Title : Putin’s People
Author : Catherine Belton
Publisher : Williams Collins, London
Although there are many books about Russia, Catherine Bolton’s Putin’s People has surpassed them. It is perhaps the much awaited book that reveals how Putin and his colleagues in the intelligence organization (KGB) amassed seemingly unstoppable political power. The book deals with Putin’s rise to the top in Russia’s political system. It reads at times like a spy thriller.
The author has meticulously researched the anatomy of the Putin regime. No other book has documented the Russian President’s leadership. Catherine, one-time Moscow correspondent for the prestigious Financial Times, leaves no stone unturned in her exposition of how the Russian President and his people dominate the largest country in the world. She demonstrates how Putin made full use of his experience as a KGB agent to become Russia’s most powerful leader.
Birth
Putin was born on 7th October 1952 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the youngest of three children. His grandfather Spiridon Putin was working for Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Putin’s birth was preceded by the deaths of his two brothers – Viktor and Albert – born in the mid-1930s.
Albert died in infancy and Viktor died during the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany’s forces in World War II. Putin’s mother Maria Ivanova was a factory worker and his father Vladimir was a conscript in the Soviet Navy. Putin’s maternal grandmother was killed by the German occupiers in 1941 and maternal uncles disappeared on the eastern front during World War II.
Putin studied law at Leningrad State University. He graduated in 1970. In 1975 he joined the KGB. From 1985 to 1990 he served in Dresden, East Germany using a cover identity as a translator. Putin served in the KGB as a foreign intelligence officer for 16 years. He was a lieutenant colonel when he resigned to begin his political career.
He moved in 1996 to join the administration of Boris Yeltsin. After serving as the secretary of the Security Council he was appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became the acting president. Less than four months later he was elected to his first term as president. He was re-elected as the president in 2004.
As the president’s tenure was constitutionally limited to two terms, he served as prime minister from 2008 to 2012. He was re-elected as president in 2012 amid allegations of fraud by the Opposition. In April 2018 a referendum enabled him to run for presidency up to 2036.
During his tenure as president, Putin led Russia to victories in the Chechnian War and Georgian War. He annexed Crimea and launched his first military intervention followed by a full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to the author, Russia’s role in the post-cold war period was Putin’s main concern. He was very much worried by the expansion of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). After the NATO’s air attack on Serbia there was an internal struggle for supremacy.
Break-up
Quite a few of Yeltsin’s people regretted the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the break-up of the USSR. Yeltsin bore the brunt of the resentment and apprehensions. However, he was always on the defensive in his conduct of Russian foreign policy. His opponents claimed that Russia was diminishing its powers.
Putin was one of the prominent critics of Yeltsin’s foreign policy. In the meantime Putin worked his way in the Kremlin to topple Yeltsin and grab power. In 1999 Putin described communism as “a blind alley far away from the mainstream of civilization.”
He was keen on working to bring back the glorious days of the USSR. He worked relentlessly towards that goal. The book shows the impressive achievements of Putin who wanted to rebuild Russia after Yeltsin.
Putin’s People is a masterpiece in contemporary world history. The book is noted for its epic sweep and clarity of details. The author says, “Ever since Putin’s re-election in 2012 as president, making Russia great again has become an ideology for him. State propaganda started to spread the idea that Putin is the only one who can restore the greatness of Russia.” The book is ideal reading for students pursuing international relations.