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Publisher's Summary
On New Year’s Eve 1999, a young Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian TV screens — awkward, self-conscious... and the new President. Two decades later, Putin is still in power, standing self-assured and at ease on the world stage. How did a once little known KGB bureaucrat become one of the most dominant figures of twenty first century politics?
In this gripping narrative history, Misha Glenny, journalist and best-selling author of McMafia, tells the story of an unexpected and swift rise to power — one full of political intrigue, backroom deals, courtroom battles and war.
Insider Kremlin accounts and well-known journalists reveal how Putin was first chosen by Yeltsin and the Oligarchy and how he then went head to head with Russia’s richest man. After Putin had consolidated power he needed to stay in power. The second half of the series tells the story of how he took over the media, Crimea and increased the powers of the KGB. Finally, Misha considers what Putin might do next.
Produced by Dasha Lisitsina, Executive Producer Russell Finch.
A Somethin’ Else production for Audible Originals.
This is an Audible Original Podcast. Free for members. You can download all 7 episodes to your Library now.
What the critics say
"A polished, rigorous and sober account." (Esquire)
"A vivid portrait of a gauche ex-KGB civil servant who was transformed into a feared autocrat and one of the most powerful men in the world." (Financial Times)
"Glenny is a serious man, and this is serious stuff, told well." (The Observer)
More from the same
What listeners say about Putin: Prisoner of Power
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Dan Gendelman
- 2020-09-25
Opinion of former soviet citizen
Too shallow.Too many details omitted. Like Londongrad. History of Ukraine. History of Crimea. How it become part of Ukraine.? How Eltzin got into Kremlin?
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-02-26
Never thought I wanted to know
It was so interesting to listen to this background info on Putin. I suspected something is not clean, but to this extend was beyond my imagination. Really well done. I doubt I would have ever taken the time to read on it.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Marian
- 2020-01-29
Meh
I am not a Putin supporter, yet I couldn't help thinking that I was listening to anti-Putin propaganda. I was hoping for a more detailed description of his policies. I heard nothing that I did not already know. If you have been reading the news regularly you can skip this one !
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- A
- 2021-01-18
good reporting
interesting and important story. worth the listen for sure. very easy time commitment needed
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Cliff Clavin
- 2020-12-11
Pick and choose your history
it's unfortunate that this only focuses on a few key events. lots of gaps here
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anton
- 2020-11-27
Delivery is great but leaves room for “where the evidence?”
Delivery is great, voice acting, music work, interesting stories, but bringing a bunch of people that are specialists that end up commentating or throwing accusations without backing it up with clear evidence just leaves a bit of a biased taste in the ears.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-09-02
Great listen for the geopolitically curious
I knew very little about Putin and his reign, and this was a great introduction. The people participating in the show are extremely well chosen and bring an excellent bit of variety in the episodes. This is fairly brief and doesn't go into great detail about any of the events, but paints a fairly precise and very little biased view on the situation. Would recommend!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Matt Cynic
- 2020-07-31
Decent History
Could have been done on 4 episodes but still worth a listen. MSM approved. No peeks behind the wizards curtain.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-07-28
A good overview.
Informative and enjoyable except for the overuse of short musical interludes which just feel like a filler.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bill Ableson
- 2020-07-04
Excellent podcast
Excellent concise history and a bit scary for future prospects, especially the Trump - Putin interactions.