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Putin: Prisoner of Power
Listening Length: 2 hours and 43 minutes
On New Year's Eve 1999, a young Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian TV screens - awkward, self-conscious. . .and the new President. Two decades later, Putin is still in power, standing self-assured and at ease on the world stage. How did a once little known KGB bureaucrat become one of the most dominant figures of 21st-century politics?
In this gripping narrative history, Misha Glenny, journalist and best-selling author of 'McMafia,' tells the story of an unexpected and swift rise to power - one full of political intrigue, backroom deals, courtroom battles and war.
Insider Kremlin accounts and well-known journalists reveal how Putin was first chosen by Yeltsin and the Oligarchy and how he then went head to head with Russia's richest man. After Putin had consolidated power he needed to stay in power. The second half of the series tells the story of how he took over the media and Crimea and increased the powers of the KGB. Finally, Misha considers what Putin might do next.
On New Year's Eve 1999, a young Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian TV screens - awkward, self-conscious. . .and the new President. Two decades later, Putin is still in power, standing self-assured and at ease on the world stage. How did a once little known KGB bureaucrat become one of the most dominant figures of 21st-century politics?
In this gripping narrative history, Misha Glenny, journalist and best-selling author of 'McMafia,' tells the story of an unexpected and swift rise to power - one full of political intrigue, backroom deals, courtroom battles and war.
Insider Kremlin accounts and well-known journalists reveal how Putin was first chosen by Yeltsin and the Oligarchy and how he then went head to head with Russia's richest man. After Putin had consolidated power he needed to stay in power. The second half of the series tells the story of how he took over the media and Crimea and increased the powers of the KGB. Finally, Misha considers what Putin might do next.
3 pages, Audible Audio
First published August 20, 2019
17 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
August 9, 2020
One more brilliant production by Audible Originals. Vladimir Putin, Ex-KGB head, becomes the awkward President of Russia in 1999. Once in power, he learns quickly and has been in power for 20 years now (minus a puppet Govt).
The book looks back at the 20 years, critical incidents and in a scary, but objective manner, offers a commentary on the man and his working. One side effect of this audible original is you wonder if you were living under the rock all this while.
I relished reading about the Cold War years and the novels set in Big Brother times. This book is as gripping, if not more on one man's political shrewdness. He is the man who made Trump grovel at Helsinki!
Loved the narrative - brilliant short episodes and a novice level treatment for world politics. The Ukraine Maidan episode (Green men) and the school shootout episodes were brilliant and you were cheering for him. The use of disinformation to tilt scales and vest power - scary, but true! (You only need to look at Fox news).
Must Listen!
The book looks back at the 20 years, critical incidents and in a scary, but objective manner, offers a commentary on the man and his working. One side effect of this audible original is you wonder if you were living under the rock all this while.
I relished reading about the Cold War years and the novels set in Big Brother times. This book is as gripping, if not more on one man's political shrewdness. He is the man who made Trump grovel at Helsinki!
Loved the narrative - brilliant short episodes and a novice level treatment for world politics. The Ukraine Maidan episode (Green men) and the school shootout episodes were brilliant and you were cheering for him. The use of disinformation to tilt scales and vest power - scary, but true! (You only need to look at Fox news).
Must Listen!
August 31, 2019
O Audible, how I love you! Yet another really interesting series of podcasts which is available free of charge to Audible members. Provides a brilliant introduction to modern Russian political history over the past 20 years or so. I hope they make a second series soon.
March 21, 2021
Putin: The Prisoner of Power is nothing more than an introduction to one of the most long-lasting of heads of nations in the modern era- Vladimir Putin of Russia. This work is a concise seven-part audible series produced in the form of a radio documentary. Misha Glenny is considered to be an authority on Russian politics and government. He puts across a concise account of the rise to power of an unknown KGB bureaucrat to the helm of affairs in Russia in 1999.
After the fall of the erstwhile Soviet Union, Russia went into a spiral of violence and dire financial straits under the bumbling leadership of Boris Yeltsin. Russia transformed itself into an era of the free market economy after decades of tight governmental control on the economy, entrepreneurship and finance in the country. But this transformation was far from smooth, and during the reign of Yeltsin, crony capitalism held sway over the country. Rampant crime and corruption were commonplace. Yeltsin’s hold on the country was dithering all the more because of the scourge of addiction to alcohol that he was suffering from. It was at this juncture that the ruling elite decided that a newcomer who would firmly remain in their control should be brought to the helm of affairs in the country.
The ruling oligarchs targeted at getting a pliable and relatively unknown person to head the government. The fond hope was that this person could be projected as the face of the government while the crony capitalists lurking in the background could control the economy for personal gains. Vladimir Putin was selected for the job and projected as a credible candidate in the general elections. The state machinery ensured that he was voted to power in 1999. Putin has continuously been in power in Russia since 1999, as President of the country for most of the time interspersed with short stints as the Prime Minister.
Once he was firmly ensconced in a position of power, Putin proved to be a difficult person to control, contrary to the fond hopes and plans of the oligarchs who had engineered his rise to the top job in Russia. Putin ensured that the oligarchs were cut to size and the most influential of them, especially from the media industry had to move out of Russia after ceding control of the media conglomerates to shadowy entities controlled by the Government. Putin realised early in his career as the President, the need to control media and by extension generate a favourable perception of the public to his governance. He was ruthless in his drive against the business magnates and soon enough, large swathes of the oil industry were transferred to entities who were close to him and his trusted lieutenants.
Misha Glenny focuses on a couple of challenging situations that Putin faced early on in his stint as the President. The disaster of the submarine Kursk in August 2000 in the Barents Sea was an exhibition of the ineptness and lack of empathy of the newly crowned Putin regime. 118 sailors were trapped underwater following an explosion that ripped through the nuclear submarine. Putin was holidaying at a seaside resort and he continued to be there while the Russian Navy made futile attempts to rescue the trapped sailors using outdated equipment. The Russian Government rebuffed the offer of assistance for rescue operations from western governments for more than a week and by the time they finally changed their mind it was too late. Putin realised the importance of media control after this incident and he went out of his way to ensure that a pliable media always projected a favourable image of his regime.
The separatist uprising in Chechnya was another challenge that Putin faced early on in his tenure as the President. Islamic terror had raised its ugly head in the Muslim dominated province conveniently camouflaged as a fight for independence. The western nations found this to be a perfect situation to destabilise the Putin regime and they left no stone unturned in trying to foment trouble in the restive province. The Beslan hostage-taking incident by Chechen separatists led to the death of almost 300 children primarily due to the inept handling of the situation by the Russian Government. But Putin used this tragedy to ensure a stranglehold on the provinces where he installed his cronies to head the local governments.
Another low point during the Putin years was the crisis in Ukraine where the ruling dispensation was trying to gain admission into the European Union. Putin convinced the Ukrainian Government to remain within the Russian sphere of influence and the uprisings that happened in Kiev were ruthlessly put down. Eventually, Russia invaded Crimea (a part of Ukraine) which was of strategic importance to Russia. This invited the wrath of the western nations in the form of sanctions. From Putin's point of view, he was probably right in his approach to the crisis because the western powers were trying to undermine the strategic interests of the country.
Misha Gelly makes an interesting observation that Putin has found himself trapped inside the Kremlin- ironically almost like a prisoner of power. Handling unbridled power is something that Putin is adept at doing. His training as a KGB agent has stood him in good stead all through the two decades that he has held the office of the President. Another interesting fact is that Putin has been in power far longer than any other contemporary world leader who have all tried their best to dislodge him from his powerful perch.
This audible presentation is by no means an exhaustive account of the man behind the façade of power in the Kremlin. It is but a short introduction to the phenomenon that Vladimir Putin is. The production is interesting, well put together and presented with passion by Misha Glenny who himself is the narrator.
After the fall of the erstwhile Soviet Union, Russia went into a spiral of violence and dire financial straits under the bumbling leadership of Boris Yeltsin. Russia transformed itself into an era of the free market economy after decades of tight governmental control on the economy, entrepreneurship and finance in the country. But this transformation was far from smooth, and during the reign of Yeltsin, crony capitalism held sway over the country. Rampant crime and corruption were commonplace. Yeltsin’s hold on the country was dithering all the more because of the scourge of addiction to alcohol that he was suffering from. It was at this juncture that the ruling elite decided that a newcomer who would firmly remain in their control should be brought to the helm of affairs in the country.
The ruling oligarchs targeted at getting a pliable and relatively unknown person to head the government. The fond hope was that this person could be projected as the face of the government while the crony capitalists lurking in the background could control the economy for personal gains. Vladimir Putin was selected for the job and projected as a credible candidate in the general elections. The state machinery ensured that he was voted to power in 1999. Putin has continuously been in power in Russia since 1999, as President of the country for most of the time interspersed with short stints as the Prime Minister.
Once he was firmly ensconced in a position of power, Putin proved to be a difficult person to control, contrary to the fond hopes and plans of the oligarchs who had engineered his rise to the top job in Russia. Putin ensured that the oligarchs were cut to size and the most influential of them, especially from the media industry had to move out of Russia after ceding control of the media conglomerates to shadowy entities controlled by the Government. Putin realised early in his career as the President, the need to control media and by extension generate a favourable perception of the public to his governance. He was ruthless in his drive against the business magnates and soon enough, large swathes of the oil industry were transferred to entities who were close to him and his trusted lieutenants.
Misha Glenny focuses on a couple of challenging situations that Putin faced early on in his stint as the President. The disaster of the submarine Kursk in August 2000 in the Barents Sea was an exhibition of the ineptness and lack of empathy of the newly crowned Putin regime. 118 sailors were trapped underwater following an explosion that ripped through the nuclear submarine. Putin was holidaying at a seaside resort and he continued to be there while the Russian Navy made futile attempts to rescue the trapped sailors using outdated equipment. The Russian Government rebuffed the offer of assistance for rescue operations from western governments for more than a week and by the time they finally changed their mind it was too late. Putin realised the importance of media control after this incident and he went out of his way to ensure that a pliable media always projected a favourable image of his regime.
The separatist uprising in Chechnya was another challenge that Putin faced early on in his tenure as the President. Islamic terror had raised its ugly head in the Muslim dominated province conveniently camouflaged as a fight for independence. The western nations found this to be a perfect situation to destabilise the Putin regime and they left no stone unturned in trying to foment trouble in the restive province. The Beslan hostage-taking incident by Chechen separatists led to the death of almost 300 children primarily due to the inept handling of the situation by the Russian Government. But Putin used this tragedy to ensure a stranglehold on the provinces where he installed his cronies to head the local governments.
Another low point during the Putin years was the crisis in Ukraine where the ruling dispensation was trying to gain admission into the European Union. Putin convinced the Ukrainian Government to remain within the Russian sphere of influence and the uprisings that happened in Kiev were ruthlessly put down. Eventually, Russia invaded Crimea (a part of Ukraine) which was of strategic importance to Russia. This invited the wrath of the western nations in the form of sanctions. From Putin's point of view, he was probably right in his approach to the crisis because the western powers were trying to undermine the strategic interests of the country.
Misha Gelly makes an interesting observation that Putin has found himself trapped inside the Kremlin- ironically almost like a prisoner of power. Handling unbridled power is something that Putin is adept at doing. His training as a KGB agent has stood him in good stead all through the two decades that he has held the office of the President. Another interesting fact is that Putin has been in power far longer than any other contemporary world leader who have all tried their best to dislodge him from his powerful perch.
This audible presentation is by no means an exhaustive account of the man behind the façade of power in the Kremlin. It is but a short introduction to the phenomenon that Vladimir Putin is. The production is interesting, well put together and presented with passion by Misha Glenny who himself is the narrator.
September 11, 2019
Typical lightweight journalism. Non-political NPR type nonsense. Makes you think like you learned something while essentially saying nothing.
May 26, 2020
Some interesting points however clearly biased, likely incorrect and I have no idea what the long pauses and repetition are about
November 18, 2019
A simplistic pop-historical look at how Vladimir Putin rose to power and kept hold of it for two decades. While it doesn’t expose anything new, it is nonetheless enjoyable as a means to pick up a few nuggets of superficial understanding to then throw around at a dinner party. I do wish though that audible originals would slowly shift into the direction of deeper analyses like those of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore history.
June 19, 2020
This is a good short intro to how Putin came to power and a review of a few situations where he was able to flex his muscles and create change for Russia and on the world stage. Good for people who need to decide if they want to learn more about the man and his politics. At less than 3 hours, don't expect too much.
May 11, 2021
Good production from Audible. So, Putin may in fact be a prisoner of his own power? I stopped reading after "Putin" in the title and got the audiobook and started on it. The chapters are mixed with some really good narration and enactment, and music, that it felt really lively and in the moment. Like was I was listening to a radio. Yes, that one of times old. Marvelous production. Even though I did gain some information on Putin, for someone who has already followed Putin for some while now, this maybe just a causal, dramatic and shallow take on the personality.
A easy breezy listen.
A easy breezy listen.
March 23, 2020
A good primer on Putin's journey. It has awoken my curiosity and I'm now looking for some more in-depth material. I used to follow Russian politics pretty closely back in my Bradford days; I would read Johnson's Russia List most days.
This Audible production has me wondering how my life could have been quite different if I'd followed that path instead of the translation path. A fruitless wondering of course, but I can't help myself.
The production is very surface-level, but very well done and easy to listen to. Well worthy of your time if you have even a passing interest in international politics.
This Audible production has me wondering how my life could have been quite different if I'd followed that path instead of the translation path. A fruitless wondering of course, but I can't help myself.
The production is very surface-level, but very well done and easy to listen to. Well worthy of your time if you have even a passing interest in international politics.
March 6, 2021
Hooter: When you want a quick refresher on Russian politics and want it to be as serious as a buzzfeed article.
Russian politics in the past 2 decades at the highest echelon has revolved around one man and this takes a look at some instances of his journey from the clearly unsavvy media engagement at the start to how he controls the global narrative. How probably placed in as a nobody to keep the seat warm or a puppet with strings but he cut off those strings and choked (figuratively) the very people who had attached the strings. It also captures the tussles internally and externally with Crimea and Ukraine getting their spotlight.
This is a very short and extremely lightweight one so you probably will get a superficial look at the players, the general mood in certain sections of society and a quick capsule of the two plus decades of Putin and how will he play out his power plays as his Presidency officially comes to an end as per constitutional decree.
Russian politics in the past 2 decades at the highest echelon has revolved around one man and this takes a look at some instances of his journey from the clearly unsavvy media engagement at the start to how he controls the global narrative. How probably placed in as a nobody to keep the seat warm or a puppet with strings but he cut off those strings and choked (figuratively) the very people who had attached the strings. It also captures the tussles internally and externally with Crimea and Ukraine getting their spotlight.
This is a very short and extremely lightweight one so you probably will get a superficial look at the players, the general mood in certain sections of society and a quick capsule of the two plus decades of Putin and how will he play out his power plays as his Presidency officially comes to an end as per constitutional decree.
September 13, 2020
This 7 part audible was nice and short but it provided a good amount of detail in summarising, the major contributions to the way the world perceives Putin today. Was a good introduction and sparked enough curiosity for me to go and look up more about the topic!
November 18, 2020
Podcast: A brief look into Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union and Putin's rise to power and how he has kept his hold on the country for over 20 years. An informative and accessable pod from a skilled journalist.
April 19, 2021
I didn't read this book. I heard it as an audio book and it was absolutely mind blowing. Very swift, fast paced, and engaging. It might be a summary, but a great summary of how Putin gained powers and maintained them. Must read /listen.
January 6, 2021
A quick and easy listen, plus enough information to make me want to read more about the start of Putin's reign, something I had no real knowledge of.
March 15, 2022
Gives an overview about Mr. Putin.
August 19, 2022
This was my first time listening to a dramatised audiobook & man do I loved it!
For people who have read about Putin, this audiobook won't provide much. It gives a bird's eyes view about the rise of Putin, 3-4 important events happened during his 2-decade long reign as a president.
But for someone like me who is not aware about the Russian history, this book provided interesting tidbits about how the USSR came to be the Russia as it is now.
Also impressed by the background tone they used in the book!
4 ⭐from my side.
For people who have read about Putin, this audiobook won't provide much. It gives a bird's eyes view about the rise of Putin, 3-4 important events happened during his 2-decade long reign as a president.
But for someone like me who is not aware about the Russian history, this book provided interesting tidbits about how the USSR came to be the Russia as it is now.
Also impressed by the background tone they used in the book!
4 ⭐from my side.
August 12, 2024
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)
Так пускай наступает холодным рассветом на нас новый день
Всё останется в этой Вселенной
Всё вращается в этой Вселенной
Возвращается к нам, запуская круги на воде
Ничего не проходит бесследно
Ничего не проходит бесследно
Довольно странная книга, которая непонятно зачем была издана.
Во-первых, это краткий пересказ прихода Путина к власти. Историю появления Путина в Кремле и первые годы его правления были описаны многократно, поэтому смысла в очередном пересказе данной темы я не вижу. Если кому-то нужна об этом короткая справка, можно всегда обратиться к Википедии. Но в любом случаи эта информация многократно повторялась и повторяется в каждой книге о Путине или о путинской России.
Вторая и главная проблема, из-за которой я и поставил низкую оценку, связана с тем, как автор видит приход Путина во власть. Согласно автору, это был Березовский, кто сделал Путина президентом РФ. Я категорически с этим не согласен. Уже давно не секрет, что Ельцин, в конце своего правления, приблизил к себе спецслужбы, такие как ФСБ (Путин был третьим премьер-министром выходцем из спецслужб). А до этого Ельцин начал проводить политику по охлаждению отношений с Западом. Другими словами, приход Путина, это целиком идея Ельцина. Похоже, он считал, что только на спецслужбы он и мог положиться. Возможно после истории с генеральным прокурором Скуратовым, Ельцин пришёл к выводу, что только спецслужбы могут гарантировать ему и его семьи неприкосновенность и гарантии безопасности (как физической, так и финансовой, ибо семья Ельцина, за время его короткого правления, стала очень богатой семьёй, особенно по меркам России). Однако автор ничего об этом не пишет. Согласно его взгляду, Березовский или шире – олигархи – поставили с виду невзрачного и слабовольного Путина на вершину российской власти. По мне, это смехотворное утверждение. Да, олигархи были заинтересованы в сохранении статус-кво в России, но решение кто будет следующим президентом, принимали не они (народ в этом событии не мог и не принимал никакого участия).
Третий момент в том, что книга устроена таким образом, что мы постоянно слышим мнения о тех событиях со стороны значительных лиц того периода, как например реальное интервью Касьянова, Глеба Павловского, Артемия Троицкого и пр. именитых лиц, что были включены в эту аудиокнигу (да, настоящие голоса всех вышеперечисленных людей, разговаривающих на английском языке). По существу, большая часть книги, это записанные комментарии знаменитых людей о тех событиях. Проблема только в том, что эти люди находились тогда во власти или вблизи к власти и поэтому являются заинтересованными сторонами, следовательно, ангажированными лицами. Трудно мне ждать от господина Павловского и Касьянова каких-то откровений и истинны о тех событиях. В сумме с утверждением автора о том, что это Березовский сделал Путина президентом, книга выглядит довольно бессмысленной (для меня).
Тут важно пояснить, что я ни в коем случаи не спорю с тезисом, что Путин является диктатором. Мне не нравится, что автор не видит очевидного - Путин является естественным продолжением Ельцина. Путин не построил (в России) ничего нового в плане политической системы, но лишь продолжил политику Ельцина, с тем условием, что делал её более жёсткой и авторитарной, чем Ельцин (но и цены на нефть при Ельцине были в два-три раза ниже). Ельцин расстрелял парламент, который был ему не подконтролен, а Путин сделал его ручным (впрочем, и при Ельцине парламент в России не сказать, что был особо влиятельным органом власти). Автор не захотел увидеть, что приход Путина был обусловлен залоговыми аукционами и делёжкой крупных активов в постсоветской России. После этого у политической элиты во главе с Ельциным появилась главная задача - не потерять награбленное, а для этого нужно было не пустить во власть никаких случайных людей. Другими словами, не дать России перейти из автократической модели правления в демократическую. Но об этом автор тоже почему-то ничего не пишет.
A rather strange book that is unclear why it was published.
First of all, it is a brief retelling of Putin's rise to power. The history of Putin's appearance in the Kremlin and the first years of his rule have been described many times, so I don't see the point in another retelling of this topic. If someone needs a short reference about it, one can always refer to Wikipedia. But in any case, this information has been repeated many times and is repeated in every book about Putin or Putin's Russia.
The second and main problem, which is the reason why I gave a low rating, has to do with how the author sees Putin's rise to power. According to the author, it was Berezovsky who made Putin president of the Russian Federation. I strongly disagree with this. It has long been no secret that Yeltsin, at the end of his reign, brought special services such as the FSB closer to him (Putin was the third prime minister to come from the special services). And before that, Yeltsin started a policy of cooling relations with the West. In other words, Putin's arrival was entirely Yeltsin's idea. He seems to have believed that the security services were the only ones he could rely on. Perhaps after the story with Prosecutor General Skuratov, Yeltsin came to the conclusion that only the security services could guarantee him and his family immunity and security guarantees (both physical and financial, since Yeltsin's family, during his short reign, had become a very wealthy family, especially by Russian standards). However, the author writes nothing about it. According to his view, Berezovsky, or more broadly, the oligarchs, put the seemingly unassuming and weak-willed Putin at the pinnacle of Russian power. To me, this is a ludicrous assertion. Yes, the oligarchs were interested in preserving the status quo in Russia, but they were not the ones who decided who would be the next president (the people could not and did not participate in this event).
The third point is that the book is organized in such a way that we constantly hear opinions about those events from significant people of the period, such as real interviews with Kasyanov, Gleb Pavlovsky, Artemy Troitsky, and other notable people that were included in this audiobook (yes, the real voices of all of the above people speaking in English). Essentially, most of the book is recorded comments by famous people about those events. The only problem is that these people were in power at the time or close to power therefore are interested parties, hence, biased persons. It is hard for me to expect any revelations and truth about those events from Mr. Pavlovsky and Mr. Kasyanov. Combined with the author's assertion that it was Berezovsky who made Putin president, the book looks rather pointless (to me).
It is important to clarify that I am in no way arguing with the thesis that Putin is a dictator. I do not like that the author does not see the obvious - Putin is a natural continuation of Yeltsin. Putin did not build (in Russia) anything new in terms of the political system but only continued Yeltsin's policy, with the condition that he made it more rigid and authoritarian than Yeltsin (but oil prices were two or three times lower under Yeltsin). Yeltsin shot the parliament, which was not under his control, and Putin made it tame (however, even under Yeltsin, the parliament in Russia was not a particularly influential body of power). The author did not want to see that Putin's arrival was due to bail auctions and the division of large assets in post-Soviet Russia. After that, the political elite led by Yeltsin had the main task - not to lose the loot, and for this purpose, it was necessary not to let any random people into power. In other words, to prevent Russia from moving from an autocratic model of government to a democratic one. But for some reason, the author does not write anything about this either.
Так пускай наступает холодным рассветом на нас новый день
Всё останется в этой Вселенной
Всё вращается в этой Вселенной
Возвращается к нам, запуская круги на воде
Ничего не проходит бесследно
Ничего не проходит бесследно
Довольно странная книга, которая непонятно зачем была издана.
Во-первых, это краткий пересказ прихода Путина к власти. Историю появления Путина в Кремле и первые годы его правления были описаны многократно, поэтому смысла в очередном пересказе данной темы я не вижу. Если кому-то нужна об этом короткая справка, можно всегда обратиться к Википедии. Но в любом случаи эта информация многократно повторялась и повторяется в каждой книге о Путине или о путинской России.
Вторая и главная проблема, из-за которой я и поставил низкую оценку, связана с тем, как автор видит приход Путина во власть. Согласно автору, это был Березовский, кто сделал Путина президентом РФ. Я категорически с этим не согласен. Уже давно не секрет, что Ельцин, в конце своего правления, приблизил к себе спецслужбы, такие как ФСБ (Путин был третьим премьер-министром выходцем из спецслужб). А до этого Ельцин начал проводить политику по охлаждению отношений с Западом. Другими словами, приход Путина, это целиком идея Ельцина. Похоже, он считал, что только на спецслужбы он и мог положиться. Возможно после истории с генеральным прокурором Скуратовым, Ельцин пришёл к выводу, что только спецслужбы могут гарантировать ему и его семьи неприкосновенность и гарантии безопасности (как физической, так и финансовой, ибо семья Ельцина, за время его короткого правления, стала очень богатой семьёй, особенно по меркам России). Однако автор ничего об этом не пишет. Согласно его взгляду, Березовский или шире – олигархи – поставили с виду невзрачного и слабовольного Путина на вершину российской власти. По мне, это смехотворное утверждение. Да, олигархи были заинтересованы в сохранении статус-кво в России, но решение кто будет следующим президентом, принимали не они (народ в этом событии не мог и не принимал никакого участия).
Третий момент в том, что книга устроена таким образом, что мы постоянно слышим мнения о тех событиях со стороны значительных лиц того периода, как например реальное интервью Касьянова, Глеба Павловского, Артемия Троицкого и пр. именитых лиц, что были включены в эту аудиокнигу (да, настоящие голоса всех вышеперечисленных людей, разговаривающих на английском языке). По существу, большая часть книги, это записанные комментарии знаменитых людей о тех событиях. Проблема только в том, что эти люди находились тогда во власти или вблизи к власти и поэтому являются заинтересованными сторонами, следовательно, ангажированными лицами. Трудно мне ждать от господина Павловского и Касьянова каких-то откровений и истинны о тех событиях. В сумме с утверждением автора о том, что это Березовский сделал Путина президентом, книга выглядит довольно бессмысленной (для меня).
Тут важно пояснить, что я ни в коем случаи не спорю с тезисом, что Путин является диктатором. Мне не нравится, что автор не видит очевидного - Путин является естественным продолжением Ельцина. Путин не построил (в России) ничего нового в плане политической системы, но лишь продолжил политику Ельцина, с тем условием, что делал её более жёсткой и авторитарной, чем Ельцин (но и цены на нефть при Ельцине были в два-три раза ниже). Ельцин расстрелял парламент, который был ему не подконтролен, а Путин сделал его ручным (впрочем, и при Ельцине парламент в России не сказать, что был особо влиятельным органом власти). Автор не захотел увидеть, что приход Путина был обусловлен залоговыми аукционами и делёжкой крупных активов в постсоветской России. После этого у политической элиты во главе с Ельциным появилась главная задача - не потерять награбленное, а для этого нужно было не пустить во власть никаких случайных людей. Другими словами, не дать России перейти из автократической модели правления в демократическую. Но об этом автор тоже почему-то ничего не пишет.
A rather strange book that is unclear why it was published.
First of all, it is a brief retelling of Putin's rise to power. The history of Putin's appearance in the Kremlin and the first years of his rule have been described many times, so I don't see the point in another retelling of this topic. If someone needs a short reference about it, one can always refer to Wikipedia. But in any case, this information has been repeated many times and is repeated in every book about Putin or Putin's Russia.
The second and main problem, which is the reason why I gave a low rating, has to do with how the author sees Putin's rise to power. According to the author, it was Berezovsky who made Putin president of the Russian Federation. I strongly disagree with this. It has long been no secret that Yeltsin, at the end of his reign, brought special services such as the FSB closer to him (Putin was the third prime minister to come from the special services). And before that, Yeltsin started a policy of cooling relations with the West. In other words, Putin's arrival was entirely Yeltsin's idea. He seems to have believed that the security services were the only ones he could rely on. Perhaps after the story with Prosecutor General Skuratov, Yeltsin came to the conclusion that only the security services could guarantee him and his family immunity and security guarantees (both physical and financial, since Yeltsin's family, during his short reign, had become a very wealthy family, especially by Russian standards). However, the author writes nothing about it. According to his view, Berezovsky, or more broadly, the oligarchs, put the seemingly unassuming and weak-willed Putin at the pinnacle of Russian power. To me, this is a ludicrous assertion. Yes, the oligarchs were interested in preserving the status quo in Russia, but they were not the ones who decided who would be the next president (the people could not and did not participate in this event).
The third point is that the book is organized in such a way that we constantly hear opinions about those events from significant people of the period, such as real interviews with Kasyanov, Gleb Pavlovsky, Artemy Troitsky, and other notable people that were included in this audiobook (yes, the real voices of all of the above people speaking in English). Essentially, most of the book is recorded comments by famous people about those events. The only problem is that these people were in power at the time or close to power therefore are interested parties, hence, biased persons. It is hard for me to expect any revelations and truth about those events from Mr. Pavlovsky and Mr. Kasyanov. Combined with the author's assertion that it was Berezovsky who made Putin president, the book looks rather pointless (to me).
It is important to clarify that I am in no way arguing with the thesis that Putin is a dictator. I do not like that the author does not see the obvious - Putin is a natural continuation of Yeltsin. Putin did not build (in Russia) anything new in terms of the political system but only continued Yeltsin's policy, with the condition that he made it more rigid and authoritarian than Yeltsin (but oil prices were two or three times lower under Yeltsin). Yeltsin shot the parliament, which was not under his control, and Putin made it tame (however, even under Yeltsin, the parliament in Russia was not a particularly influential body of power). The author did not want to see that Putin's arrival was due to bail auctions and the division of large assets in post-Soviet Russia. After that, the political elite led by Yeltsin had the main task - not to lose the loot, and for this purpose, it was necessary not to let any random people into power. In other words, to prevent Russia from moving from an autocratic model of government to a democratic one. But for some reason, the author does not write anything about this either.
September 15, 2019
Good overview of Putin's rise to power and the years following his election, but most of this is common information - nothing groundbreaking.
Edit - except the bs about trump's collusion with Russia and some other speculative and factually incorrect points, primarily concerning Ukraine.
Edit - except the bs about trump's collusion with Russia and some other speculative and factually incorrect points, primarily concerning Ukraine.
August 26, 2019
Interesting; but little depth and nuance. Also, could be more objective
September 30, 2019
Very listenable, interesting take on the man. I wanted more though, there were big gaps chronologically and I felt some stuff was touched on too briefly.
August 18, 2021
I have never quite read about Russian history. It was always a bit of a mystery to me why Russia and US, after fighting on the same side in WW2 proceeded to have this nuclear arms race and cold war with USA. And why is Russia not as developed as US is, and was considered among the developing BRICS economies in 90s and early 2000's. Since then, China has zoomed ahead of course, and while Russia is still considered hugely influential in global politics, they don't have the economic might you might imagine.
This book doesn't address all these points. But you understand the role of corruption, and the rise of oligarchy with the label of open markets. The rise of Putin in this environment is a fascinating read. Especially because he was so young and therefore was in a position to cast a very long shadow in Russian politics. Still, he is not possibly seen as damaging as Stalin, and nor have his policies helped Russia's economy take off so far. I daresay Crimea and Ukraine and enabling guerilla propaganda machines through internet and media, while definitely impactful, are not the kind of legacy you imagine Putin wants to be remembered by.
But, he does have a long road ahead.
And the history of where he started is as dramatic as his exploits have been so far. This audible series is not all that detailed, but it gives you a very good introduction of how someone installed as a puppet, can refuse to be one and end up taking the power that was not meant to be his. Some of the anecdotes just show how Putin does indeed live up to the Bond villain persona attributed to him.
It also is a chilling reminder, that to reach and retain that level of power, you don't necessarily need to be a force-of-nature or genius kind of a person. Sometimes, sheer will is the most important factor. And the only safeguards against such autocracy are the institutions that enable opposition and common people to resist such leaders. Diluting such institutions is something we all should be very vary of. And that is the biggest takeaway from this series.
This book doesn't address all these points. But you understand the role of corruption, and the rise of oligarchy with the label of open markets. The rise of Putin in this environment is a fascinating read. Especially because he was so young and therefore was in a position to cast a very long shadow in Russian politics. Still, he is not possibly seen as damaging as Stalin, and nor have his policies helped Russia's economy take off so far. I daresay Crimea and Ukraine and enabling guerilla propaganda machines through internet and media, while definitely impactful, are not the kind of legacy you imagine Putin wants to be remembered by.
But, he does have a long road ahead.
And the history of where he started is as dramatic as his exploits have been so far. This audible series is not all that detailed, but it gives you a very good introduction of how someone installed as a puppet, can refuse to be one and end up taking the power that was not meant to be his. Some of the anecdotes just show how Putin does indeed live up to the Bond villain persona attributed to him.
It also is a chilling reminder, that to reach and retain that level of power, you don't necessarily need to be a force-of-nature or genius kind of a person. Sometimes, sheer will is the most important factor. And the only safeguards against such autocracy are the institutions that enable opposition and common people to resist such leaders. Diluting such institutions is something we all should be very vary of. And that is the biggest takeaway from this series.
May 12, 2021
Misha Glenny narrates his own work, interspersed with interviews and sound bites. I found this very interesting. I saw a documentary this month that suggested that the richest man in the world is Vladimir Putin, not Jeff Bezos or any of the Western billionaires. If he bought the biggest Russian oil company for peanuts as nobody would bid against him with a proxy and a shelf company way back when, it might well be true.
I did not know snipers shot more than 100 student protestors in the Ukraine in 2014. Little green men, the locals called the soldiers that suddenly appeared in the city.
here lie the seeds of 'fake news' - the reporter calling in his story for the school siege to be told by his Moscow bosses that it was over. a tank shot sounds in the background on his phone; it's not over he says - the kremlin says it is. The first thing they did was 'fix' the news reports to say the school did not have over a thousand students but only 300. All the people in the city knew that was wrong, and they all knew someone inside the siege.
In April 2021, Putin changed the law to allow himself to be President until 2036. So, I guess he doesn't plan to be going anywhere. I'm not sure that is a good thing for the world, or for Russians who are in dire straits; suicide is rampant. When some of the hardest people on earth are driven to that, there is something very wrong.
This lays the Brexit and Trump vote interference squarely at Putin's feet.
4 stars
I did not know snipers shot more than 100 student protestors in the Ukraine in 2014. Little green men, the locals called the soldiers that suddenly appeared in the city.
here lie the seeds of 'fake news' - the reporter calling in his story for the school siege to be told by his Moscow bosses that it was over. a tank shot sounds in the background on his phone; it's not over he says - the kremlin says it is. The first thing they did was 'fix' the news reports to say the school did not have over a thousand students but only 300. All the people in the city knew that was wrong, and they all knew someone inside the siege.
In April 2021, Putin changed the law to allow himself to be President until 2036. So, I guess he doesn't plan to be going anywhere. I'm not sure that is a good thing for the world, or for Russians who are in dire straits; suicide is rampant. When some of the hardest people on earth are driven to that, there is something very wrong.
This lays the Brexit and Trump vote interference squarely at Putin's feet.
4 stars
September 2, 2020
I am conflicted about this audio series. On the one hand, I learnt a lot and enjoyed the style and format, especially real observations from contemporaries of the time. However, on the other, events were glossed over to an incredibly frustrating degree. Three minutes from the end of the episode on the Beslan siege, the narrator throws away the comment “but Putin managed to turn an event which would have caused other leaders to resign to his advantage”. A good point I’m sure, but the key question is HOW? The series constantly poses, but fails to answer, interesting questions like this. It is so light-touch as to be misleading in some ways, with many many situations avoiding scrutiny in any way. Perhaps if there was a clear central theme linking the events chosen to explore in each episode this would have helped. The central thesis of Glenny is that Putin is now a prisoner of the Kremlin, as he has not allowed anyone else to develop enough power to allow him to ever leave the office safely. This seems certainly true, but many other interesting questions and angles remain unexplored which seems like a real shame.
August 10, 2020
I know very little of recent Russian history and this audioshow provided a window into that, with a focus on Putin’s rise to power, from when he first entered the public eye to near present day. It was an intriguing look into Russian politics, filled with interviews of some of those people involved. It was intriguing to hear about how he came to power and kept it as the years went by. The audioshow tended to focus on specific events and did seem to jump around a bit. It did feel like the cast of interviewees was limited, and it could have gone into a bit more depth in places, but as an overview worked well.
March 16, 2022
A very quick listen. I choose these audio books to lull off to sleep. Audible has done a great job curating listens that give insight in to history and geopolitical context. In this one, wach of the chapters explores an aspect of Putin's power, his ascension, his corruption of it, his responses and actions during critical moments such as the Belsan school siege, the annexation of Crimea and his interference with Ukraine's entry in to the EU. Even though this was released before 2022, there is a lot to help one understand what is underneath the current Russian invasion and sadly the likely relentless of Putin for the time being. Also, great title.
August 18, 2020
I have never previously read about Putin. Altough I knew some things because of my hightened interest in the western reporting of Putin's involvement in Hungarian politics. If you want an in-depth reporting into Putin's life this is most certainly not it. But I am not sure whether there is any which can be acurate regarding the level of secrecy around him.
What I certainly did not like is the fact that the writer depicted some oligarchs whom were damaged in some capacity by Putin as the good guys, Putin as the absolute antagonist of the story without any of the shades in between.
What I certainly did not like is the fact that the writer depicted some oligarchs whom were damaged in some capacity by Putin as the good guys, Putin as the absolute antagonist of the story without any of the shades in between.
September 2, 2020
Putin preoccupied with one question "How to Keep Power?"
"Make a movie out of this ASAP" screamed my mind right after finishing this.
After listening this book I understood Putin is good at one thing : Power
He mastered the art of power on how have it, How to keep it. How to use it!
Putin is dangerous. A day might come he'll eat America for breakfast and spit China later.
Putin is dangerous it's not that he has greatest military or the vast financial resources, he doesn't have neither of them. He's good at making even the most disadvantageous situation to his advantage. It'll be self evident to anyone who'll read this.
How he overthrown the big heads, how he induced fear in anyone who try to over power him. The list just goes on.
"Make a movie out of this ASAP" screamed my mind right after finishing this.
After listening this book I understood Putin is good at one thing : Power
He mastered the art of power on how have it, How to keep it. How to use it!
Putin is dangerous. A day might come he'll eat America for breakfast and spit China later.
Putin is dangerous it's not that he has greatest military or the vast financial resources, he doesn't have neither of them. He's good at making even the most disadvantageous situation to his advantage. It'll be self evident to anyone who'll read this.
How he overthrown the big heads, how he induced fear in anyone who try to over power him. The list just goes on.
June 3, 2022
This audiobook can be described as an introduction to the topic , the history and what makes Putin so formidable. The narration and the effects are really nice and creates the sense of anticipation and intrigue about the outcomes. In that way the performance is really nice.
But the content is really limited and captures 3 or 4 main events in the 2 decades that Putin has been leading Russia. If one is looking for an in-depth analysis and historical perspective , this is not the book to listen to.
But the content is really limited and captures 3 or 4 main events in the 2 decades that Putin has been leading Russia. If one is looking for an in-depth analysis and historical perspective , this is not the book to listen to.
July 6, 2020
Another Audible podcast. I enjoyed this but was not particularly impressed. The story is familiar, and it was interesting to hear events that have been lived/heard about over two decades put together in a narrative. But it was all rather simplified and I felt sold short. And I got rather tired of the way they used music as a space-filler. Again, I am not convinced about including podcasts on Goodreads, but since it is here, I've rated it.
June 21, 2020
Overall this was a quick but interesting piece about Putin. I’ve downgraded it to a 3 as the final chapter turns into a tedious bit of Trump-bashing between Misha Glenny and some democrat advisor of Clinton. Otherwise would recommend if you’re interested in Russia and some of its recent strategic moves.
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