The Dark Genius of Putin: Who is really behind Putin’s Project?
At this point in history, if he was still alive, the Russian master novelist Leo Tolstoy would have set fire to his massive manuscript of War and Peace in despair. The noble dreams of Russian thinkers, all their hopes and aspirations, were crushed underneath the boot of the gray Chekist machine built by Putin’s system. One can toy with the imagery and paradigms of ingenious minds, from Orwell’s 1984 to the Zamyatin’s WE, or Brave New World by Huxley, but the harsh reality conjured by Putin’s gang has outdone even the boldest and most prominent social fantasists. The dark genius of “collective Putin” has taken the country to an unparalleled zenith of absurdity.
Perhaps I should have avoided using the word genius in this article’s title. First of all, it wafts the fragrance of positivity, something universally good and, as such, cannot be applied to a president who plunged into an unjustified war. On the other hand, the Great History of Mankind has had innumerable geniuses made forever infamous by exposing their dark talents. Third, it is not truly about Vladimir Putin the individual, but rather about a gargantuan phenomenon called “the collective Putin”. The complex construct of a 25-year Presidency is the deliberate work of many creative minds — that might be the definition of a masterpiece.
Leo Tolstoy’s famous statement, “History, as a gradual accumulation of personal decisions, is moved along only by the power of personalities,” was flushed down the drain. The rise of New Russia, after the collapse of the USSR, was facilitated by a criminal gang. It was by no means the beautiful tale of an Italian family, like The Godfather or Scarface. Leave those noble cinematic sentimentalities behind. Putin’s gang steeped their vows in bloody murders and theft, a terrible brew that was further infused with personal resentment against the world (the US in particular) and spilled out into the vomit-war that currently rages.
This may sound like little more than a rabid fantasy, but we have accumulated enough evidence regarding outright crimes committed by Putin’s team and their leader himself. His close ex-friend Sergey Pugachev, who was once one of the richest men in Russia and was called the “banker of the Kremlin”, said that Putin himself never dreamt of being president. As he never should have. The mediocre and moderately-successful KGB officer never demonstrated noteworthy leadership talents or even a noble aspiration to do good for his country. Now, anyone can see all sorts of national emblems in his $1,400,000,000 palace. Even the table napkins are embroidered with symbols of the Russian Federation, and the golden eagle hangs at the gates of his residence.
Putin, the low-key official, was a pale figure who merely aspired to live in nice quarters and amass a small fortune, at least according to Pugachev. It is widely known that President Boris Yeltsin’s inner circle needed someone to cover up their crimes. Almost everyone in Yeltsin’s entourage believed that this guy, Putin, would be capable of playing the role. Those involved in Putin’s PR campaigns at the time, such as the deputy head of Vladimir Putin’s campaign staff, Ksenia Ponomareva, mention the term “Project Putin.” Everyone including her had the same question: “Who is Putin?”. But on the whole, there was also an understanding that even if the Russian people did not really know who Putin was, in a sense it did not matter. The people had had enough: “wipe out terrorists in the outhouse,” were phrases that caught the public’s attention and began to mold Putin’s image.
Most of the Russian audience and the rest of the world have been entertained with filtered anecdotes from the life of Vladimir Putin. Putin’s macho bravado jumps out in the pictures: his bare torso exposed, an explorer of the Arctic, sailing a submarine, posing next to a tigress in Primorye, hosting Europe’s most famous homosexual, Prince Albert of Monaco, and kissing a little boy on the belly.
His deeper essence remains hidden in the past, when he was just an unsuccessful and less-than-promising KGB colonel, or when he successfully served Sobchak in the St. Petersburg mayor’s office. Putin has effectively concealed his personal history, including his family, love life, and relationships with others since his ascension, in the best tradition of a classic spy. This soft-spoken and, at first glance, composed man with a cold, stern gaze does not evoke a visceral reaction from the electorate, nor does he elicit any distinct irritation. This is how colorless Putin passes the compatibility test with the Russian people, giving him the latitude to consistently set up for the “big move”. During his presidency, Putin has had the opportunity to practice the little KGB intelligence tricks he learned on a grand scale. And that is where his gang, drunk on unfettered power, broke all moral, ethical, and criminal laws.
Beginning with the bombings of apartment buildings in Moscow, Putin pins a hero’s medal on his own chest each time one of the country’s most nightmarish tragedies occurs. To his credit are the hostage crisis at the Dubrovka Center, the theater audience at Nord-Ost; the school siege of Beslan, and, of course, the Kursk submarine disaster — all told, hundreds and hundreds of innocent victims.
When former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko published his “Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within” book, pro-Putin surveillance was already on his tail, and they wasted no time in adding polonium tincture 210 to his glass of tea. Kremlin spies are not shy about leaving traces of their “corrective medicine,” sometimes to intimidate their opponents and sometimes out of sheer stupidity. They brazenly poisoned the outspoken critic Litvinenko and stumbled in the attempted poisoning of famous oppositionist Navalny. The latter case is generally known as “Navalny’s underwear”. But all those joyful games are oils brushed on canvas, eagerly painted and supported by Putin’s creative team.
Putin’s gang began to coalesce around him early in his rule, much like a thick, dark fog falls onto streets and alleys. The gang with the big names, all of which are well-known to those interested in Putin’s history. No need to repeat those names.
Putin’s original team was dominated by people from the world of PR and media — former journalists, media managers, and political technologists. They were then followed by waves of so-called bureaucrats. The civil servants differed from the first creative group in that they understood the industry and were willing to serve anyone with enough money. Both categories garnered enormous influence and financial security from Putin. Putin maneuvered for some time, offering the different groups in politics and business the hope that he had their interests at heart, but he eventually betrayed them all.
Of course, his most amenable vassals and close friends still benefit from great privileges and generous rewards. His friends the Rotenbergs, his close friend Kovalchuk, and even the quiet Medvedev remain on the list of long-lived members of Putin’s apparatus. However, we are not as interested in particular names as we are in the intricate strategies and wild imagination of this team, moves and ideas that are supported by Putin himself.
Don’t be fooled — rarely will you see Putin himself in public. His scripted double handshakes with people from the crowd, then jumping into a tank and rolling across a recently blown-up bridge — all cheap theatre. The real Putin, deep in his bunker in a remote corner of Russia, loves to watch videos of his opponents suffering in jail. And it could all be so amusing — if not for the war that forced the rest of the world to a new edge of catastrophe.
In upcoming chapters, our attention will focus on the most interesting moments of that gang’s work, zooming in on the formation of Putin’s ideology and his mind games.
