PUTIN by Philip Short (2022)
Vladimir Putin is, in my opinion, the most impressive and significant statesman of our age—impressive in his ability, and significant in his impact on the world.
That does not mean I find him admirable. He is an autocrat and personally corrupt. He fits the Machiavellian ideal, and I do not mean this as a slur.
When Putin came to power, Russia was falling apart. A group of oligarchs called the Seven Bankers dominated Russia’s economy. The mass of Russians were even poorer than they had been under Communism. The death rate exceeded the birth rate.
Under Putin, the Russian economy has been transformed. The government is solvent. Foreign debt has been paid, and foreign ownership of important Russia assets has been pushed back. Demographic decline has been reversed. Russia has re-emerged as an economic power and a military power to be reckoned with.
Not all these things are because of things Putin did himself, but the leader of a country deserves credit (and blame) for things they allow to happen as well as things they make happen.
In order to understand Russia’s rise, I looked for good biography of Putin. Philip Short’s 676-page book is the best I could find. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good.
Philip Short is a workmanlike British journalist who has written biographies of Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and François Mitterrand.
He is not a Russia expert and doesn’t. have inside information. Much of Putin’s life is a mystery to him. But he has assembled the important known facts of Putin’s life in granular detail.
While mostly agreeing with the USA-UK consensus view of events, Short made a good faith effort to understand how things look from Putin’s point of view, which few if any other biographers have done.
I think this is the best that can be expected for now.
Phil Ebersole's Blog 