Book review: Putin’s malign influence echoes through book on ‘strongman paradox’
Russian president Vladimir Putin seen on the big screen as he delivers his speech in Moscow, Russia. Such extravagant and egotistical displays of power are typical of the political strongman, along with lies, disinformation and the cult of personality. Picture: Vladimir Astapkovich/Sputnik Pool Photo via AP
The odd thing about “strongman” leaders is that they are often quite weak in terms of their personal attributes and political ideas. Vladimir Putin, in power longer than most, comes across as an insecure, embittered little man, strangely marooned in a cultural time warp, whose vision of Russia’s future is propelled by a backward-looking, sentimental nostalgia for the Soviet era.
Donald Trump, by instinct a fellow authoritarian and avid Putin admirer, is notoriously thin-skinned, seemingly incapable of tolerating the slightest criticism and disproportionately vindictive towards those who challenge him.
