Wow! eBook
Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin
Author(s): Fiona Hill (Author), Clifford G. Gaddy (Author)
- Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
- Publication Date: 18 Dec. 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 400 pages
- ISBN-10: 0815723768
- ISBN-13: 9780815723769
Book Description
Understanding Putin’s multiple dimensions is crucial for policymakers trying to decide how best to deal with Russia. Hill and Gaddy trace the identities back to formative experiences in Putin’s past, including his early life in Soviet Leningrad, his KGB training and responsibilities, his years as deputy mayor in the crime and corruption ridden city of St. Petersburg, his first role in Moscow as the “”operative”” brought in from the outside by liberal reformers in the Kremlin to help control Russia’s oligarchs, and his time at the helm of a resurgent Russian state.
The authors then examine the nature of the political system Putin has built, explaining it as a logical result of these six identities. Vladimir Putin has his own idealized view of himself as CEO of “”Russia, Inc.”” But rather than leading a transparent public corporation, he runs a closed boardroom, not answerable to its stakeholders. Now that his corporation seems to be in crisis, with political protests marking Mr. Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012, will the CEO be held accountable for its failings? “”For more than a dozen years ―the equivalent of three American presidential terms ― Vladimir Putin has presided over the largest nation on the planet, the second most powerful nuclear arsenal, and massive natural resources. Yet there is still debate about who he really is.
Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy have gone a long way in answering that question, starting with the title, which makes a crucial point: even though ‘Mr. Putin’ was, in his upbringing and early career, a prototype of the Soviet man, he’s no longer ‘Comrade Putin.’ His aim is not the restoration of communism. He has made a deal with the capitalists who have thrived in Russia over the past two decades: they support him in the exercise of his political power, and he supports them in amassing their fortunes.”” ―from the foreword by Strobe Talbott
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A meticulous psychological portrait of Vladimir Putin and of the highly personalized state he has molded. How Vladimir Putin sees himself is key to how his system works, but, after twelve years of Putin Power, the nation and the people he leads have changed while Putin himself has not. Can Putin reinvent himself? Hill and Gaddy say Russia’s new urban middle class wants more than a ‘political performance artist.”–Jill Dougherty, former Moscow Bureau Chief, CNN
“In this well-written and genuinely entertaining volume, Hill and Gaddy take us behind the theatrics and the rumors to give us a clear and intriguing view of the man himself. They have looked into Putin’s eyes and seen . . . a multiplicity of identities, all of which made him what he is today, and all of which tell us something about the Russia he continues to rule. This book is mandatory reading for the president and his advisers.”–Robert Kagan, author of The World America Made
“Since Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin, Russia-watchers have revisited the perennial puzzle of ‘Who is Mr. Putin?’. Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy, scholars at the Brookings Institution, have produced the most illuminating study so far, situating the Russian leader within the dual contexts of Russian history and his own KGB past.”–Angela Stent, Georgetown University, in Survival
“With so many one-dimensional portraits of the Russian leader, the new offering by Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy is a refreshing change of pace. Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin seeks to move beyond the prevailing stereotypes to provide interested readers with “a portrait of Mr. Putin’s mental outlook, his worldview, and the individual aspects or identities that comprise this worldview.” — Nikolas Gvosdev, Naval War College, in The National Interest.
“Brookings Institution senior fellows and veteran Russia watchers Hill and Gaddy ( The Siberian Curse) bring high-level expertise to bear on the enigma of Vladimir Putin in this illuminating study. The authors divide Putin’s political identity into six basic personas, including the Statist, the History Man, the Survivalist, the Outsider, the Free Marketer and, perhaps most crucially, the Case Officer. Their analysis of each combines enough historical background and contemporary analysis for a graduate-level seminar along with an accessible writing style that won’t deter more casual readers. The History Man, for example, is shown as habitually invoking Russia’s hallowed past to justify his obsession with an ever-looming threat of disorder, while the Case Officer uses persuasive, focused techniques of gaining a target’s confidence, first learned in the KGB, to “enlist every Russian in the service of the state.” Though Hill and Gaddy’s prose often bears a think tank report’s heavy imprint, the authors’ final verdict on the Putin era is astute, warning that unless Putin can adapt and perhaps loosen his grip, this seemingly indispensable man will get the blame when his personalized governance apparatus no longer functions well enough to support his nation’s needs.” –Publishers Weekly
