Inside Putins Russia

Written by Andrew Jack, the Moscow Bureau Chief of the Financial Times, here is a revealing look at the meteoric rise of Vladimir Putin and his first term as president of Russia.

Drawing on interviews with Putin himself, and with a number of the country's leading figures, as well as many ordinary Russians, Jack describes how the former KGB official emerged from the shadows of the Soviet secret police and lowly government jobs to become the most powerful man in Russia. The author shows how Putin has defied domestic and foreign expectations, presiding over a period of strong economic growth, significant restructuring, and rising international prestige. Yet Putin himself remains a man of mystery and contradictions. Personally, he is the opposite of Boris Yeltsin. A former judo champion, he is abstemious, healthy, and energetic, but also evasive, secretive, and cautious. Politically, he has pursued a predominantly pro-western foreign policy and liberal economic reforms, but has pursued a hardline war in Chechnya and introduced tighter controls over parliament and the media and his opponents, moves which are reminiscent of the Soviet era. Through it all, Putin has united Russian society and maintained extraordinarily high popularity. Jack concludes that Putin's "liberal authoritarianism" may be unpalatable to the West, but is probably the best that Russia can do at this point in her history.

Inside Putin's Russia digs behind the rumors and speculation, illuminating Putin's character and the changing nature of the Russia he rules. Andrew Jack sheds light on Putin's thinking, style and effectiveness as president. With Putin's second term just beginning, this invaluable book offers important insights for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Russia.

"In the most comprehensive account of Putin's first term in office now in print, Jack presents a judicious account of his achievements: tax reform, balanced budgets, sharply reduced international lending and a booming economy." --Michael McFaul, Washington Post Book World

"A fluent, detailed and balanced account of Russian power politics, with a lively emphasis on the Kremlin's onslaught against independent media and stroppy tycoons."--The Economist

"A clear-eyed, highly readable look at modern Russia, with all its ongoing enigmas and mysteries."--Kirkus Reviews

"Jack's book is, as the title suggests, an attempt to see Russia from within, to understand it on its own terms. Jack is not sympathetic to the regime, but he is fascinated by the country.... We learn a huge amount about Putin's Russia along the way.... The restraint and the skepticism that run through Jack's book do even more credit to the author now that Putin's credentials are going up in smoke."--Robert Cottrell, New York Review of Books

"A must-read for avid Russia-watchers...masterfully reveals the inner workings of Putin's Kremlin.... Jack draws on extensive first-hand knowledge from his six years as Moscow bureau chief for London's Financial Times to enliven his narrative.... Jack's book is well written and meticulously researched, exhibiting refreshingly few of the oversimplifications that too often pepper popular accounts of contemporary Russian politics.... An impressive book that goes a long way toward improving our collective understanding of what motivates Russian politics today."--Juliet Johnson, Globe & Mail

"An excellent (and wary) political and economic overview of an often opaque U.S. ally."--Publishers Weekly

"Lively, fluent and well-informed." --Guardian

"Andrew Jack has been responsible for some of the best coverage of Russian affairs in recent years. Inside Putin's Russia is intelligent, meticulously researched and readable: everything a political biography should be." --Sunday Times

"Andrew Jack could hardly have picked a better time to come out with a book on Vladimir Putin. It helps contextualize some of the new concerns about Putin's leadership and about whether Russia, once seemingly on the path to democracy, is lurching instead toward dictatorship. Jack puts the president's moves into perspective."--Anna Kuchment, Newsweek International

"Inside Putin's Russia is as much about getting inside Putin himself, at least insofar as intelligent, informed speculation can penetrate a naturally closed personality. Jack, The Financial Times' Moscow bureau chief, focuses on five critical areas that Putin has shaped (and they him): the war in Chechnya, media relations, trimming the oligarchs, institutional reform, and foreign policy. These are twice-told tales, but Jack reconstitutes them very well, adding fresh detail and a reporter's keen eye."--Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs

"A helpful overview of the Putin era since 2000.... Jack, who is Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times, gives us a country with 'chill breezes returning from the past,' possibly headed toward a new political Ice Age."--Carlin Romano, The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Jack gives considerable attention to the regime's takeover of NTV, the most independent of the Russian television channels, by the state-controlled energy company Gazprom. This is a story that has been told before, but what makes Mr. Jack's narrative particularly useful is that he describes the extent to which NTV was corrupt itself.... Jack provides valuable background to the Chechen conflict."--David Satter, The New York Sun

"A sober look at the new Russia."--Denver Post

"Jack's work argues persuasively that so far Russia's democracy has been a 'virtual democracy' only and that the Russian people must learn the basics of democracy to make it work."--Library Journal

"Admirable.... Jack shows in fascinating detail how [the so-called oligarchs] came by their wealth." --Spectator

"Andrew Jack has given us a vivid, sophisticated picture of Russia's political and economic culture under President Vladimir Putin. Jack offers a penetrating analysis of Putin's contradictory path as a modernizer of Russia--and of where this path might lead." --Mark Medish, former senior director for Russian affairs, U.S. National Security Council

"Inside Putin's Russia provides astute and accurate observations on what Russia has become under President Putin. In a lucid and highly readable book, Jack shows devastatingly how Putin has systematically curtailed democracy in Russia, while capitalism has triumphed. No other book gives such a clear feel of Putin's Russia." --Anders Åslund, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"Andrew Jack's work is a valuable contribution to the literature on Russia at the start of the 21st Century: intelligent, fair-minded, and enlivened by the author's experiences as a journalist in Russia, and by his meetings with some of the leading figures there." --Anatol Lieven, author of the forthcoming America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism

The first full-length account of the rise of Vladimir Putin and his initial four years as the leader of Russia.

International views of Russia have changed drastically in the last decade, due in part to the leadership of the decidedly pro-Western President Yeltsin. It was not without concern that we saw the next elected leader pulled from the ranks of the former KGB.

Andrew Jack, former Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times, uses in-depth research and years of journalistic experience to bring us the first full picture of Vladimir Putin. Jack describes how Putin grew to become the most powerful man in Russia, defying domestic and foreign expectations and presiding over a period of strong economic growth, significant restructuring, and rising international prestige. Despite criticism of his handling of the war in Chechnya and of the controls he introduced on parliament and the media, Putin has united Russian society and maintained extraordinarily high popularity.

Inside Putin's Russia digs behind the rumors and speculation, illuminating Putin's character and the changing nature of the Russia he leads. It highlights some of the more troubling trends as he consolidates his leadership during a second presidential term marred by the Beslan tragedy, the attacks on Yukos and Russian policy towards Ukraine. Now with a new Epilogue by the author, this invaluable book offers important insights for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Russia.

Andrew Jack is Moscow bureau chief of the Financial Times. He has been based in Russia since 1998, covering the end of the Yeltsin era, the rise to power of Vladimir Putin, and his entire period in office. He was the Financial Times' Paris correspondent in the mid 1990s, and previously worked in London and New York. He is the author of The French Exception.