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Disclaimer: My mom’s side of my family is Ukrainian and there’s a lot of hatred (both on a familial level and obviously, on a global level towards Putin.) It felt slightly gross/wrong to read a biography from the protagonist's (his) POV, but it felt important, even for morbid curiosity, to see all sides.

Double Disclaimer: This should be required reading for anyone interested in global affairs.

This was an unflinching, hard hitting read by former BBC correspondent and author Philip Short. This biography forces us to look at Vladimir Putin’s choices from Russia’s POV. Putin is an expansive and shockingly up-to-date biography (seriously, the invasion of Ukraine begins on page 656 and the first 655 pages are eight years worth of Short’s research on Putin’s life up until this horrendous moment in time.) Short covers Putin’s life from childhood until present day and he’s not afraid to point out Putin’s frank lies and various contradictions over the years.

While Putin is still alive and his story incomplete, Philip Short provided a genuinely compelling account of Putin’s life so far. A long but worthwhile read.