We Need to Talk About Putin: Why the West Gets Him Wrong

Cast of Characters

Andropov, Yuri – The formidable KGB chief and then Soviet leader, whom Putin appears to idolise but not understand.

FSB – The Federal Security Service, the main internal counter-intelligence and security agency that succeeded the KGB.

FSO – The Federal Protection Service, the small army of bodyguards, Kremlin riflemen, food tasters and phone tappers, whose job is to keep Putin and the rest of the government safe and happy.

Gorbachev, Mikhail – The last Soviet leader, who reformed the USSR out of existence and appears in many ways to embody precisely what Putin is not.

GRU – The Main Intelligence Directorate, the military intelligence agency.

Ivanov, Sergei – The urbane KGB veteran who was Putin’s chief of staff and was regarded as a potential successor, but took semi-retirement in 2016.

Kabayeva, Alina – The Olympic gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast rumoured to be Putin’s current lover.

Kadyrov, Ramzan – An unpredictable and violent man who professes loyalty to Putin while running the Chechen Republic as a virtually independent fiefdom.

KGB – The Committee of State Security, the all-encompassing Soviet domestic security and foreign intelligence service.

Kudrin, Alexei – A long-term associate of Putin’s, once a friend and token economic liberal in his government, now somewhat estranged.

Medvedev, Dmitry – Putin’s long-suffering prime minister, less his colleague and more his gopher.

Navalny, Alexei – The main opposition figure today, an anti-corruption campaigner who uses the Internet to bypass the Kremlin’s efforts to keep him off television.

Patrushev, Nikolai – Secretary of the Security Council, former head of the FSB, and a man who makes Putin look like a moderate.

Presidential Administration – The most powerful institution in Putin’s Russia, in effect his government-above-the-government.

Prigozhin, Yevgeny – A man who has done well by doing whatever Putin needs doing. He is known as ‘Putin’s chef’ because he came to know him when he ran a restaurant in St Petersburg; his companies still provide food for the Kremlin and many government agencies.

Roldugin, Sergei – A cellist and childhood friend of Putin’s who is now thought to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Rotenberg, Arkady and Boris – Childhood friends and judo sparring partners of Putin’s, who have done very well in business under his rule.

Sechin, Igor – Head of the oil firm Rosneft and Putin’s former deputy; the Western media calls him ‘Russia’s Darth Vader’, but no one there would dare.

Shoigu, Sergei – Defence minister since 2012, and perhaps the most powerful and influential figure within the government who didn’t get to that position by being a friend of Putin’s.

Sobchak, Anatoly – Putin’s old professor at law school and the first democratically elected mayor of St Petersburg, who appointed him as his deputy.

Surkov, Vladislav – Putin’s former political technologist and the impresario behind his fake political system, now unofficial boss of south-eastern Ukraine.

SVR – The Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia’s main espionage agency.

Zolotov, Viktor – Putin’s former chief bodyguard, now head of the National Guard, a thuggish loyalist through and through.