x.com/runews/status/19711332…
The title “Trade in Ropes for Hanging, from Lenin to Putin: The wars of words” does not appear to belong to an actual book but is a probable play on words. It likely references the widely circulated quote attributed to Vladimir Lenin, “The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them”. [1, 2, 3] 
While the exact source of the quote is debated, its sentiment represents a key theme in socialist and communist ideology about capitalism’s self-defeating nature. The phrase, whether real or apocryphal, is used as a metaphor for the idea that capitalists would be so driven by profit that they would aid the very forces seeking to destroy them. [3] 
The title contrasts Lenin’s revolutionary era with Vladimir Putin’s contemporary Russia to suggest an evolution of this “war of words”. [2] 
Novels based on the quote Several novels related to the theme of the rope quote have been published, including:

• Sell Us the Rope by Stephen May (2022): This historical novel explores the ideological conflicts and personal dramas of a young Joseph Stalin during the 1907 Marxist conference in London.
• Three Ropes for Hanging by Daniel Dana: This book describes the protagonist’s escape from three death sentences in Iran. [2, 4] 

Thematic books on related topics Other books touch on the historical period or themes mentioned in the title:

• Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Catherine Belton (2020): This book documents how Russian networks used real estate and other deals to launder money, exploring the deep-seated corruption that is a hallmark of the Putin era.
• The Wizard of the Kremlin by Giuliano da Empoli (2023): This hit French novel aims to explain Vladimir Putin’s rise to power and his regime’s ideology. [5, 6, 7, 8, 9] 

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1]  commentary.org/articles/carl…
[2]  socialistworker.co.uk/review…
[3]  quora.com/What-did-Lenin-mea…
[4]  thriftbooks.com/w/three-rope…
[5]  nytimes.com/2023/01/21/world…
[6]  nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books…
[7]  lawgazette.co.uk/news/abramo…
[8]  americanheritage.com/putin-a…
[9]  amazon.ca/Wizard-Kremlin-Nov… x.com/runews/status/1971133216817021325

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 25, 2025