First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President - Softcover

Putin, Vladimir; Gevorkyan, Nataliya; Timakova, Natalya; Kolesnikov, Andrei

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586480189 ISBN 13: 9781586480189

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2000

Synopsis

Who is this Vladimir Putin? Who is this man who suddenly--overnight and without warning--was handed the reigns of power to one of the most complex, formidable, and volatile countries in the world? How can we trust him if we don't know him?

First Person is an intimate, candid portrait of the man who holds the future of Russia in his grip. An extraordinary compilation of over 24 hours of in-depth interviews and remarkable photographs, it delves deep into Putin's KGB past and explores his meteoric rise to power. No Russian leader has ever subjected himself to this kind of public examination of his life and views. Both as a spy and as a virtual political unknown until selected by Boris Yeltsin to be Prime Minister, Putin has been regarded as man of mystery. Now, the curtain lifts to reveal a remarkable life of struggles and successes. Putin's life story is of major importance to the world.

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Prior to his sudden rise to the Russian presidency, Putin was virtually a mystery; this transcript of recent interviews goes a long way toward filling the blanks in his past. In eight chapters of q&a, punctuated with anecdotes from friends and family members, Putin recounts his boyhood in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), the three years he spent as a KGB intelligence officer in Dresden, his return to the collapsed USSR and decision to enter politics and, finally, the day Boris Yeltsin asked him to take up the Kremlin reins. In Russia, this slim volume surfaced quickly during the brief interim between Yeltsin's resignation and the March elections. But rather than focusing on his political views and ideology, the interviewers devote the bulk of the text to Putin's biography--an indication of just how unknown the new Russian president is to his constituency. And the book succeeds in humanizing the uncharismatic politician. Through his childhood memories, readers learn that the gaunt, stoic man in the newsreels was once a spunky teen cruising the streets of Leningrad in search of girls and judo matches and dreaming of being a Soviet secret agent. Putin, it would seem, was just the socialist boy-next-door, or, in his own unironic words: "a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education." The question he leaves unanswered is: how does such an ordinary and unassuming guy find himself the president of Russia in an era of unabashed political intrigue? (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Who is Russia's new president? First Personthe product of some 24 hours of interviews with Putin conducted by three Russian journalists, with brief comments from other sources, including Putin's family, friends, teachers, and some associates--is a first effort to answer this question. The approach is chronological, describing Putin as son, schoolboy, university student, young intelligence specialist, spy, democrat, bureaucrat, family man, and politician. In some ways, Americans will recognize this as a standard campaign biography, intended to provide details on the candidate's accomplishments and give readers a sense of his personality. There are no shocking revelations to be found here, although there are oddities (the Putins and another couple attend a strip show, and the other woman faints repeatedly at the sight of naked African dancers--what's that about?). Still, given the very limited information on Putin available in English, library patrons will want to learn what they can about the new leader of the Russian state. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

This book, which transcribes 24 hours of interviews that three Russian journalists conducted with the Russian president, seeks to answer the pressing question: Who is Vladimir Putin? We read of his grim childhood, adolescence, education, early professional life, interests (judo, intelligence work), and marriage. Nothing particularly remarkable here. Then came the collapse of communism, and Putin's dazzling ascent began, but just why is still not altogether clear. What comes through of the man? An intense patriot, a religious believer, and a family man, Putin is characterized by stern rectitude, even priggishness, and lacks a sense of humor. He insists on Russia's European nature and says that he is committed to democracy. The questioners are polite but not toadying, pressing him on the Chechen War and high-level cronyism and corruption in the Kremlin. An interesting start to what is sure to become a growth industry of books on Russia's new president; for all public libraries.DRobert H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1586480189
• ISBN 13: 9781586480189
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208