Vladimir Putin

The Corporation: Russia and the KGB in the Age of President Putin
$35.00
The Corporation: Russia and the KGB is one of the best books written about Putin and his Russia. Putin's Russia is not only undemocratic, criminal and immoral... It is also very dangerous for both Russia and the rest of the World.

Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution
$27.50
I am giving this two stars instead of one, because it's not the worst of books to start with if you know nothing about Russia. But don't walk away from this book acting like an expert.

There is a group of Russia-watchers in the media, of which you could say Peter Baker and Susan Glasser are part of, that are completely dismissive of Russian gains in the Putin era. They point to irrelevant subjects like minor population declines, submarine accidents, alcoholism rates, and use these as talking points to convince the reader that a resurgent Russia is nothing to lose sleep over. They point to the Georgia-Russia war as some kind of evidence of Russian military malfeasance when it's obvious that Russia decided not to showcase its massive technological progress (to avoid making the same spectacle-mistake that the US did in Iraq in 1991, which caused opponents to hedge against new capabilities). Russia is not weak, and if policymakers make this assumption based on this kind of commentary, they do so at their own risk.

A quintupling of the economy, a massive military modernization, newfound global respect from every corner in the world, new self-confidence for the Russian people and nationalist movements that will create ideological clones of Mr. Putin for years to come all point to a very successful tenure for Vladimir Putin as President of Russia.

In many ways, the critics sound as wrong as saying that Reagan did nothing to strengthen the US political position and pointing to the crime rate in the 1980s to prove it. Does Russia have problems? Yes. But it's nothing compared to where they are now and where they were before Putin came into office. Brezenski's commentary on the back of the book is dead wrong.

First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President
$16.00
I would like to believe he is this likeable but one must wonder at what is just a propaganda story of course when it comes to Russians!

Putin's Russia (Revised Edition)
$19.95
I have not yet read the book in its entirety, its for a class, but I expect the revised version of the book to include events that the last one missed out on.