Customer Reviews

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

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This is a remarkable little book of questions and answers. If you read it, you will probably start to understand the enigma called Putin. Almost ten years ago the President of Russia Vladimir Putin left the KGB in the rank of a colonel. One might say that the KGB officer would not be the best person to head a new and democratic Russia. But Putin served in the foreign intelligence and that is the big difference. As he admits in the book, the foreign intelligence officers in the KGB due to many years they spent abroad, were the group most critical towards the Soviet system, because they were able to compare the living standards, economic growth etc.

Soviet foreign intelligence as this type of organization in any other country used to hire the best people, whose tasks included gathering and analyzing information and feeding it back to Moscow. KGB officers saw very vividly the growing gap between the West and the East. Some people defected, but the majority honestly served to the hopeless cause and disintegrating, but their own country.

Putin talks about his family in this book and the story is amazing, albeit not so unusual for a 50 year-old Russian man. His father served in a submarine before WW2, and went to the War as a volunteer. He was almost killed in encirclement. His wounds left him limping for the rest of his life. His mother Maria by miracle avoided death after fainting from hunger in the blockaded Leningrad, but fortunately she moaned and made people aware that she was still alive and was separated from the dead bodies. But the blockade took a life of their son. Vladimir Putin was the only survived child out of their three children.

Life was tough after the war. They were poor. His father worked in a factory and his mother was a simple girl from the province. They lived for many years in a communal apartment in Leningrad, occupying one small room on the fifth floor and sharing the kitchen and facilities with two or three other families. Young Vladimir spent some time chasing rats with a stick in their staircase.

Putin came from humble, decent, and hard-working family. His rise to the presidency and the speed of his ascendance is truly amazing considering his background. He is not and never been a professional politician, although he got a law degree from the Leningrad University. Political activism was never his passion, as it was with Stalin and other communist gangsters. It was not a quasi-religious passion as it was with Lenin. In fact Putin, who wares a little golden cross on his chest, had only two real passions: espionage (originally in a form of spy movies) and sport (judo). Given how apolitical and low-key he is, it is truly amazing that he left behind people, who eat, drink and sleep politics. One of Putin's favorite historic figures is Ludwig Erhard, who become famous for his pragmatic free-market philosophy in post war Germany.

Russia seems to be tired of zealots, communist gangsters and political activists. For sure he is a professional spy, but fortunately he is not a politician. The emergence of Putin from the nowhere may be a first little sign of hope and Russia's recovery after one hundred years of nightmare and social engineering. Worth reading, although frankly I am not sure about translation. I read it in Russian and I am glad I did. Thank you.

The mysterious new Russian President gives us insight, in his own words, of his background, character, and personality. A series of interviews with his wife, daughters, friends, colleagues, mentors, and even former school-teachers gives a human dimension to this cold-eyed ex-KGB agent. Boris Yeltzin's hand-picked successor, hither-to unknown in the Russian political scene, might have been carefully "packaged" by the press to win the election. His KGB past, while a concern to many Russian citizens, ironically also gives him an image of incorruptability. His handling of the Chechnyan conflict has been popular in Russia while drawing criticism from abroad. Many of his interviewers' questions are quite pointed in regards to the War, and his answers are frank and revealing. His years of involvement in the martial-arts inspire his straight-forwardly aggressive but curiously humble approach to solving Russia's many problems. He might not be America's choice for the Russian leadership! But overall, it seems clear that he has a vision of a unified Russia, economically strong, and in partnership with the rest of Europe and the US. And he may be the only person who can unite the various bickering factions within the Duma, confront the oligarchs and mafiya, and bring internal reform to his country. Maybe of equal importance, after years of Yeltzin's embarrassing corruption, alcoholism, and failing health, the vigorous youthful Putin might instill new self-respect in Russia. I recommend "First Person". This is a very interesting and fast-reading book, giving us an unprecidented intimate look at a powerful new leader.

Once upon a time, there was a belief in America that anyone could rise from the humblest of beginnings -- such as Abraham Lincoln, born in a cabin he built with his own hands -- to become President.

In Russia, without political opinion polls, focus groups or special interest funding, Vladimir Putin rose from a rat-infested cold water apartment to become President of his nation. This book is about a man who spent his professional life assessing people and situations, and thus is not afraid to make tough decisions. In Russia, for the immediate future, tough decisions are needed.

Putin's hero, Czar Peter the Great, used his regal power to make Russia a great, rich and powerful nation. Putin intends to provide similar dynamic leadership with democratic principles. An example may be Singapore, a mix of authority, discipline and prosperity.

The question-and-answer format of this book is based on six four-hour interviews by three journalists. Putin admits he was, ". . . a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education." He was smart, dedicated, hard-working and very good in his chosen career with the KGB. He wasn't a old cloak-and-dagger "sneak and peek" spy; he spent his time reading reports, assessing East German officials and skillfully pushing paper.

Trained as a lawyer, he was appalled at how Communist officials assumed they were the law simply because they were Party members. Putin was never a dissident, he was the ultimate Organization Man whose goal was a richer, happier, stronger and freer Russia. He worked hard to become an insider, and as such saw the total incompetence of the Party.

His wife says, "He always lived for the sake of something. There are some people who work hard for money, but he works hard for ideas." When first married, they had a 10-foot by 12-foot room in his parents' 275-square foot apartment. Try and think of any American president since Lincoln -- another idea man -- who lived in any similar conditions.

Like Lincoln, whose greatest idea was "to preserve the Union," the prime challenge for Putin is to preserve Russia. His practical experience taught him that a free market economy is far superior to the chaos, conniving and cronyism of communism. He says the Soviets failed because they ". . . had a terminal disease without a cure -- a paralysis of power."

Two things are clear; Putin is not afraid to act, and he will never betray Russia. He learned from his father's World War II experience, ". . . there are always a lot of mistakes made in war. That's inevitable. But when you are fighting, if you keep thinking that everybody around you is always making mistakes, you'll never win. You have to take a pragmatic attitude." He approaches life in that fashion.

His political heroes also rebuilt shattered nations. Charles DeGaulle saved France from itself; while in Germany, Ludwig Erhard succeeded because ". . . his entire conception for the reconstruction of the country began with the creation of new moral values for society." The Soviet collapse created a similar challenge for Putin. This book explains what his "effective authority" is all about. It's the best book available this year about a politician with new ideas.

This is a refreshingly candid portrait of the soul of the new President of Russia, a fascinating contrast to "personality politics" that mask any inner feelings of American politicians. Putin trusts the Russian people enough to be honest; our politicians hire spin doctors to create "centrist" or "moving to the right" or "compassionate conservative" images. The contrast is ominous.

Then, stop and think. Does America really need tough, effective authority? Or are we better off with superficial candidates and trivial issues? If Putin succeeds, he will outdo Peter the Great. In America, do we need a great crusade? or merely to be left alone? Another Lincoln? or a Shrub?

I thought that this book was very interesting and contained a lot of information about Russia's president, his family and his career. The format was intriguing also as interviews with President Putin were interspersed with interviews of his wife, his children and close friends. I knew nothing about him when I picked up the book and found it quite fascinating. It is a very easy read and quite compact. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the present Russian government.

This book is just a transcript of interviews with Putin, without commentary (thankfully). It's nothing more and nothing less. It's strange that one reviewer expected something more than the man's own words, which the publisher and authors never purported it to be. But it's very interesting anyway, and it would go well alongside an objective biography of Vlad, if such a thing existed...

I am very interested in Russian politics and especially in Vladimir Putin. This book caught my eye because it is 28 hours of interviews with him about many different subjects. It was a quick read and my only complaint is that I read it so quickly. One of the more personal books I have read about Putin. I recommend it highly.

Die Frage "Wer ist Mr. Putin?" bewegt seit Boris Jelzins überraschendem Rücktritt am 31.12.1999 die Welt. Die ausführlichen Gesprächsaufzeichnungen von drei russischen Journalisten aus dem Frühjahr 2000 geben nur teilweise eine Antwort auf die Frage. Sie verbergen ebenso viel, wie sie aufdecken.
Es wird in den Interviews noch einmal eine Besonderheit Putins deutlich, die viele Beobachter schon zuvor bemerkt hatten: die bizarre Zufälligkeit von Putins steiler Karriere und seine politische Unerfahrenheit im Augenblick seiner Amtsübernahme. Dies würde im Russischen durch die Konstruktion "slutschajnyj tschelowek" (zufälliger Mensch) wiedergegeben werden. Normalerweise bedeutet im traditionell hierarchiebetonten und elitistischen russischen politischen Diskurs eine Charakterisierung als "slutschajnyj tschelowek" das Absprechen jeglicher Kompetenz für die Lösung der jeweiligen Aufgaben. Diesen Nachteil schien Putin sowohl mit seiner mythologisierten Vergangenheit als KGB-Mitarbeiter (die hier auch weitgehend im Dunkeln bleibt) als auch mit dem Image eines früheren Vertrauten des verstorbenen ehemaligen Bürgermeisters von Sankt Petersburg Anatolij Sobtschak wettzumachen. Vor allem wird in dem Buch noch einmal deutlich, wie eng die Ernennung Putins zum Premierminister und seine Profilierung in dieser Funktion mit dem Tschetschenienkrieg verbunden war. Und dies, obwohl die Anleitung der in Tschetschenien tätigen "Machtorgane" (silowye organy) an und für sich direkt dem Präsidenten obliegt. De facto schien Putin mehr noch als seine zahlreichen Vorgänger bereits vor Jelzins Rücktritt das Zepter in Rußland in die Hand genommen zu haben.
Obwohl eine Reihe von Putins Aussagen in den Interviews in bezug auf Demokratie, Rechtsstaat und Marktwirtschaft durchaus ermutigend klingen und er sich im Großteil des Buches als ausgewogener "Mann der Tat" gibt, bleibt ein Eindruck von Unberechenbarkeit. Auf das Thema Tschetschenien angesprochen, wechselt der sonst beherrschte Putin zu apokalyptischen Visionen ("globale Katastrophe", S. 136), radikalem Isolationismus ("Wir brauchen keinerlei [internationale] Vermittler." S. 158) und missionarischem Eifer ("meine historische Mission", S. 133). Er scheint den Leser für dumm verkaufen zu wollen, wenn er sich als selbstloser "Mann fürs Grobe" ausgibt: "Ich ging [im August 1998] davon aus, daß ich [das Auseinanderfallen des Landes] selbst um den Preis meiner politischen Karriere [verhindern] muß." (S. 133)
Die ganze Passage zum Tschetschenien-Abenteuer wirkt phantastisch: Putin beschwört das Bild eines vom winzigen Tschetschenien tödlich bedrohten Rußland. Die von ihm an anderer Stelle angemahnte "Präsumption der Unschuld" vergißt er, wenn er - ohne das Vorliegen einschlägiger Beweise, zumindest zum Zeitpunkt des Interviews - die Tschetschenen für die Bombenanschläge in Moskau, Bujnaksk und Wolgodonsk verantwortlich macht. Selbst wenn er mit seinen Anschuldigungen Recht behalten sollte, so steht die Zahl der mutmaßlich von islamistischen Terroristen getöteten russischen Zivilisten in keinem Verhältnis zu den tausenden zivilen Opfern der russischen "antiterroristischen Operationen" seit 1994. An anderer Stelle gibt sich Putin, abweichend von seinen früheren Andeutungen, ähnlich uneinsichtig, wenn es um die Rolle der NATO in den Ost-West-Beziehungen oder um den Jugoslawienkonflikt geht. Auch seine merkwürdig distanzierte Beurteilung der Tätigkeit seines früheren Ziehvaters Anatolij Sobtschak wirkt befremdlich.
Während Putin hoffen kann, mit seinen unsensiblen Statements insbesondere zu Tschetschenien und Jugoslawien beim durch jahrelange Gehirnwäsche emotional aufgepeitschten russischen Durchschnittsbürger auf offene Ohren zu treffen, dürfte er sich mit diesem Buch in bezug auf seine aufgeklärte russische und potentielle westliche Leserschaft keinen Gefallen getan haben.

First Person is a transcription of a series of interviews conducted by three Russian journalists with Vladimir Putin, his wife and daughters, friends, teachers, and colleagues. The book is written in a question-answer format which is usually effective but occasionally leaves the reader in doubt as to who is answering a particular question: Putin or one of the other interviewees.

Don't read this book expecting deep insight into Putin's political philosophy or details of his experience in the KGB. With that said, First Person is a useful and interesting account of Putin's life, family, and experiences. An occasional bit of insight either slips or is inserted into the conversations. (It's hard to believe that someone as in-control as Putin would really let something slip. I don't mean to be suspicious or derogatory, I'm just recognizing that Putin is a successful politician who climbed one of the most difficult -and dangerous- ladders in the world.) One bit of possible insight is the fact that Putin was KGB station chief in Dresden, East Germany, at the time that the Berlin wall was pulled down. He shared a facility with the Stasi, his East German counterparts. When mobs approached the Stasi facility. Putin cabled Moscow for help and direction. He received neither and left active duty with the KGB soon after his (premature?) return from that assignment. I'm sure he was a bit disillusioned by this experience, but the degree and nature of the disillusionment is not developed. No surprise here; successful politicians don't intentionally walk into mine fields.

Overall, the book was an interesting and light read. Putin describes himself as a hooligan in his youth who mended his ways primarily to achieve his goal of going to law school in preparation for a career in the KGB. He chose that career path after seeing a movie entitled the Sword and the Shield (the KGB logo) which prompted him to walk uninvited into the local KGB office in Leningrad to seek employment. The officer who met him advised him that the KGB seldom considered walk-in applicants and that he should attend university and study law as a means of preparing himself. Rather amazingly, he did exactly that and was recruited immediately upon graduation.

The book also contains numerous details about Putin's early political life in the administration of Anatoly Sobchak, the reform-minded mayor of Leningrad, and his subsequent steady rise in the national government as well as numerous anecdotes from his family life.

Only the extremely gullible will be fooled by this book. If you really think that Vladimir Putin is a well-meaning innocent who just happened to work for the KGB for two decades, then ambled over to Sobchak's corrupt administration, then purely by accident became head of Yeltsin's intelligence bureau, and then came to power just when, by a strange coincidence, Russian artillery was flattening every city in Chechnya...if you can swallow all that, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

But if you really believe any of that, you probably need to do a bit of remedial reading on recent Russian history far more urgently than you need this book.

Vladimir Putin's "First Person" is a biography in question and answer format. It gives an insight into the man who is the leader of the largest country in the world. There are questions and answers from not only Putin himself, but also his old school teachers, KGB collegues and his wife and two daughters. Even so, this biography does not give a full picture of the president as a person and much of his past (for example KGB) is not mentioned in great detail (that's why I took off a star) and does not give a deep insight as the book implies. It is a very whitewashed biography of Putin. In fact, I don't recall reading a negative thing about him in this book!! This aside, and all considered, this is an entertaining read and a good introduction to Russia's President; but certainly missing a lot.