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"Asked many years later what had influenced him most and what he would most like to be able to undo, he replied: 'The Soviet Union's collapse.'" pg 409

This was an exceptionally well-researched and well-written account on the 2007 Time Life Magazine Man of the Year Vladimir Putin. Philip Short wrote a very dense and detailed account of Putin's family, his unruly childhood, martial artist, his time as counterintelligence KGB turned politician, and the eventual historical figure he is today. His early years of martial arts and desire to become a KGB operative played a large role in his making.

From judo he learnt how to use others' strengths against them and was to exploit their vulnerabilities. At the [KGB] Dzerzhinsky School he was taught that 'all else being equal, the side which goes onto the attack will achieve the best results', a principle the KGB called nastupatelnost, 'offensive posture'. That too, was familiar, both from judo and from his childhood fights.

Putin's character fitted the kind of the work the KGB did. He liked to stay in the background and observe others, rather than to be the center of attention himself. He was disciplined and pragmatic and able to concentrate his energies on the priority of the moment. He had been brought up not to show emotions, which was another quality the KGB valued. pg 94

For me the book really took off in 2000s-era after he took a country "groping around in the dark" to become a stable world power (pg 294). He became president, his second term re-election, and the power vertical that morphed into what is present-day Russia. Short explained lots of areas: the economy, reform and realignment, dealings with the Chechen conflict, bolstering Russian Orthodoxy to become a pillar of the regime, the Belsan school massacre, the war with Georgia and Ossetia, falling out with western European leadership and the Bush administration over Iraq & Afghanistan, Syria, and his gradual assumption of power as the ultimate decision-maker.

Short described Putin's actions and logic as he climbed to power. This included dealing with dissidents, protests, human rights, and solidifying his role on the world stage. Putin's dealings with dissidents included Aleksei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov, and the one I clearly remember: Aleksandr Litvinenko, an FSB defector, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in London, 2006.

This was a very informative and thorough read about Vladimir Putin. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in Russia and Russian history & politics. Thanks!