I, Putin

In my opinion, Jennifer Ciotta accomplished what I believe is very difficult to do, and that is seemlessly blend fiction and fact in a very entertaining biography (it actually read like an autobiography) of a man the vast majority of Americans know little or nothing about. Vladimir Putin to most westerners is an enigma and this story provides a detailed look at his life from many angles. Whether it is his hard upbringing, cutting his teeth as a KGB agent, his first days as the Russian leader or fast forwarded to the present day as the current leader she nailed every aspect of his life. You could also tell Jennifer did a tremendous amount of research to get the reader into living and breathing Russia. This is a very difficult thing to accomplish as not many people know the in\’s and out\’s of Russia beyond the broadstokes we envision as being from the US. I was also impressed by her interweaving the Kursk submarine tragedy and Putin\’s interactions with Bill Clinton throughout the story. Her Bill Clinton chapters were actually very amusing and her accounts of the Kursk victims last breaths was very realisic. I would recommend this book to all types of readers. Yes, those who has an interest in Putin will like this tremendously, but I would also encourage those who are looking for a unique, differentiated read to also pick this book up.

When I first learned that Jennifer Ciotta wrote ‘I Putin’ in the Russian President’s own voice, I thought “this woman has cajones.” How do you pull off a story about such a public figure writing in the first person? Especially one as inscrutable and vilified in the U.S. as Vladimir Putin. Well, Jennifer Ciotta pulls it off magnificently. I Putin is actually written both from Putin’s perspective as he dictates his memoirs to his fictional personal aide Gosha Golubev and from the perspective of Gosha himself. It’s a sometimes delightful, sometimes unsettling look at the private life of a man who is usually portrayed in the U.S. as a megalomaniac, a dictator, a ruthless imperialist. Much of the book’s charm comes from the portrayal of Gosha, a humble kid who never does understand how he became the personal aide to the President of Russia. I Putin chronicles the man’s life from his dreadful early years when his parents shared a one-bedroom apartment with two other families to his rise to President of the Russian Federation. Young Vladimir was small and frail, the perfect target for bullies. So he learns judo, gains confidence, evolves from a poor student to a high achiever, quickly showing that he’s destined for greatness. After graduating from college, he joins the KGB, and quickly becomes a star. In 2000, he replaces Boris Yeltsin, who struggles with a serious drinking problem, as Acting President of the Russian Federation. Perhaps the most compelling part of this slim book is the way Putin handles the 2000 explosion aboard the Kursk, Russia’s premier submarine. Although it appears that all 118 seamen aboard the sub will die under the Barents Sea if Putin doesn’t accept foreign intervention, he does nothing until the Russian people cry for his ouster. He leaves Moscow in fear that he’s about to be overthrown and goes into hiding on the Estonian border. While there, he meets with U.S. President Bill Clinton, who convinces him to accept help from the U.S. and Britain. It’s too late to save the sailors on the Kursk, but it does save his presidency. Although Ciotta’s Putin can be cold and aloof, she’s managed to write a book that also shows a more human side. I Putin is both charming and insightful. It’s particularly timely today, when the man is accused of fomenting revolution in the Ukraine and renewing the Cold War between East and West. I Putin is Jennifer Ciotta’s first book. It’s a terrific debut. I can’t wait for the next one.

I\’ve always believed there are specific \”tipping points\” – moments of uncertainty – when the outcome of an event or nation or a life hangs in the balance below a swinging pendulum. It often takes time and insight to identify those moments as we try piece together the story of how things came to be. But when you can identify one of those moments, you possess a kind of prism that didn\’t exist before that allows you to see everything else much more clearly. Jennifer Ciotta identifies Vladimir Putin\’s moment (and likely the new Russia\’s as well) as the time of the Kursk submarine disaster. Many people in the West will come to this book with preconceived opinions on Vladimir Putin, most of them grossly misinformed. Despite more than 20 years having passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation, it\’s still very difficult for many Americans (even ones that were born into a world having never known a USSR) to shake the mentality of the enemy competing with America. Vladimir Putin is the bogeyman, the conditioned symbol of the \”other.\” In \”I, Putin,\” Jennifer Ciotta tries to at least dispel the notion that Putin is the cold war spy and autocrat intent on turning the clocks back to Soviet time. Much of the book is told through present-day Putin\’s dictations to his assistant, Gosha, as he prepares his memoirs for publishing. It\’s through these memories that Putin begins to be portrayed as a very familiar human being, deserving of understanding if not our sympathy; a child unsure, frail, seeking approval but instead given the condescending sobriquet \”Goulash Pants\” because he carries home some of his lunch each day to feed his only \”friends\” – the rats in his building. We learn of the refuge he found in Judo and how it was to shape his thinking as he progressed through the Soviet system he existed in but never fully embraced. And Ciotta goes on to provide sporadic glimpses into a domestic life with a very recognizable wife and children not so different from what we see in any western household. Then we also learn of his father, a good Soviet but a distant and sad man with his own mysterious past who serves as the backdrop for all the conflict that happens throughout Putin\’s life. When the Kursk accident occurs, Putin has only been President for a few months and is still trying to find his place in the mess that Boris Yeltsin left him. Factions are still struggling to gain control of the new nation and any outward displays of weakness are certain to bring ruin. Add to this an earthquake, insurrection, and pressure from all directions, and Putin is at first overwhelmed and seems in over his head, just following along the old path and doing as he is advised. In the midst of all this, on the brink of disaster, Putin experiences his moment of clarity and suddenly and unexpectedly grabs the reins. I\’ve always been fascinated by Putin and I was greatly looking forward to reading such a unique look at the man. I\’m also a fan of \”fictionalized\” history like this and Ciotta does a wonderful job of making us wonder where the fact and fiction divide because it\’s all very believable. Overall, I\’m honestly pleased with the insights that Ciotta offers here and I love her writer\’s \”voice.\” There were, however, a few things that prevented me from fully enjoying it: – Narrative Focus. It\’s possible that having read this only once, it may have been my own lack of attention but I was confused several times at who was telling the story and had to stop and go back to check if I hadn\’t missed something. Much of it is told as Putin remembering but it also shifts back and forth between what other characters are thinking or doing. – Subject Focus. For the length of the book, I think a bit too much time was devoted to Gosha, Putin\’s assistant. I understand he was used as a foil to highlight the personality of Putin but much detail was given over to him that in the end didn\’t matter. Also, the last third of the book contains Bill Clinton\’s very real friendship with and influence upon Vladimir Putin. Ciotta spends many pages describing Clinton\’s first visit to Moscow in 1969 as well as his infidelities and marital problems (including one unfortunate phrase describing Hillary\’s lack of libido) that really have no bearing upon the tale. Ciotta seemed to genuinely love writing about Clinton and I can\’t help but have a sneaky feeling that she might have rather written a story about him instead. I congratulate Jennifer Ciotta on a good book and give \”I, Putin\” a solid 3.75 stars (which rounds up to a 4), and I\’d honestly recommend it to anyone not only looking for more insight into what makes Vladimir Putin tick but to anyone looking for a good read. I\’ll be one of the first to buy her next book whatever subject she chooses to tackle.

I loved it, the whole story was put together with a lot of insight of the Russian people, their lives and the impact left on them of the Second World War. The author has managed to present a reality of the hidden world of presidents, reflecting on their human sides which is very interesting. A very good effort.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member