Putin's Russia

Now with a new preface, Darryl Cunningham’s page-turning biography exposes the malign thrust of Putin’s domestic and foreign policy, including the reasons behind Putin’s military conflict with Ukraine. Author of more than six acclaimed graphic novels and well-known for his economical drawing and clear, explanatory narrative, Cunningham shows how the West and its leaders have been culpable in aiding Putin’s rise—including both Obama and Trump. Starting with Putin’s early life in St Petersburg, Cunningham guides us through his work with the KGB, his political career, the poisonings, and the wars with Chechnya, Crimea and the Ukraine. Topics covered include the poisoning of former Ukrainian President Viktor Luschenko, Trump’s deference to Putin’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014, the Malaysian air crash over Ukraine, and the conflict between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian-backed separatists leading to the current invasion. Cunningham also shows Putin’s involvement in Brexit, as well as the crackdown on human rights, especially on homosexuality, in Russia; and the poisonings—among them, journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Russia, Alexander Litvinenko in London, Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. By putting all these events into a timeline, Cunningham aims to show that Putin is opportunistic rather than the master manipulator people make him out to be: ‘He’s essentially a gangster and not a particularly smart one. We need to demythologise Putin if we are to beat him.’ Putin’s Russia is currently being translated into several languages. Cunningham gave interviews for Arte TV and France24 on the eve of its French publication.