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

New York: Public Affairs, 2000. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. Format is approximately 5.125 inches by 7.5 inches. xiii, [3], 206, [2] pages. Illustrations. Minor wear to front cover. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who is the president of Russia, a position he has filled since 2012, and previously from 2000 until 2008. He was also the prime minister from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin is the second-longest currently serving European president after Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. He led Russia during a war against Chechen separatists, reestablishing federal control of the region. He oversaw Russia's victory in its war against Georgia. During his third term as president, Russia annexed Crimea and sponsored a war in eastern Ukraine with several military incursions made, resulting in international sanctions and a financial crisis in Russia. He also ordered a military intervention in Syria against rebel and jihadist groups. During his fourth term as president, he presided over a military buildup on the border of Ukraine and in February 2022, he ordered a full-scale invasion of the country, leading to widespread international condemnation, as well as expanded sanctions and calls for Putin to be pursued with war crime charges. Under Putin's leadership, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift to authoritarianism. Putin's rule has been characterized by endemic corruption, the jailing and repression of political opponents, the intimidation and suppression of independent media in Russia, and a lack of free and fair elections. 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. Derived from a Publishers Weekly article: 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 questions and answers, punctuated with anecdotes from friends and family members, Putin recounts his boyhood in Leningrad (now again St. Petersburg), 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? Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Russia, Communism, KGB, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Georgia, Crimea, Spy, Politician, Political Leader, Boris Yeltsin, President, Prime Minister, Leningrad, Kremlin, Russian Federation

ISBN: 1586480189

[Book #83918]

Price: $35.00