First Person

May 8, 2000
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?

June 15, 2000
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.--Robert H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2000
Who "is" Russia's new president? "First Person"the 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. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)