Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest

Professor Stent writes a sweeping review of the rise of Vladimir Putin and his direction of Russia up to the Trump years. There are well written sections on Putin’s brilliant Middle East policy, China and The Russian Idea. Her writing style is lucid and moves right along. She is engaging and worth the read also for the sweep of the narrative.She falls short on her disguised cavalier treatment of Ukraine, her description of the problem with the Clinton/Trump campaign and ultimately falls into a typical US State Department narrative.When she takes on the Ukrainian situation she does mention Stephan Bandera and his followers, adequately stating their WW2 collaboration with Nazi Germany; but then she says they saw the light in 1943. She fails to add that Germany was on its heals at that moment.In the same vain she mentions the Azov Battalion. never mentioning other groups like Right Sector. She misses their obvious participation in The Maidan and their alleged source of the violence. She glosses over Nuland’s very active participation. Nor does she mention the tragedy in Odessa where Russian speakers were burned to death. This is all skipped over quickly in her analysis of the annexation of Crimea. Then there is her glib mention of the Minsk Accords, pining the blame for non implementation on Russia.The book begins to loose the readers interest as she spins the democrat slant on Trump, Clinton, Wikileaks, Trumps interest in Moscow, Michael Flynn, Manafort and her citing Mueller!!There are viewpoints such as Professor Stent’s, albeit learned as she is, that have brought us to where we are today. Regardless of this, her book is worth reading for all the ground it covers. It is brilliantly misdirected.

Picture Trump without the checks and balances we’re supposed to have, and you have Vladimir Putin. A very dangerous man utterly without a moral compass. The book is a somewhat difficult read because the author stayed on course throughout, loading it with a wealth of facts and information needed to give a clear portrait of the subject. It is worth the effort.

This book is okay but not great.It would've been much improved if it had analyzed Putin as an individual. What in his background influences or drives his behavior? The book didn't tell us this. What did his coworkers say about him in his previous life? If they dare not, that is telling.Another deficiency doesn't tell us much about Russia's neighbors. They have many historical reasons to doubt Russia's intentions and fear them. However, the book doesn't tell us much about them. Instead, it concentrates on great power rivalries, as if the aspirations of Ukraine, Poland, etc., don't factor into the equation. This is a common deficiency of the foreign-policy elite of either party in the US or European countries.Another aspect of the book that hurts it is the author's anti-Trump bias. (I am not a Trump enthusiast.) She seems to believe the whole Russian collusion story, which is now proven to be a Hillary Clinton campaign hoax. She also doesn't discuss much the foibles of previous administrations' Russia policy or lack thereof.

The book does a good job summarizing Russia’s foreign relationship (under Putin) with countries and regions. Relevant today given Ukraine.

"This book covers a vast amount of historical information about Russia and Putin. Stent went to great lengths to provide further context to the reader. It will give us a glimpse of what's to come in the future for geopolitical risks." —Pamela Russell, author of Navigating Financial Markets and Generating Wealth in the New World

Not a casual read but not a light subject. Intense and detailed but this book gave me a vivid understanding of Putin and his motivations. An important book.

Stent's book provides excellent background information to Putin's 2022 unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Excellent and timely book.

This man is dangerous. Thus, the book helps us understand who he is, where he came from and what we should all fear as 2022 begins and his soldiers threaten the Ukranine again.

An excellent and balanced exposition of view point of Putin on a number of issues now the world is facing.. Angela Stent has given convincing assessment of Putin's role in bringing Russia back to the centre stage of world politics..a must read for who interested in international affairs

Ver essa narrativa e os últimos acontecimentos da Guerra da Ucrânia dá uma clara noção de como a geopolítica da Rússia é um jogo de longo prazo, mas com proposta de expansão constante.

I read this book with very high expectations since the author is a renowned Russia expert, but those expectations were very unfortunately dashed. The book is large in volume, but most of it is already known and well known to me. It didn't go beyond the level of what has already been generally discussed by many media and experts.So I think this book is useful enough for those who do not have the basics understanding about the current Putin Russia.