One ruler for all Russia?

Weiss, Andrew S.  Accidental Czar: The Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin.  New York: First Second 

          Books, 2022.  ISBN: 9781250760753

Ruling Russia is tricky.  For centuries, tsars ruled the vast land of Russia, but that ended with the Revolution of 1917.  After a bloody civil war, the Communists under Lenin, followed by Stalin, followed by several more leaders ruled the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics.  But this ended in 1991 under Premier Gorbachev.  Boris Yeltsin became president of a shrunken Russia.  Then in 2000, Vladimir Putin managed to wrangle his way into the presidency.  Why him?  Not to mention how? 

Andrew Weiss lays out his credentials in the introduction - opening with "I'm Andrew Weiss, and I'm a Russia geek."  He then proceeds to outline the interactions between Russia and the U.S.A. under Yeltsen and Putin culminating in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.  To understand Putin, Weiss argues, you need to understand hi motivation and the history behind them.  

Weiss covers Putin's career in the KGB both in USSR and in East Germany in Chapter 1 - Super Spy.  Chapter 2 - Riding High - highlights how Russia is controlled by personal ties, not institutions or law.  Chapter 3 - O Lucky Man! - delves into Putin's rise to become president of Russia via Kremlin's "Operation Successor" talent search.  Chapter 4 - Into the Abyss - is split between Putin's and the Kremlin's views that any opposition is fueled by "outside influencers" such as Soros or the CIA and Putin's life in St. Petersburg during the 1990s.   Chapter 5 - Frontal Assault - opens with Putin returning to power in 2011/2012 with blatantly rigged elections.  The chapter then dives into Russian history and the roots of the ideology Putin follows - "orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationality." Then came the Sochi Olympics and street protests in Ukraine that led to President Yanukovych's ouster.  Crimea was seized and annexed and Russia backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine.  Chapter 6 - Feet of Clay - lays bare the ways that Putin and the Kremlin sought to influence a whole host of countries via social media, "useful idiots," hack-and-leak attacks, infiltrating fringe organizations, and a host of other ways all to keep Ukraine out of NATO and the EU.  When that did not seem to work, Putin launched his secret plan to militarily take-over the country.  Chapter 7 - A Deeply Unsatisfying Ending - briefly sums up the problem Putin has created for himself and the rest of the world.  

Andrew Weiss provides in graphic form a succinct history of Putin and his view of Russia.  He draws upon his knowledge and experience to document especially relevant history in light of recent events.  Readers who are following the news or are interested in the causes behind the news will find plenty to digest in Accidental Czar.