The Wizard of the Kremlin

If you are in the mood for a political novel, read this! It is essentially a very long monologue of Vadim Baranov, a fictional character based on Vladislav Surkov, one of Putin’s closest advisers and spin doctors at the time he rose to power and sought to consolidate it.

The novel is fascinating, mostly because it gives insight in Putin’s philosophy and belief system. But its strongest point for me were the countless nuggets of political wisdom on power and politics and the excellent dialogues with Berezovsky and Putin. And it is very well written as well.

It reminded me a bit of a good Robert Harris novel, who also writes about power very well.

Vadim Baranov, a fictional character based on Putin's advisor, tells his visitor what pushes Putin and Russia when it comes to power. Interesting insights on the recent history of the country, well worth a read in the current political climate.

At times a coming-of-age story in a rapidly transforming Russia, at others almost thriller-like in construction, this is an intriguing glimpse into the rise of Vladimir Putin through the eyes of one of his closest (fictional) advisors. Written by a French-Italian author and translated in this version by a French-American writer, one of the most interesting aspects of this book is the way it criticises the perceived indulgences of the West through the mouthpiece of Baranov, a thinly-veiled stand-in for Vladislav Surkov, once Russia’s deputy prime minister among other more shadowy roles. The book weaves fiction and fact, self-aware of its own construction, never afraid to take a jab at itself in the process.

A history book this is not. But there’s plenty to learn here, and da Empoli has so much to say - about politics, of course, and also about the power of art to shape not just the stories on the page but the stories we build for ourselves and about ourselves. “The future,” Baranov tells our frame narrator, will be determined “not by the competition between two political programs but between two artistic visions.”

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.