The Wizard of the Kremlin
The Wizard of the Kremlin by Giuliano Da Empoli (2022, 2023, Pushkin Press) may not be the current century's greatest historical novel, but it packs a contemporary punch nonetheless. Ostensibly an account of Putin's accumulation of autocratic power as related by his (fictional) Machiavellian advisor Vodam Baranov, this tale plunges the reader into a series of ice-baths, such is the shock of remembered political moments when told from an insider's point of view. Take the intimidation of Europe's most respected leader, for instance: "Using the Labrador was not my idea. But you have to admit it was brilliant― if a little brutal, like most of the tsar's stratagems. The chancellor had prepared for a normal meeting. She turned up impeccably dressed, in a black pantsuit and ankle boots, purchased at a discount store, as usual, and carrying no papers. Because she always studied up ahead of time: the meticulous files that her team produced, the notes with headings ...