The Putin mystique
Subtitle: inside Russia's power cult
By: Anna Arutunyan
Edition: First American edition.
Publisher: Olive Branch Pr
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 330
ISBN-13: 9781566569132; 9781566569903
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Politics and government; Political culture; Public opinion; Cult; Influence; Power (Social sciences)
Description: "The Putin Mystique takes the reader on a journey through the Russia of Vladimir Putin, named by Forbes magazine in 2013 as the most powerful man in the world. It is a neo-feudal world where iPads, WTO membership, and Brioni business suits conceal a power structure straight out of the Middle Ages, where the Sovereign is perceived as both divine and demonic, where a man's riches are determined by his proximity to the Kremlin, and where large swathes of the populace live in precarious complacency interrupted by bouts of revolt. Where does that kind of power come from? The answer lies not in the leader, but in the people: from the impoverished worker who appeals directly to Putin for aid, to the businessmen, security officers and officials in Putin's often dysfunctional government who look to their leader for instruction and protection. In her writing career, Anna Arutunyan has travelled throughout Russia to report on modern politics. She has interviewed oligarchs and policemen, bishops and politicians, and many ordinary Russians. Her book, which has been translated into 10 languages, is a vivid and revealing exploration of the way in which myth, power and even religion interact to produce the love-hate relationship between the Russian people and Vladimir Putin"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: "Originally published in the United Kingdom by Skyscraper Publications"--title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: To give unto Caesar; title: Part I. The subjects; title: To see Putin and die; title: The petition; title: Playing God; title: The Pikalevo effect; title: Part II. The Oprichniki; title: Men of the sovereign; title: The audience; title: Agent Loyal and his little racket; title: The police major; title: Part III. The Boyars; title: Doing business with Putin; title: The inner circle; title: In favour; title: The regent; title: Part IV. The sovereign as God; title: The cult; title: The sect; title: The heretics; title: The Church, the Tsar, and the holy fool; title: The living law; title: Epilogue: Russia without Putin.