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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Very enjoyable book. Not a lot of "new" information for anyone who has been watching Russia/Putin for any decent length of time, but clearly laid out, and well written.
Reading it in 2018 like I did, the books optimistic final chapter comes across as naive and hopeful, but I remember myself how those years seemed full of hope for a better world.
Well worth reading.
Reading it in 2018 like I did, the books optimistic final chapter comes across as naive and hopeful, but I remember myself how those years seemed full of hope for a better world.
Well worth reading.
Christ, I have so much admiration for Masha Gessen. Her career as a journalist working under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable has been remarkable to watch over the years. I'm eager to read her newest book on the Boston Marathon bombers, as I have no doubt she'll bring incisive insight to the brothers, the cultural milieu in which they were raised, and the historical context that informed some of their upbringing.
On to Putin. I'm fascinated by his rise to power. And I write this review on a day when news breaks that a data breach reveals that Putin aided associates in moving two billion dollars offshore. After reading Gessen's book on Putin, I'm surprised only that it was not more. The reason I give Gessen's book three stars (I should explain my rating after all of this build up, I suppose) is because while it is contextually rich, it's poor on specifics about Putin. I felt that it made some conjectures and assumptions which, while logical, made me feel uncomfortable due to the lack of evidence, or even specifics. I thought she might nail Litvinenko's death on Putin--and she tries to--but I was disappointed by how little connection she was able to draw. There were almost no sources for her chapter on Putin's early life nor his rise to power, besides her own reading between the lines of his official biography, which was carefully crafted and vetted before being published.
Anyway, I was grateful to get a better look at the appalling journalistic situation that exists in Russia at the moment, and was chilled to the bone at the very idea that Putin's old KGB cronies could be the prime movers behind some apartment explosions and behind the unspeakable mistakes made at Beslan.
On to Putin. I'm fascinated by his rise to power. And I write this review on a day when news breaks that a data breach reveals that Putin aided associates in moving two billion dollars offshore. After reading Gessen's book on Putin, I'm surprised only that it was not more. The reason I give Gessen's book three stars (I should explain my rating after all of this build up, I suppose) is because while it is contextually rich, it's poor on specifics about Putin. I felt that it made some conjectures and assumptions which, while logical, made me feel uncomfortable due to the lack of evidence, or even specifics. I thought she might nail Litvinenko's death on Putin--and she tries to--but I was disappointed by how little connection she was able to draw. There were almost no sources for her chapter on Putin's early life nor his rise to power, besides her own reading between the lines of his official biography, which was carefully crafted and vetted before being published.
Anyway, I was grateful to get a better look at the appalling journalistic situation that exists in Russia at the moment, and was chilled to the bone at the very idea that Putin's old KGB cronies could be the prime movers behind some apartment explosions and behind the unspeakable mistakes made at Beslan.
dark
informative
medium-paced
One day the world will stop having to pay for small, stupid men with enormous senses of entitlement who have decided it's their job to make their awfulness everyone else's problem. This book lays out who Putin is, where he came from, what drives him and his abject immorality without any of the grandiose mythologizing that has plagued other journalists since the early 2000s. (He's a strategic genius! Blah.)
Grateful that Gessen has taken such risks in reporting all of this. The world owes them.
Grateful that Gessen has taken such risks in reporting all of this. The world owes them.
When I first started reading this book I was thinking "wow, what an important story, I hope it will be translated into all ex-soviet counties' languages and published in Russian as soon as possible!"
Then in the middle of all the chilling poisoning-, terrorist attack- and imprisonment stories I started thinking I better burn this book and pretend I have never heard of it.
After having finished reading I'm just hoping the Russian opposition will somehow make it through the day, that their protests will continue and keep gaining momentum, that more and more people worldwide will realize what Putin is all about... and most of all that Masha Gessen is no longer living in Russia since having published this book because otherwise I would be seriously concerned about her safety.
A must-read if you are even slightly interested in Russian history, politics and want an insight on how things are run in that huge country!
Yikes! This book is haunting, even as more history has happened since its initial publication in 2012. The evidence about the subject helps to paint a portrait of the man -- something that we still see even today.
Masha Gessen is a badass. She approaches one of the most powerful men in the world, in the face of violence against journalists, and eviscerates him for all to see. This Putin biography is amazing just in its ballsiness. It's well written, but mostly, it is great to see someone stand up against a person with great power, great greed, and an incredible lack of conscience.
It's easy not to like Putin even without all this incredibly biased, and probably true details.
I didn't much care for Ms. Gessen's writing, and certainly not for the incessant editorializing that made me want to defend the despicable tyrant, but by the time I was done, I can say it was worthwhile, enlightening, and interesting reading.
I didn't much care for Ms. Gessen's writing, and certainly not for the incessant editorializing that made me want to defend the despicable tyrant, but by the time I was done, I can say it was worthwhile, enlightening, and interesting reading.
The villain of this tale is, obviously, Putin. We all knew he was an asshole; here are some further details. He was involved in a lot of schemes, kleptomania, rage-flashes, theft, bombings, murders, and general intimidating-sometimes-killing of dissidents. Duh. Some of the details of his wrongdoing were a bit lost on me because I don't know much about Russia, and the book is DETAILED. But the gist is very, very clear.
The hero of this tale is the Russian people. These poor, beat-down, silenced people who still dared to revolt. They protested. They spoke out. They put themselves in danger again and again for the sake of democracy.
Hopefully one day they'll get it.
The hero of this tale is the Russian people. These poor, beat-down, silenced people who still dared to revolt. They protested. They spoke out. They put themselves in danger again and again for the sake of democracy.
Hopefully one day they'll get it.
Very confusingly written. Jumps around the timeline and includes chunks about the author. I was expecting this to actually be about the rise of Putin and his methods, positions held, etc. but it felt more like a confusing story about the people around him and why they supported him. I understand that it's hard to write about someone who is still alive and has worked so hard to obscure his background, but still. There are some good nuggets of information in there, but you really have to work to find them.
Normally I’m not a fan of journalists inserting themselves as narrators in a story they are covering but in Gessen’s case it is exactly the framing of the book that sets it apart from other accounts of Putin’s takeover of Russia. They go into great detail about how the fall of the USSR was Putin’s most seminal moment. His every move since coming to power has been not just in the interest of his own glory but in reactivating an idyllic image of what he thinks the Russian Federation should be. Putin will stop at nothing to shape his corner of the word in this image and will never let anyone stop him. Gessen covers how journalists, politicians, and everyday Russians have been intimidated, harassed, exiled, and even killed in the name of Putin’s aspirations.