Putin: The explosive and extraordinary new biography of Russia’s leader

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Author: Sixsmith, Martin

Would you like to ruin your enemies by sharing compromising material about that time they didn't wash their hands? Putin and the Return of History examines these questions in the context of Russia’s thousand-year past, tracing the forces and the myths that have shaped Putin’s politics of aggression: the enduring terror of encirclement by outsiders, the subjugation of the individual to the cause of the state, the collectivist values that allow the sacrifice of human lives in battle, the willingness to lie and deceive, the co-opting of religion and the belief in Great Russia’s mission to change the world. Or, was he sincere? Fancy hacking democracy at the parent-teacher association to ensure you're a shoo-in for social secretary? He said he supported free-market democracy and civil rights. Or serving up a cold dish called revenge in a high street restaurant? Was he lying when he proclaimed his support for freedom, democracy and friendship with the West? Putin is a paradox. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped history. But history wasn’t over.

Russia