product extortions, product recalls, kidnappings, and image
crises. He was the first President of the European Crisis Management
Academy in Vienna and President of the American Yankee Association.
He
is known as a respected expert in the media on security-related topics.
He volunteers as an emergency counselor and is a member of the Crisis
Intervention Team (KIT Bonn) of the German Foreign Office. He is a
private pilot, married, with two sons and three grandchildren.
In 2002, Trauboth wrote the now out of print standard work “Crisis Management for Company Threats”.
In
2016 the follow-up work was published with Jörg H. Trauboth as editor
in collaboration with five authors: “Crisis Management in Companies and
Public Institutions”.
Terror
expert J. H. Trauboth presented his debut novel in 2015 with the
Germany thriller “Three Brothers”. (Available in English). In 2019
“Operation Jerusalem” followed and in 2020 “Omega”. The trilogy is about
the former elite soldier Marc Anderson and his team. With these three
self-contained thrillers, Trauboth is rated by many readers as the
“German Tom Clancy.” The trilogy is available as a printed edition,
eBook and audio book.
His
first detective novel, “Jakobs Weg” (German), followed in 2021. The
highly explosive topic of “sexual abuse of children” is processed
sensitively in a scenario on the Way of Saint James and at the end
offers contact options for those seeking help.
In
2022, the novella “Bonjour Saint-Ex” was published (German) in which
the passionate pilot Jörg H. Trauboth turns the last flight of the
legend Antoine de Saint Exupéry into an exciting literary event.
Readers
wanted a sequel to the Marc Anderson series. In 2023, ZarenTod – Das
Ende der Präsidenten was published, a highly topical political thriller.
The Russian president and new tsar, Ivan Pavlenko, suddenly shows his
true face during the war in Ukraine. He wants the old Soviet Union back.
The world is on the brink. The influential oligarch, Alexei Sokolov,
wants to prevent Ivan’s megalomaniac plans and is planning a fundamental
new beginning for Russia. To achieve this, the Russian president must
be removed. But the plan goes awry. Ex-elite soldier Marc Anderson
intervenes. Will Czar Ivan die? What will become of Europe? The book 8/
2024 in English „The Death of the Kremlin Czar” is the fourth political
thriller in the Marc Anderson series.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ https://trauboth-autor.de/english/
Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/JorgTrauboth
