Today, the world sees Vladimir Putin from a distance, isolated at the end of a very long table. When I first met him, in September 2000, he was at a very different table, in a private room at New Yorks 21 Club, at a dinner hosted by Tom Brokaw for 20 or so media luminaries. Brokaw had interviewed the recently elected Russian president for NBC a few months earlier. I was invited because I had just closed a lengthy profile of Putin for Vanity Fair, and also because my late husband, Tim Russert, was the anchor of NBCs Meet the Press.
The number one topic was why Putin had not interrupted his vacation when the Russian Kursk submarine sank, killing all 118 crew members. By then, Russians were fed up with years of his predecessor Boris Yeltsins often drunken antics, and Putin had quickly sought to impose order and restore government control over two media empires that were ruled by oligarchs he considered too independent. He was already making moves to eventually crush them. Hed also installed ruthless former KGB officials in key geographic super zones to supervise the unruly Russian parliament. Putin himself had won the presidency in no small part by promising to brutally eliminate separatists who had fought back in Chechnya, not entirely dissimilar to how the Ukrainians are fighting back today.
My head stuffed with facts about Russia after months of reporting out my Vanity Fair story, I immediately raised my hand when Brokaw said Putin would answer some questions. We had a back and forth about press freedoms that ended with Putin finally saying, Who are you? Where are you from? Why did you not come to me personally to ask me these questions? I pointed to his spokesman at the time, Alexey Gromov, sitting nearby. I have been trying for four months to interview you and he always said no.
A few months earlier, in June 2000, I had been present when President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Clintons chief of staff, John Podesta, met Putin for the first time for bilateral talks on U.S.-Russian relations. The confab took place in the grand St. George Hall of the Kremlin, which had been freshly refurbished in Tsarist splendor. Clinton, who was buddies with Yeltsin, began a smiley, rambling talk that appeared mostly content-free. Meanwhile, the unsmiling Putin, who was very much prepared, sat by himself at his own table, dressed in a yellow-beige suit that matched both his complexion and demeanor. As Clinton went on, Putin, who slumped inattentively in his chair, began to drum his fingertips on the tabletop. Then they all retired to a smaller room with a conventional conference table, where some of us in the press were allowed to glimpse Putin presenting a bouquet of flowers to the American ambassador on his birthday. Later, at a carefully vetted press conference, Western journalists and Russian journalists sat apart and each group was allowed exactly four questions that had been submitted and chosen beforehand.
Going to St. Petersburg a few days later to research Putins origins, I learned about two qualities that defined him: the price he put on loyalty, and his reverence for the motherland, which was fueled by a deep resentment for the humiliation that he and his close circle of former KGB agents believed had been visited upon them by the U.S. and the West after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Shock therapy was the informal name of U.S. policy toward Russia in the 1990s. It was perpetrated by a group of Harvard professors led by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrei Shleifer, who were mentored by Larry Summers. Vice President Al Gore oversaw its implementation. The idea was to quickly replace the state-run economy with a free market one, but in practice the sudden removal of price controls and subsidies sparked hyperinflation, wiping out the savings of millions of ordinary Russians, and even causing starvation in some places.
I witnessed the hardship myself when I made my first reporting trip to Russia for Vanity Fair, in 1994, to chronicle the rise of the bernationalist politician and white supremacist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who I discovered had been secretly sponsored by the ever-powerful intelligence services to siphon votes off from Yeltsin. Zhirinovsky sat down with me in front of a map of the world and circled the old Soviet empire, then blithely drew an arrow straight down through Iran and wrote across 11 time zones, Russia. This belongs to us, he said. The U.S. can have North and South America, Europe can have Africa.
When the Soviet Union fell, the KGB was never dissolved, just halved into domestic and foreign branches. The domestic branch was rechristened the FSB. Putin is not a democrat, I was told in St Petersburg. Do you know what dermocracy is in Russia? In Russian, dermo means crap. I also learned that Putin, the only surviving child of working-class parents, came from a family that hates democracy. Indeed, Putins grandfather worked as a cook for Stalin. In his youth, the slight, 135-pound Volodya first gained recognition as a judo champion, renowned among his teammates for his ability to throw men twice his weight through cunning and surprise.
See the rest here:
Putins Character Was Clear Long Before He Retreated to the Far End of the Table - Vanity Fair
- EU and Ukraine explore special tribunal for Putin and war officials - Euronews - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Do Russians Believe Putin's Propaganda? | TIME - TIME - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Opinion | Putins Russia throws a lifeline to North Korea - The Washington Post - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- U.S. told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack - The Washington Post - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Escaping Putin's War Machine - Reveal - Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Putin ally Patrushev says NATO is helping attacks on Russia from Ukraine - Reuters - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Pine nuts: Mr. Putin, draw down that weapon - Sierra Sun - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- What's behind Putin's attempts to link Ukraine to Moscow terror attack? - Voice of America - VOA News - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Ukraine tells Trump to emulate Reagan as Putin readies major spring offensive - POLITICO Europe - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- 'Ein Schock fr Putin': Ukraine Bombs Three Russian Air Bases, Then Vows To Send Its Drones Further Into Russia - The New York Sun - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- France's Macron Tries to Jolt Europe Into Taking Tougher Approach With Putin - WSJ - The Wall Street Journal - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- How Putin's Relationship With Islam Works - The American Conservative - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Ukraine embraces far-right Russian 'bad guy' to take the battle to Putin - POLITICO Europe - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Will Keen on Playing Vladimir Putin in Patriots on Broadway: The Sign of a Great Liar Is the Ability to Lie to Oneself - Variety - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Kim Jong Uns correspondence with Putin shoots up amid cooperation over Ukraine - NK News - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Cathy Young on Putin's American Fans - Reason - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Putin regime cracks down on Central Asian immigrants The Militant - The Militant - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Putin, Russia and what might have been | Daily Gate City - Keokuk, Iowa | mississippivalleypublishing.com - Mississippi Valley Publishing - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Do Russians Believe Putin's Propaganda? - AOL - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Putin and the Superiority Myth - Center for European Policy Analysis - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Vladimir Putin Pushes Russia To Make Consoles To Compete With PlayStation And Xbox - Kotaku - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Reality is chipping away at Putinism - The New Statesman - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Putin Is No Ally In the War on Terror in 2024 - 19FortyFive - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Opinion | Joe Lieberman and Gordon Humphrey: How to counter Putin's lies - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Opinion | I am proud to have spoken out against Putin's crimes in Ukraine - The Washington Post - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Georgia's government plays into Putin's hands as it moves to suppress art and culture - The Conversation - April 6th, 2024 [April 6th, 2024]
- Russia election: Putin declared winner of race that was never in doubt - The Associated Press - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Exclusive: Putin to visit China in May - Reuters - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putin Urges Russians to Unite on Ukraine War - The New York Times - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putin Aide on 'Sham' Election Attacks: 'Not Going to Justify Ourselves' - Newsweek - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- West condemns 'sick' Putin's rigged election win as Xi sends congrats to Moscow - POLITICO Europe - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- What's Next After Putin's Win, and Why U.S. Home Prices May Start to Drop - The New York Times - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putin planning buffer zone around border with Ukraine - The Hill - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- With the election behind him, Putin says Russia aims to set up a buffer zone inside Ukraine - The Associated Press - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisito strengthen Russian-Iranian relations - The Jerusalem Post - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putins Orchestrated Election Leaves Russians With No Other Choices - The New York Times - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putin speaks Navalny's name for first time, claims he agreed to prisoner exchange - POLITICO Europe - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- How Xi and Putin took parallel paths to become life rulers - Business Insider - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- The West's New Approach Can Save Georgia From Putin - Newsweek - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putin had to contrive a landslide because he knows cracks are showing in Russian society - The Guardian - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Basking in his Russian election win, Putin talks about political nemesis Alexei Navalny's 'sad' death for the first time - CNBC - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Putin Isn't Hitler, He's Mussoliniand Ukraine Is His Abyssinia - Modern War Institute - West Point - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Analysis: Is the GLSDB One of Nuland's Promised 'Nice Surprises' for Putin? - Kyiv Post - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Secret Putin palace discovered with yachts, personal waterfall: report - Business Insider - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin challenger submits 105000 signatures backing his election campaign - POLITICO Europe - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russia's Putin blames Ukraine for crash of POW's plane and pledges to make investigation public - The Associated Press - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russia's war on Ukraine a 'huge issue' for EU as Putin's ambitions are 'much more far-reaching' - FRANCE 24 English - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin to visit Turkey in February, Kremlin says - Yahoo News - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin to visit NATO member Turkiye on 12 February - Middle East Monitor - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin Officially Registered For Russian Presidential Election Amid Suppression Of Opposition - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin vs the West: At War TV review world leaders offer candid reflections in BBC documentary - Financial Times - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- An unlikely challenger to Putin brings a rare show of defiance, creating a dilemma for the Kremlin - The Associated Press - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Analysis: China's rising star visits U.S. over warming Putin-Kim ties - Nikkei Asia - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Kremlin denies report Putin reached out to the US about ending Ukraine war - Business Insider - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Belarusian President complains to Putin that Ukraine and Baltic countries "seek better life abroad" video - Yahoo News - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin Vs the West: At War review did Liz Truss really storm out of her own office? - The Guardian - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- U.S. Ally Could Hand Biden New Trump Card for Dealing with Putin - Newsweek - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin says earns $175K, owns couple of apartments and a parking spot - Business Insider - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Kremlin denies report that Putin reaching out to US, might drop key demands on Ukraine - Reuters.com - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- In Ukraine and Europe, a concern: Has Putin outlasted the US? - The Christian Science Monitor - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russian Election Authorities Pick Pro-War Symbol, Putins Favorite Slogan for Presidential Campaign Promo - The Moscow Times - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russians who want rid of Putin pin election hopes on anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin - The Guardian - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Secret Putin Residence Discovered Near Finland Dossier Center - The Moscow Times - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Vladimir Putin Accuses Kyiv Of Trying To Provoke Russia After 2 Years Of Shelling Ukraine - HuffPost UK - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russian Anti-War Candidacy Bid An Unexpected Obstacle In Kremlin's Effort To Smoothly Reinstall Putin - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russias anti-war presidential candidate submits bid to run against Putin - Semafor - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Russian Officials Further Stack Deck in Favor of Putin's Reelection - Newsweek - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Kremlin Hopes Armenia Joining ICC Will Not Affect Relations - The Moscow Times - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- In shadow of Trump, Putin and Orbn, EU struggles to get its act together on Ukraine - POLITICO Europe - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Putin registered as fourth candidate in Russian presidential election - Yahoo News - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Kyiv 'strikes airfield' in occupied Crimea as Putin prepares to visit Turkey - The Independent - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Vladimir Putin is trying to entice foreign nationals with the offer of Russian citizenship to help him fight against Ukraine - Fortune - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Putin's 'peace' is a partitioned Ukraine - The Spectator - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Russia's War on Woke: Putin Is Trying to Unite the Far Right and Undermine the West - Foreign Affairs Magazine - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Putin's Drive to Rewrite History Snares a Retired Lithuanian Judge - The New York Times - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Putin makes passing Ukraine reference in New Year's Eve address - Reuters - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Putin Vows to Keep Up Bombardment After a Russian City Is Hit - The New York Times - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Putin lauds Russian unity in his New Year's address - POLITICO - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Zelenskiy speaks of war, Putin makes passing reference in contrasting New Year speeches - Reuters - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Putin Says He Wants Peace in Ukraine But on Russia's Own Terms - Bloomberg - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]