Brilliant

Great read. One of the best Putin books out there. I would highly recommend it

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Incredibly insightful

Nothing short of splendid - an epic tome - engrossing and fascinating brilliantly narrated by Jonathan Keeble. I want to listen all over again

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An astonishing achievement . Short’s book is nothing short of perfection

Informative, lucid and gripping. An absolute masterclass in historical biographical writing!
One if the best books I have listened to since joining Audible, where I have accumulated over 100 titles in the last 2 years!
Highly recommended.

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Stunning

Insightful
Intelligently organised
Personable
Explains why Putin has made the decisions he has in way that sheds light and understanding

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A Strong Leader

Since the 2014 invasion of Crimea and then the 2022 invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin has become a cartoon villain in the west. Although one cannot condone an invasion of a sovereign state, is Putin the monster that he is portrayed to be? Philip Short does an excellent job on trying to understand Putin and twenty first century Russia.

Like the opposite of Mikhail Gorbachev, Putin is generally loved in Russia and loathed abroad. Opinion polls there regular place him with an extremely high percentage. One may argue it is a corrupt system, there aren’t many alternatives and rivals are stuck in a bureaucracy so frustrating it makes Victorian chancery courses seem straight forward. However, what cannot be argued is that Putin has a grip power and is a strong almost monarchical leader.

Putin is not hard to understand in my opinion. A product of the Soviet Union, he had family members which felt the purge under Stalin. Putin always has ambition and so studied law, much to his peers dismay, to join the KGB. Unremarkable in features, cold and determined, he was perfect for the job. Eventually being placed in Germany, a well desired posting, due to the wages and opportunities there. Everything in his life has always been calculated, measured to his end goal, whether to get that said posting or to climb the greasy pole as Benjamin Disraeli would say. Putin has steered Russia into stability and confidence following the disastrous Boris Yeltsin years, however the question now asks ‘where does he take Russia now?’ And ‘what will happen after Putin?’ His third term will of course end in 2024 and he knows he cannot go on forever.

The road to Ukraine is one steeped in 1200 years of Russian history, from the inheritance of the Kievan Rus. A medieval principality in an area that straddles, modern Poland, Ukraine and Russia. The stories of both Ukraine and Russia have been intricately tied for a millennium. However, the modern journey begins with in the 1960s when Nikita Khrushchev transferred the Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic, in the USSR. Following the breakup of the Union, the new state of the Russian Federation has always feared growing influence and power of NATO, which Putin says is essentially military arm of the United Nations.

When Putin came to power, the relationship with the West and US president George W Bush was positive, the future looked bright. However, as Putin has learnt realpolitik over 22 years in power, being friendly with the USA will only suit one country: the USA. The relationship has not been two sided and Putin has felt this wraith. Allowing America to use his country for airbases in the war on terror to supporting their Middle Eastern causes, Putin has found this is only a one way street. The recognition of Kosovo (to Russia’s ally Serbia’s dismay) to almost building nuclear missile bases in Eastern Europe, to canvassing former Soviet countries for NATO agreements, the relationship has turned sour. But with this Putin’s confidence has grown. He has rejected the western lead and travelled down his own path, doing what he sees is best for Russia.

Russia needs a strong rule, it always has. With this the values do not fully align with Western politics or ideals. But is this because we just report on them in outrage? Western countries have invaded over sovereign states over recent years, so why different for Putin? All of these wars (Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine) will turn out to be long and costly for the invader. Assassinating journalists and rivals has also hit the news in recent years, but Western Governments have also been caught with their pants down in the great game of espionage.

What Short does it put this into perspective from the man in control of the ‘wild east’. A hard man who has shown vulnerabilities, has made mistakes but isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. This is not a condoning of the actions, but a study. Done excellently. I really enjoyed this study of the modern Russia and Europe.

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Fascinating

A fascinating insight into the mindset of Putin and the reasoning behind his decisions and actions

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Ottimo. Very good.

Ottimo. Equilibrato nei giudizi. Molto ben letto. Very good audiobook. Extremely well read. I appreciated the author's comments, not only how he delivered the facts.

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A well researched account of the life of President

Putin by Philip Short is a biography of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, lawyer, KGB officer, Prime Minister and President of the Russian Federation. It recounts his life from his childhood where he learned sambo (a Russian wrestling type martial art) and judo and got to a standard where he might have taken it up professionally, through his schooling and training as a lawyer which he needed to join the KGB where he eventually attained the rank of Colonel. He then took up several political positions, originally in his KGB activities. His rise to the top as a First Deputy Prime Minister and eventually to President. Along the way it explains why he thinks and acts the way he does and how the actions of the “West” (mostly the US) has often allowed or pushed him to do things the western press could then lambast him for.
I do not read the newspapers that are owned by right wing billionaires and although I watch British television news I am always aware of the propaganda that is passed to us on a daily basis (e.g. nurses and doctors are putting people at risk for striking whilst our government is not at fault for their under paying and underfunding for the last 8 years!). we are fed a single view of Russia and I wondered what the real story is and so I wanted to read a biography of Putin that was not openly biased in a negative or positive way if possible and this seems to me to hit the nail on the head. As a British journalist Philip Short (I hoped) would not be a “commie hating yank” or a “sycophantic Russophile” and the book comes across as a well written and researched biography leaving the reader to decide.
With all biographies of ‘controversial’ figures there is always the potential that there really is an underlying biased that the poor reader (i.e. me) just didn’t get and so I am happy for others to disagree with my contention that this appears to be relatively unbiased account of Putins’ life and I will not mention my final view of the man after reading this so hopefully I will not be trolled – if I do please note that I will not respond.
However, after reading this I am considering reading some of My Shorts’ other books and would recommend this to anyone looking for a fair account of President Putins life.

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A strong reflection on Putin and Russia

Among the 10+ books read on Russia and Putin, this book significantly improved my understanding of today’s position.

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Excellent biography

Not surprisingly there are suddenly a lot of books about Vladimir Putin on the scene. This is likely the best on offer. No sensationalism here, but a thoroughly well researched and rational account of Vladimir Putins rise through the Soviet system and how it made him the man he is today. Real rags to riches story with good explanations as to what makes him tick. Like Stalin was largely absent from the actual Soviet revolution, so Putin remained in the shadows until his time came to emerge. I highly recommend this book. Good narration too which helps.

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